Austin School Board approves facility master plan framework

I read an article from statesman.  The article is about Austin school board approves the framework to the district’s facility master plan. According to the article, the framework provides long-term facilities planning, annual information on the conditions, use and capacities of facilities, an annual academic and facilities recommendations and an annual multi-year view of possible facility and bond proposals.
Meanwhile, the board members also ask the state for a waiver, which excludes the new state mandated test scores from student grade-point averages this school year. Even though the students, also the parents don’t know how the exam will be graded but they are concerned about how the exam will affect grades and class rank. Therefore, schools request a waiver for the test will not count as a part of students' grades.

In my opinion, I will not approve or accept the waiver request until all students have taken the new state mandated test. Since this will be the first time for high school students to take the test, so it is better to see how they’re doing after taking the test. What if a lot of students do really badly on this test, the score might affect a lot on their grades. Some students already have low grades in classes, if this test will be counted as a part of their grades, then I feel really sorry for those students who don't have a good grade. All parents and students can’t avoid/stop worrying about the test. Right now, we don’t know how hard the new state test will be, so my first suggestion is that the state should grant the request for this school year. The state might consider this matter again later on whether the test will be counted or not. It always depends on the Texas Education Agency.   

“Since the state law prohibits such waiver, it’s unlikely the Texas Education Agency will grant the request”. If the waiver is prohibited in the state, then I think the only solution is to encourage all students take the test seriously and do as much as they can. Since this test is the state mandated test which is called State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness or STAAR, so high school students are required to take it. Students need to put a lot of efforts to study before taking the test in order to get the best results. Even if the waiver will not be granted, but at least the state should let all teachers know all the materials are to be covered on the test, and make sure they review all those materials with their students. I think this is the way to help students to do well on their test. Whether the states will grant the waiver request or not, all students need to show what they have learned throughout the year and try their best to do on this test.

To Educate, Not Teminate

I have read a commentary from my colleague’s blog, Cassia. The post is titled “To Educate, Not Terminate”. She brings up the issue of unplanned pregnancy is the societal problem that reflects the lack of knowledge of the general public. Instead of allowing abortions, Texas should focus on teaching the youth how and why to prevent getting pregnancy, and to truly explain the consequences of it. I always oppose abortions without exceptions because I also think abortion is just inhuman. Therefore, I totally agree with my colleague about this matter.

“According to the Texas Department State Health of Services, the ages of mothers start as early as ten years old, and father’s as early as twelve!”  I think it is too early for kids to become parents at these young ages. They even still need to be taken care of. How can they raise a child at their young age? It’s just impossible. This is also the reason why school and also parents should get involved into this matter, since they all have a role to educate/teach their kids how things might happen, how to prevent pregnancy and clearly explain the consequences of doing it. Even so, abortion can’t be the only way to solve this problem. “This data is the evidence that Texas should implement a permanent program in schools to deal with unplanned pregnancy.” Cassie said.

Texas currently has the third-highest teen birth rate in the country. It also led the nation in the amount of government money it spent on abstinence-only education-the primary program to reduce teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases-that was to be presented in schools and other community-based agencies. Unfortunately, this program was ineffective and not working. “According to Cassie, the only way Texas can reduce its birth rates and avoid the outrageous early pregnancies is to educate the public. The focus should be on how to either prevent or plan a pregnancy, instead of terminating it.” I totally agree with her that the education is the only way, since Texas is not doing a really good job on teaching teens how to prevent and minimize the risks if sexual behavior occurs. Even when I was in high school, my school didn’t talk about sexual behaviors, therefore kids don’t know much about it. I also think parents should get involved; they have to teach their kids how to avoid pregnancy. Once it happens, there is no ways to solve the problems other than abortions.

The abortion sonogram bill has passed the Texas House and Senate. This bill allows women to have abortions. Truthfully, I really don’t like any programs that abortions get involved in because I think it’s very cruel to do so. Since this is the only remedy that Texas has, it will be working well that way. At least, this program gives a woman a chance to make her ultimate decision before she has an abortion. During the sonogram, the doctor must describe the fetus; the woman can choose whether she wants to see images from the sonogram or listen to the heartbeat. The woman will have to make her decisions after all, whether keep it or get rid of it. "In such rare cases, an abortion is understandable; however, for most cases it is just inhuman." Cassia said. I agree with her that abortion is just inhuman, but to me, the abortion also shouldn't be done without any exceptions. The action is just like killing an innocent child.

The only best way to the issue is to educate the teens at school. Parents need to look after their kids, tell them to do right things.