A Tale Of Two School Districts

It was the best of scores. It was the worst of scores. Too dramatic? OK, how about this? Woot! Phhttttttttt! This week, the Richardson ISD (RISD) announced that the school district was judged "Recognized" in the Accountability ratings of the Texas Education Agency. "Recognized" doesn't sound like much, but it's a really big deal. The RISD is rightly proud when it trumpets the achievement:

"This is the fifth consecutive year RISD has earned the rating. RISD is the largest, most diverse district in Texas to have achieved Recognized status for five consecutive years. Every RISD campus received a rating of Exemplary (42 schools) or Recognized (11 schools)."

On the other hand, everyone knows that the Accountability ratings are not the be-all and end-all of academic accountability. The system defines the floor, not the ceiling. Inspired by the goal of "no child left behind," the scoring system (TAKS) severely penalizes a school district if any socio-economic subgroup fails to reach minimal levels, that is, if any subgroup is left behind. You can't hide your problems. The RISD takes the ratings seriously and the results show it. Not content, the RISD is moving beyond the TAKS to improve other aspects of education such as career and technology programs, talented and gifted programs, advanced placement programs, etc. In fact, last year, they parted ways with a former superintendent over a difference of vision on this very subject. Apparently, the board of trustees wanted ..., well, as a Dickens character might put it, "more."

After the jump, another school district's worst of times.

End Run Around The Electoral College

If you've lived in Texas for the last thirty years or so, you've probably noticed how your vote in presidential elections didn't mean much. Or maybe you didn't notice because you don't know any different. If you're under fifty or so, it's been this way your entire voting life. The reason is because of our Electoral College system that awards all of a state's electoral votes to the winner of the vote in that state. Texas has been so reliably Republican for decades that presidential candidates pretty much bypass the state during the quadrennial campaign for the White House.

After the jump, why that just might change.

Clash Of Civilizations. Settling Scores.

Two of my favorite commentators (and by favorite I mean least favorite) are Tom Pauken and Rod Dreher. Pauken is a frustrated Goldwater conservative who was sidelined by Bush/Rove in Austin in the 1990s and hasn't gotten over it yet. Dreher's conservatism goes back even farther (medieval Rome, say, or Constantinople). What Pauken and Dreher share is a calling to rally Western Civilization to stand against the expansion of Islam and a belief they know what ails modern conservatism.

After the jump, why they are both worth reading this week.

Finding Out Who John Jay Myers Is

Recently, I blogged about why Pete Sessions will win the November election for US House District 32. One of his opponents, Libertarian Party candidate John Jay Myers, replied to my blog comments. With his permission, I reproduce his reply after the jump.

SBOE Cannot Be Trusted With Money, Either

You might remember that the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) has been one of my favorite topics, usually because of its over-the-top thinking regarding school curriculum (e.g., demoting Thomas Jefferson, questioning separation of church and state, balancing Lincoln's Gettysburg Address with Jefferson Davis' speeches, rehabilitating the reputation of Senator Joseph McCarthy, etc.). The Dallas Morning News' Jacquielynn Floyd described the SBOE as a "whacked-out troop of underqualified ideologues ... [who] make us look like a bunch o' goobers in the eyes of the whole nation."

Not content with being goobers regarding school curriculum, now the SBOE insists on being goobers regarding money, too. Last week, the SBOE voted to raid the piggy bank for their pet cause. The SBOE voted to allow tapping into the Permanent School Fund, taxpayers' money that's been entrusted to them for investment, to make loans to charter schools.

After the jump, what others think of this latest move by the SBOE.

Tolerance Is Not A Four-Letter Word

tol·er·ance   /ˈtɒlərəns/   –noun
1. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.

Since when did tolerance become something negative? Tolerance doesn't mean agreement with everything. It doesn't mean a lack of principle. It doesn't mean you can't argue about public morals. It doesn't mean you have to surrender the principles on which our nation was founded. To the contrary, it's the tolerance inscribed in the Bill of Rights that lets us have this debate with civility, no matter how whack-job I think your opinions are. And this novel attitude that tolerance is a dirty word is pretty whack-job, with all due respect.

Arrest For Marijuana Possession: News?

A teenager in Richardson is arrested for marijuana possession. I'm imagining the tweet already:

"Having breakfast with the kiddo at Richardson city jail. Love this venue. All hail the Ganja Deluxe."

Seriously, marijuana possession is only a Class B misdemeanor (an offense nonetheless and something to avoid), but it's an offense that an enlightened society rightly wouldn't have on the books at all. It should be treated like having a six pack of beer in your possession. The country tried outlawing that once. In case you don't remember, it didn't go so well. Neither is the country's current policy of outlawing the possession of marijuana. Reader response to The Dallas Morning News' story is overwhelmingly dismissive of the charge and of the News for even running the story. They say it's "no big deal." Are they right? Is it news?

The teenager charged is the son of a member of the city council, which hires the city manager, who hires the police chief, who oversees the police department that sets the priorities for enforcing the laws. So, there's some irony in the story, which is an angle that makes it at least a small news story. Besides, if you think our current drug laws are counter-productive, the more stories like this, the better. Here's a nineteen year old who faces jail time and a criminal record for "no big deal". If the offense isn't news, the serious consequences should be. Shine a light on enough stories like this one and just maybe society will eventually see fit to try another way to deal with drug and alcohol use.

Still, I can't help thinking that the public doesn't have the full story yet. Reportedly, the officer detected a suspicious odor in a car after a traffic stop. If (and it's only an "if") the driver was under the influence (it doesn't matter whether from alcohol or marijuana), my sympathy disappears entirely. Throw the book at him, not for possession, but for driving under the influence. That's a crime I can fully get behind prosecution of.