Commentary on Texa's Education

I think Levinson did a great job on the structure of his argument. He had not only a strong argument, but explained his reasoning to his own opinions. When Levinson says "Politics have no place in the classroom" I couldn't agree more. Education shouldn't be based on politics and only on one's own political leanings as the author said. Levinson also goes over the credibility of those who make the decisons as to what children are taught in school. I'm on Levinson's side when he says these people usually aren't able to teach a class of their own.
Levinson also goes over how the teaching is being done. He says that "We teach how to take tests and not how to think" which I find to be true. Based off of my experience as a student, I have had to take standardized testing and have been taught material that can potentially limit me. The material isn't as much for growth as it is to scrape by with a grade. Since teachers have only a certain amount of time to cover material that is required of them, they might not get to everything. Also, in classes I've taken, teachers have told me that they can't teach what they really want us to learn because they are too busy teaching us what is in the curriculum and what we need to know to pass the test. I think if teachers really had complete control of what they wanted to teach, things would be different. We would be more required to think with our minds rather than memorize and later forget information taught to us. Teachers would probably also be more passionate with teaching since they are teaching something they like, which would help students learn better. That doesn't go for all teachers, since some are already passionate. I agree that educators' pay should be increased since they do a job that is so beneficial for those who are taught.
I think Levinson did an outstanding job supporting his ideas and opinions with evidence. It would help his argument immensely if he provided links to his evidence. This would verify the facts and support his ideas. Otherwise this was a very well-written and thought-out commentary on Texas education.

Ricky Perry's Rejection to funds

According to the Houston Chronicle Rick Perry has in the past, and present rejected millions of money that could benefit the citizens of Texas. In his most recent action, thousands of taxpayer's dollars were rejected which were presented in the form of federal funding. The Economy is in a recession and the search for jobs is still running strong for Texans. If he would have accepted the federal funding it would have been basically like the taxpayers getting back the money that they've paid. This would obviously help those of us who are still looking for a job, low on cash, or have a job but cannot make ends meet. He also disagreed to participate with the "national health care law's insurance pools for high-risk individuals". Garnet Coleman, who is the "vice-chair of the committee monitoring" the Texas plan says that it will cover more individuals who do not have insurance. Perry disagreed with this because he says that the "rules are not clear enough on how states will run the plan" and that the funding isn't enough. In the past he rejected a $700 million "educational grant, in spite of appeals from school leaders to enter."
I think that Perry is just setting us back as a state. It is ridiculous that we can't benefit from something that we paid for. Insurance is a difficult thing to acquire, and if the Texas Plan along with the national health care law can benefit the uninsured, then why not? Insurance pools for high-risk individuals should be used by Texas for Texans who are denied insurance. They probably need it more than some other citizens because they have had a pre-existing condition. The whole idea that someone is denied insurance for a pre-existing condition is ridiculous in itself! If Garnet Coleman is correct than others who have not had a pre-existing condition will also benefit.
He has also rejected a beneficial huge grant for education. This majorly sets us back because some Texas' schools aren't up to the level of education they should be. That grant could have helped find good teachers and change educational systems of schools or school districts to help improve educating younger generations of Texas. Since our younger generations are our future, we won't have much of a future to look forward to because children being educated today might not have been given the advantages they could have had academically. If more children could get good educations they could go on to recieve more education and get better jobs which would in turn, help out our economy. So basically if Perry at least accepted some of these offers he would have benefitted Texans immensely. Since he hasn't we are left to deal with our circumstances.