Distracted Livin

LoneStar Livin brings up a very good point that cell phones need to be banned on the roads. However, it would have been better if they put a few more statistics or ways to be able to enact that law. It is not reasonable for Texas to outright ban cell phone use, because as LoneStar Livin stated, they need to be used for emergency cases. Also there should be effort made by cell phone companies and cars. We have such advanced technological advances that they should invent something that allows more hands-free cell phone use.

Graduating is NOT an option

Texas public education system is something that needs some attention by those in the Texas government. According to “Texas onthe Brink,” Texas has the 2^nd highest amount of public school enrollees, but the 45^th SAT scores and the 43^rd high school graduation rate. One of the worst statistics might be that Texas is 50^th, as in last place, with the percent of citizens twenty-five or older that have received a high school diploma. This means that compared to every other state in the US, Texas is one of the least educated, with one of the highest amount of children enrolled in our school system. These are unacceptable statistics, and something needs to be done.  The Texas Education Agency has made it their mission “is to provide leadership, guidance and resources to help schools meet the educational needs of all students.” They do this by creating things like the TAKS test, which has improved Texas’ graduation rates marginally, but still not enough. There is more that needs to be done. The TAKS test is meant to replicate the SATs, but another idea would be have something that replicates a remedial test that students take at a college level to determine where they should be placed. There are so many students that are required to take these remedial courses, which should not be necessary because they are a waste of time and money if only the students had gotten the proper education in high school. Texas has a huge budget deficit that must be filled this year, so requiring them to invest more money into our children’s education system does not seem like a reasonable request. However, the money that does go into improving our public school education needs to be properly prioritized on improving their graduation rates and not on other things like sports. Students need to see that there is a reason that school needs to be a precedence in their lives and that not graduating is not an option.

The Eyes of Texas on Panhandling

The Eyes of Texas's blog concerning panhandling is a difficult topic to discuss, because everyone feels a least a little bit bad for those that have no homes and feel that begging is the only way to get by. However, most will agree that purely holding a sign does not constitute a job that one should get paid for, but it is still hard for people to just say that it should be illegal, because then those people would have nothing. The homeless could always find something more useful to do, like sell The Austin Advocate, which is as "The Eyes of Texas" mentioned is produced for homeless people to sell.



I agree that homeless people should not be allowed to just roam the streets begging for money without providing a service. However, I believe that more homeless shelters, or other opportunities for the homeless to improve their lives would need to be implemented by the state and local governments before just making it illegal to panhandle. Although, if panhandling were banned from Austin or all of Texas for that matter, it could possible increase the tourist aspect to the city and state because it would be a more attractive place for people to visit, if they did not feel bombarded by the homeless. I think that this is a great topic to bring up to the public, because it would be great if something could be done about the issue. Also "The Eyes of Texas" brings up numerous good ways for the homeless to gain money through ways other than begging. However, it would have been a good idea for him to mention some ways for the government to pitch into the problem at hand.