DOOM & GLOOM...What Now?

The impending government shutdown, I'm sure, is the number one blog fodder this week. So, I thought I would "jump on the band wagon" and join in! I really hadn't given it any thought, until my seventeen year old son, called me with worry in his almost manly voice. He really was afraid. Afraid of anarchy and rioting and chaos...

I listened patiently as he expressed his concerns and woes. Then, I used my motherly calming effect and told him that any government job related to protecting the people and our property would continue. That only nonessential government bloated cheese whiz stinky repulsive jobs would be temporarily shut down. Oh, I wasn't that harsh, but I had to relieve his fears.

Then I went on to tell him that it's happened several times before, this government shutdown thing. I'm thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of about sixteen or seventeen times. That it's just a "stall" tactic, a "scare" tactic, a "bullying" tactic that the political pansies play with each other to get their way. Basically, congress is throwing a big huge hissy fit.

Well, he calmed down a bit and decided to not leave the country. He was already thinking about going to Australia, where it would be safe. Is this being tested on the TAKS? Hey, TEACHERS!!!! Leave your stupid ridiculous idiotic fear ridden psychotic thoughts at home!!!! I don't need your end of the world bullshit infecting my already emotionally hormone challenged teenager. Damn, and I get reprimanded for offing Santa???

TAKS Season and Texas Cuts Education

It's the beginning of TAKS Season again. I wonder how many casualties we'll have this year? Will the socio economically disadvantaged be left behind or will it be our English as a Second Language students? From what I'm hearing, we in the great state of Texas will all be left behind, due to pending budget cuts.

According to our state legislatures, the administrators of education need to trim down their education budgets by 10 percent. Of course, the powers that be, believe that this "trim" back would be the cutting of "unnecessary" non-teaching jobs.

“Local school district officials are in process of making some very difficult and very painful budget decisions. Leadership is about making choices. We strongly urge them not to be shortsighted by sacrificing the classroom in favor of bureaucratic education establishment.”

But isn't that exactly what our state government is doing? Sacrificing education in order to keep the status quo of bureaucratic education establishment? Isn't all the unnecessary spending actually due to the increasing efforts to improve an antiquated system of assessment? Aren't we now, changing directions and creating a whole new testing system, titled the STAR? When is this testing madness going to END? Oh, yeah...that's right, it became law under George W. Bush.

"HEY, President Obama! Do us a favor and REPEAL the NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND!" Want to make your presidency count for something or are you really the puppet of the Republican party after all?

HEY, Honorable Shapiro...I'm thinking that maybe our lovely state government should do a bit of cutting back as well. How about you fellas and gals make your own phone calls, pick up your own lunches and dry cleaning, mail out your own letters and important documents, lick the back of a few stamps, make copies of valuable propaganda rhetoric, kill a few more trees in the name of TAKS, vacuum the carpeting in your offices, clean the windows, take out your trash, scrub the toilet down the hallway and a few of those other "can't survive without" functions. Then and only then, I'm sure you will possess the ultimate wisdom, the empathy and passion to address the state budget deficit. Since when did becoming an elected official allow one to be an elitist?

Oh, and don't think Shapiro was working alone, she had a bunch of support, here are a few of the names: Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston), Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Austin), Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Southside Place), Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock), and Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls). And if you'd like to watch the atrocity of a crime against the children of our great state...be my guest. Once you're there, click on Press Conference: Senator Florence Shapiro.

Failed Early Morning Run and SCANDAL in West Texas

I related yesterday that I was going to rise an extra thirty minutes before my usual time for a brisk run before heading off to work. That didn't come to fruition, but instead I hit the snooze button about 3 times. Work at the West Texas State School was exhausting today, because I'd been gone for a week. I forgot conveniently how taxing the boys can be and how they demand so much of my attention. This week is extremely important, we have 9 young men preparing to take their TAKS EXIT LEVEL TESTS. In the state of Texas, one must pass these tests, even if they have the required amount of credits, to graduate from high school. These tests are similar to the GED in the fashion that they are both written in English, other than that, the TAKS remains a mighty difficult undertaking.

Before I left for holiday, it was my understanding that the school would remain operating until August of 2010. When August of 2010 rolled around the school has been ordered to close permanently. Well, when I got back to WTSS today, a vicious, nasty rumor had been circulating that said the school was closing at the end August 2009. The rumor had been started by the top guy at the Pyote facility. I believe this to be a direct attack against the employees for several reasons:

1. If the top brass can jump start enough discord and unrest, more people will quit which will leave the school short staffed causing a severe problem which will act as a catalyst to shut the school down early.

2. Apparently, someone has a vested interest in West Texas State School shutting down. Possibly, could there be a monetary incentive to a certain person? A likely transfer to the Galveston facility as their Superintendent once the Pyote School is closed?

3. The education program under Iraan Sheffield ISD has been so much more successful than it ever was under the tutelage of the Texas Youth Commission; in such a short period of time, that after YEARS of inefficiency and corrupt waste a truly successful program would blow the lid off their blatant mismanagement all over the great state of Texas.

Fact: As far as I know, the Pyote location has not graduated a student in the past 5 years. They had a particular young man for FOUR years, and when Iraan took over the education and started the program of intensive direct teaching and computer lab skill mastery, this young man only had 1 credit in Physical Education. After just 11 months, this student has earned 13 credits, earned his GED and is now taking the EXIT LEVEL TAKS TEST. He and 8 others will be testing this week like all other Junior and Senior level students across the great state of Texas.

Once these students graduate, they are no longer enrolled in high school. It seems very strange that after YEARS and YEARS of Texas Youth Commission management, there is NOTHING in place for these graduates. You know what some of them did today? Swept the floor.