Education: The Other Infrastructure Problem
Be a Martian for a second. You just landed in Texas. You know nothing about politics or government, and you are looking to see what these humans are up to — to judge them by their deeds.
Have a look at what they are building over here. These Texans have a system for educating their children, for giving them the basic information and skills they’ll need to function as adults, culturally, intellectually and economically. They seem to have a theory about building human capital, a notion that public education will enrich the citizens and the society in an ongoing, self-replenishing ...
Comments (9)
gypsy314 ne
I wonder how mush of this count is illegal aliens?
Donna Rene Johnston via Texas Tribune on Facebook
But, see...if we keep Texans undereducated, with dependence on low wage, unsafe jobs, with no safety net, then businesses will continue to build here. Kinda like the Third World. I thought that was the point.
Randall D. Craig via Texas Tribune on Facebook
The Declaration of Independence (of Texas from Mexico, of course) lists a set of grievances, much like the American model. But unlike the American Declaration, the Texans stated that it was worth life and limb to separate from Mexico because she had not provided for the public education of Texas children. I fear that today's Texans have turned their back on that notion that was so dear to those at Washington-on-the-Brazos.
blanca fogleman
As a public school teacher of 30 years, I have come to the realization that it does not matter what nationality you are nor what race you are; only a few children are getting a proper education. The saddest part of the standardized test frenzy is that it does not matter where you buy a home, the children of Texas Public School are ALL going to be under educated because in Texas Public Schools we are not focused on instruction. We are teaching to a test and the focus on the test becomes more obsessive with each new test. It does not matter what stress it brings to an 8, 9, or 10 year old. It does not matter what it does to teachers. The only thing that matters is what your rating is based on a standardized test. We should stop and analyze why children of private school do so much better no matter what race, nationality or socioeconomic level they come from. Having taught in both public and private (at present), it is because in private school the teacher has one focus: to teach.
David Spratt
As of 2010, 26.8 percent of the state’s Hispanic population lived in poverty, compared with 17.9 percent over all, and 9.5 percent for Anglos. Median household income was $37,087; the overall median was $48,615, and the median in Anglo households was $59,517.
And it’s trouble for the next generation of well-trained, working taxpayers who will have to carry that group, either as social cases, prison cases, undertrained employees, whatever
When you consider probably half of the Hispanic population is illegal and we are told they are doing jobs Americans will not do because they are low paying jobs,,, the disparity in wages is not hard to understand. Considering the fact that very few of these illegals have any degree of education at all limits their employment opportunities.
The fact is that they are doing jobs, mainly construction , that does not require much formal education but more a certain amount of skill that can only be gained by actually doing the work. These used to be fairly good paying jobs. The influx of the illegal workforce has diminished these wages by 30-40%. Now with the recession even those lower paying jobs are hard to come by.
The Hispanics advocating for open borders, amnesty, guest worker programs, increased and streamlined immigration policies are their own worst enemies. Each and every one of these programs has a negative effect on their communities and the overall allocation of existing resources in their communities.The pie remains the same size but is sliced into smaller pieces
. Simply adding more people does not increase economic opportunities . Simple math tells you when you add people into a system where everyone was contributing a certain amount and these new people are contributing much less,,,, the system will collapse under the strain. The only answer is to compel those with more resources to contribute more to make up for the shortfall.
The educational system is an island with finite resources, whether or not that level has been reached is open to debate,, but there is a point at which no more is available. Adding demand only reduces the available portion for each person .
In a state consisting of 25 million people a conservative estimate of 2.5 million illegals means the population is 10% illegal. Further divide the actual Hispanic population into legal Citizens and legal resident Aliens vs. Illegal aliens and the number goes up dramatically. In some communities fully 50% or better are illegal aliens.
Nobody addresses this fact since it is not politically correct and some find it offensive, but it does not change the facts. Illegal immigration has damaged the Hispanic community disproportionately and it will continue to do so. By extension the non-Hispanic communities are adversely affected also and are made to pay the price.
The leadership of LULAC , and each and every one of their advocacy organizations do the Hispanic community a great disservice by ignoring this very real problem and pretending it either does not exist or that simply handing out legal papers to everyone will solve the problem.
Now would be the time to have an intelligent discussion based on fact and not emotion to solve the illegal immigration issue. They are still coming although not in the numbers they were,,,, but when and if the economy starts to come back they will come in greater numbers again. This will only serve to suppress the positive benefits of a rebounding economy for all Americans as well as those illegal aliens already here.
Some of the people are tired of talking about it,,,, some of the people will not talk about it,,,, The problem is here and it is a problem whether it is acknowledged or not.
Samdavis
I don't know gypsy, but you're clearly an example of what happens when the education system doesn't work.
Sadly the legislature seems bent on cutting even more from the education budget. Looking at those who will be re-elected, and some like Donna Campbell who may be elected, makes me think that we're in a downward spiral. The governor gives lip service to improving education and the legislators will talk about ways to improve education but in the end the TEA Party mentality will ensure nothing happens. After all, it's more important to keep taxes low now than to improve education. At some point we can only hope that Hispanics rise up using their vote and take over the state.
Rocky B
If you think the education situation of Hispanics in Texas is bad, you should check out the religious based education of Hasidic children in the New York City area. Secular education is virtually ignored in many Hasidic schools and children like Chaim Levin (now in his early 20's) leave school with the equivalent of a grade 3 secular education, maybe less. Chaim also had the benefit of a private tutor at home (1 hour per week), which most of the students probably do not have. Read his story here:
http://gottagivemhope.blogspot.com/
His April 12 entry deals specifically with his education, or lack thereof. "No child left behind" totally failed young Chaim. It doesn't apply in religious schools, at least not in New York state.
Like their Hispanic counterparts in Texas, many Hasidic youngsters are not prepared for jobs in the modern economy. Many will not be employed at all or will have low paying jobs in a religious setting, preferring to continue their religious studies throughout their adult lives. At about 18, they will enter into arranged marriages, have lots of children and become heavily dependent on government handouts. On a percentage basis, they are the fastest growing part of the New York area population. The Hasidic communities of Kiryas Joel, NY and New Square, NY have among the highest poverty percentages of any community tracked by the census bureau. Read about the Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/nyregion/kiryas-joel-a-village-with-the-numbers-not-the-image-of-the-poorest-place.html?pagewanted=all
Rudy Gonzales
Texas scholastic accomplishments point to a seriously deteriorating school system which has gotten worse unter the current TEA-Republican control. Slashing school money and budgets across the state has raised concerns about who is in charge? Reducing funding reduces the capacity to teach, learn and grow.
Texas standings against all 50 states on a variety of issues (1st means highest ranking, 50th means lowest ranking).
• State Aid Per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance – 47th
• Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) Scores – 45th
• % of Population 25 and Older with High School Diploma – 50th
• High School Graduation Rate – 43rd
• Per Capita State Spending on State Arts Agencies – 43rd
Tells a story everyone should be ashamed of!
Lisa Zajicek
This is not because Texas does not have the capabilites nor have they kept these individuals from getting an education; it is because these individuals eother have chosen not to continue their education or have made poor choices that have kept them from pursuing what has been offered.