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.