I subscribe to the TFN, the Texas Freedom Network and I get a daily Newsletter from them.
The Texas Freedom Network is fighting to improve the quality of education in Texas schools, and also fighting to remove politics, both from the extreme right AND the extreme left, from the school curriculum, fighting to get Thomas Jefferson back into the history textbooks, and fighting to keep Creationism out of the science textbooks.
So, NOT all of us Texans are rednecks.
I mean, like really!
After all, in Houston Texas, we do have Mission Control for NASA, and we have the McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas.
Texas is probably the richest state in the USA, or perhaps second to California, so one would think that Texas would really be Gung Ho for supporting science education in our schools.
As I have said, we're NOT all rednecks here!
But unfortunately, most of our politicians, and the yokels who run this state are a bunch of donkey-fucking rednecks, and that is what we more educated people are up against.
It's going to be a long uphill battle to restore sanity again, assuming we ever had any sanity in the first place.
Anyway . . . . .
The TFN is now also organizing to end bullying in our schools.
http://tfninsider.org/2011/02/25/anti-b ... c-hearing/
So, it appears that the majority of average citizens in Texas are against bullying in our schools, and the politicians who run this state need to pull their heads out of their collective ass!
Anti-Bullying Bill Set For Public Hearing
By Jose
Few of us would disagree that we have a duty to keep children safe, and that means we are all invested in ensuring that our schools provide a safe learning environment.
That is why weâ??re pleased to see that HB 224 â?? proposed anti-bullying legislation filed by State Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin â?? has been scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Public Education next Tuesday. If it becomes law, Rep. Stramaâ??s bill would provide educators and school administrators the kind of comprehensive tools they need to stop bullying in its tracks and, hopefully, prevent the kind of unfortunate and tragic cases of teen suicides we have all read about in the past year.
Our friends at Equality Texas can give you a snapshot of the problem, and the reasons why it demands a response from our lawmakers. Surveys conducted by EQTX have shown that 39 percent of Texas students have reported being verbally harassed, and 17 percent reported being physically harassed or assaulted. Equally troubling are the reasons for the abuse, which include race/ethnicity, gender and perceptions about the studentâ??s sexuality. More on this legislation after the jump. Here is just some of what HB 224 would do:
* Amend the Education Code to allow teachers to receive training in the prevention, identification and reporting of and response to bullying.
* Expand the definition of bullying to include bullying by electronic means such as computers (Internet/electronic media), cell phones, text messaging, and instant messaging.
* Expand the definition of bullying to include actions â??motivated by a perceived imbalance of power based on another studentâ??s actual or perceived personal characteristics, behavior, or beliefs or by another studentâ??s association with a third person and based on the third personâ??s characteristics, behavior, or beliefsâ?.
* Except in certain circumstances, mandate that the school district superintendent provide notice to the parent or guardian of the victim of the alleged bullying. This provision also mandates that the school principal inform the victim of their right to not have their parent or guardian notified of the incident.
If you support these kinds of common-sense solutions, youâ??re not alone. Polling conducted by TFN last year found that 88 percent of Texas voters favored requiring public schools â??to protect all children from bullying, harassment, and discrimination in school, including the children of gay and lesbian parents or teenagers who are gay.â?
In other words, almost all Texans agree that bullying â?? no matter the reasons for it â?? should not be tolerated in our schools. This legislation would be an important first step in addressing this critical problem.
What You Can Do
We encourage you to contact members on the House Committee on Public Education to express your support for this legislation. You can find each memberâ??s contact information here.
Here are some suggestions for what you can say when contacting legislators:
* Bullying is a serious problem in Texas that needs to be addressed immediately.
* Texans overwhelmingly support requiring schools to prevent bullying, as a number of recent polls have shown.
* All school children deserve to have a safe space in which to learn.
Here's some more . . .
http://www.tfn.org/site/PageServer?page ... _2010_poll
So, the idiots in our State Board of Education (Indoctrination) do not make up the majority.Strengthening Public Schools
Culture Wars in the Classroom: Texas Voters Call for a Cease-Fire
For more than 15 years the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund has been warning about the consequences of the damaging "culture wars" raging on the Texas State Board of Education. The contentious debates over what will be taught in social studies, science and sex education classrooms, in particular, have attracted national attention and derision. These divisive battles, while serious, are really been symptoms of the larger problem: Texas has allowed politicians with personal agendas, rather than teachers and scholars, to write our children's curriculum.
But there has been little research into public opinion on these important issues. In May 2010 the Texas Freedom Network Education fund commissioned Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research to find out where likely Texas voters stand on the heavily politicized State Board of Education, the process of writing curriculum and textbook requirements and other issues on the far right's agenda for public education.
Some key findings:
* 72 percent of likely Texas voters want teachers and scholars, not politicians, to be responsible for writing curriculum requirements for public schools.
* The overwhelming support for putting experts in charge of writing curriculum standards is bipartisan (84 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Independents) and evident in all of the stateâ??s major urban regions.
* Texas voters have complex views regarding the intersection of religion and education, with 68 percent saying separation of church and state is a key constitutional principle but 49 percent saying religion should have more influence in public schools.
* Support for more religion in public schools, however, should not suggest that Texas voters also back the positions of social conservatives on hot-button â??culture warâ? issues: 80 percent of likely Texas voters agree that high school classes on sex education should teach â??about contraception, such as condoms and other birth control, along with abstinence.â? 88 percent of likely Texas voters think public schools should be required â??to protect all children from bullying, harassment, and discrimination in school, including the children of gay and lesbian parents or teenagers who are gay.â? 55 percent of likely Texas voters oppose using publicly funded vouchers that allow some students to attend private and religious schools.
The rich data from this survey provide important insights and practical advice for policy-makers, political candidates and activists alike as lawmakers consider whether and how to reform the process for deciding what Texas children learn in their public schools. One thing is clear: Texans are fed up with state board members playing politics with curriculum and textbooks, and they are looking for a solution that ends the "culture wars" in our children's classrooms.
But, unfortunately, it's the morons at the top, running the State of Texas who seem to have more influence on our educational system and a stronger voice, so it's going to be an uphill battle.
Morons have a louder voice because . . . . .
. . . empty vessels make the loudest noise!
I'm fat and sassy! I love to sing & dance & stomp my feet & really rock your world!
