The destruction of America's public education system

[Nivek 17055]

So HISD wasn't able to use the onsite defibrillator after a child had a seizure and the child passed.   The defib. was not maintained.   While this might be a stretch, remembed Miles fired the custodial staff this summer. 

I posted this in the DT thread as well.

[tx 3 putt 77956]

4 hours ago, Nivek said:

So HISD wasn't able to use the onsite defibrillator after a child had a seizure and the child passed.   The defib. was not maintained.   While this might be a stretch, remembed Miles fired the custodial staff this summer. 

I posted this in the DT thread as well.

fuck me, that poor kid 

[Nivek 17055]

16 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

fuck me, that poor kid 

There are serious real world consequences for putting outsiders and disruptors in charge of organizations that require serious people who are willing to do the boring work.   The shaking up of HISD has had detrimental consequences for many families and put a significant burden on people while chasing some fantasy of test scores.   

 

 

 

[tx 3 putt 77956]

1 hour ago, Nivek said:

There are serious real world consequences for putting outsiders and disruptors in charge of organizations that require serious people who are willing to do the boring work.   The shaking up of HISD has had detrimental consequences for many families and put a significant burden on people while chasing some fantasy of test scores.   

 

 

 

How the fuck didn’t they know cpr ???

[Nivek 17055]

3 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

How the fuck didn’t they know cpr ???

[Nice Guy Eddie 13557]

I believe that HISD has had to resort to hiring some uncertified personnel to fill the gaps. 

[tchookem 3939]

I believe that HISD has had to resort to hiring some uncertified personnel to fill the gaps. 

They may have to share a nurse. I know some campuses do not have full-time nurses.

[Nivek 17055]

Apparently, there are two other ISDs in the region that lost some special needs kids by placing them on random busses.   Republicanism in action yet again. 

[Captainant 27990]

18 minutes ago, Nivek said:

Apparently, there are two other ISDs in the region that lost some special needs kids by placing them on random busses.   Republicanism in action yet again. 

Have they checked Martha's Vineyard?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13557]

Ryan Walters decided to go against an Oklahoma law by refusing release millions of dollars given to school districts to bolster school security. Then proceeded to hide it by changing the language of the law on the state website.

no surprise that cover ups never go well. Today the OK AG issued a demand telling Walters to release the money and that he hopes that no child was hurt due to his negligence.

[bluto 4947]

Walters also held a presser wherein he told the OK lege to bring it on with impeachment. Bold move cotten… that just might pay off given OK is somehow even more of a shit show than Tx in most govt ways. 

[Satchel 6949]

44 minutes ago, bluto said:

Walters also held a presser wherein he told the OK lege to bring it on with impeachment. Bold move cotten… that just might pay off given OK is somehow even more of a shit show than Tx in most govt ways. 

Unpossible.

[Nivek 17055]

2 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Ryan Walters decided to go against an Oklahoma law by refusing release millions of dollars given to school districts to bolster school security. Then proceeded to hide it by changing the language of the law on the state website.

no surprise that cover ups never go well. Today the OK AG issued a demand telling Walters to release the money and that he hopes that no child was hurt due to his negligence.

Yet more evidence they were never interested in promoting school safety or "hardening" schools.     

[HornOnTheBayou 8968]

19 minutes ago, Nivek said:

Yet more evidence they were never interested in promoting school safety or "hardening" schools.     

Well the root problem is mental health, so I'm sure we will be completely funding mental health programs any minute now.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13557]

In the category of too much detail, the OK legislature gave $50 million split over 3 years for school security. The law stated that a school district wasn’t required to take the money each year but rather roll their annual amounts over to year 2 or 3 especially in case of a security project that needed the full 3 years of funding. Walter’s decided that the rollover wasn’t clear in the law and removed the funding. What he was going to do with that windfall is unknown.

he did acknowledge their AG today and said he would give the money to the schools. What a great guy he is.

[TeeDubya 3362]

17 hours ago, bluto said:

Walters also held a presser wherein he told the OK lege to bring it on with impeachment. Bold move cotten… that just might pay off given OK is somehow even more of a shit show than Tx in most govt ways. 

The Speaker is an old-school GOP type.  He knows/hopes MAGA is a temporary shit stain on his party.

He does everything according to decorum, custom, and agonizingly slowly, using proper channels, dotting every i, crossing every t.

He isn’t going to do anything Walters wants in this matter.

Walters will sink, but he will be powerless in how it happens.  

Edited August 19 by TeeDubya

[HOOKEM4 5075]

KVUE is running a story about school finances. Pretty much every school district is being squeezed to death. This is what the Texas leadership wants. Destroy our society and transfer your tax dollars to private corporations. I can't wait until our emergency services are farmed out to private companies with zero accountability.  What a joke of a state we have allowed. But mahhhh freeedoms!! 

Edited August 21 by HOOKEM4
ousux

[Catdaddyhorn 3448]

Did HISD get rid of GT level classes at Frank Black middle school in Oak Forest?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13557]

Conroe ISD realized that they were banning books that were hurting their students chances in their future educational goals so they’re looking to reverse the course on at least some of the books.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/conroe/article/conroe-isd-policy-books-limited-19705448.php

 

[tx 3 putt 77956]

😂😂😂😂

 

Edited August 23 by tx 3 putt

[atomheartbevo 90114]

Stephen King had 23 of his books banned in Florida.

And of course they are going after 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

[atomheartbevo 90114]

They loved the idea of having chaplains in schools as counselors, until the Satanists decided they wanted to participate.

 

[SimonBolivar 10961]

On 8/21/2024 at 6:09 PM, HOOKEM4 said:

KVUE is running a story about school finances. Pretty much every school district is being squeezed to death. This is what the Texas leadership wants. Destroy our society and transfer your tax dollars to private corporations. I can't wait until our emergency services are farmed out to private companies with zero accountability.  What a joke of a state we have allowed. But mahhhh freeedoms!! 

My wife went from having an aide for half a day to her group of 4 teachers having zero aides total due to budget cuts this year. The principal is doing lunch monitoring this year for three hours a day.

 

It's working as intended though as my wife swears this is her last year and she's a bilingual teacher with her masters that will be replaced by 

 

[TexasEd 8150]

5 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

My wife went from having an aide for half a day to her group of 4 teachers having zero aides total due to budget cuts this year. The principal is doing lunch monitoring this year for three hours a day.

 

It's working as intended though as my wife swears this is her last year and she's a bilingual teacher with her masters that will be replaced by 

 

Boebert is going to be a popular teacher and will assuredly have an entry in the Teachers banging students thread,

[Pancho 45527]

Welp…at least that Asian “student” who took it to SCOTUS got paid by radical Republican billionaires. 

 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13557]

Now we learned why Ryan Walters, OK school commissioner, previously attempted to redirect money away from school safety projects. Now that the money has rightfully gone back to its legislative purpose of safety, Walters is forced to ask the state legislators for $3m to add to another $3m to buy new king James bibles for every OK classroom.

https://www.kgou.org/education/2024-09-26/oklahoma-superintendent-ryan-walters-wants-to-spend-6-million-on-classroom-bibles
 

we are not far from some southern states only teaching the Bible. Mike Johnson has said as much that you only need to read the Bible to know how the country should be run.

[SamsCorner 395]

28 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Now we learned why Ryan Walters, OK school commissioner, previously attempted to redirect money away from school safety projects. Now that the money has rightfully gone back to its legislative purpose of safety, Walters is forced to ask the state legislators for $3m to add to another $3m to buy new king James bibles for every OK classroom.

https://www.kgou.org/education/2024-09-26/oklahoma-superintendent-ryan-walters-wants-to-spend-6-million-on-classroom-bibles
 

we are not far from some southern states only teaching the Bible. Mike Johnson has said as much that you only need to read the Bible to know how the country should be run.

He's been told time and again that his office has no authority to tell schools districts what that have to teach, that's the local school boards job.  He'll get sued and the OK Supreme Court will rule against him.  

[WhatTheBuck 28842]

1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Now we learned why Ryan Walters, OK school commissioner, previously attempted to redirect money away from school safety projects. Now that the money has rightfully gone back to its legislative purpose of safety, Walters is forced to ask the state legislators for $3m to add to another $3m to buy new king James bibles for every OK classroom.

https://www.kgou.org/education/2024-09-26/oklahoma-superintendent-ryan-walters-wants-to-spend-6-million-on-classroom-bibles
 

we are not far from some southern states only teaching the Bible. Mike Johnson has said as much that you only need to read the Bible to know how the country should be run.

I wonder who in his family is in the business of selling bibles. 

[Bookman 4728]

2 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I wonder who in his family is in the business of selling bibles. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-god-bless-usa-bible-greenwood-2713fda3efdfa297d0f024efb1ca3003

[Nice Guy Eddie 13557]

Yes the Bible in every OK classroom must be a grift. There’s always some billionaire Christian who steps up to fund something like this. But that rich person would donate the Bibles not give the money. 

[pacman 7440]

You thought it was a joke..Walters putting in his bid for federal appointment under Trump

Edited October 4 by pacman

[UpperWestside 6224]

These people…Just the dumbest and most crooked idiots in our society. Walters is a guy that needs to be smacked in the face with a shovel.

[HenryJames 66301]

Why don’t they just take a Bible from 55,000 hotel rooms?

[C-Man 27387]

OK Superintendent Ryan Walters' requirements for bibles are hard to meet but guess what?

'Trump Bible' one of few that meet Walters' criteria for Oklahoma classrooms

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2024/10/04/donald-trump-supported-bible-one-of-few-that-meets-ryan-walters-criteria-for-ok-classrooms/75510021007/

Quote

Superintendent Ryan Walters isn’t just talking about buying Bibles for schools. 

Bids opened Monday for a contract to supply the state Department of Education with 55,000 Bibles. According to the bid documents, vendors must meet certain specifications: Bibles must be the King James Version; must contain the Old and New Testaments; must include copies of the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and must be bound in leather or leather-like material.

A salesperson at Mardel Christian & Education searched, and though they carry 2,900 Bibles, none fit the parameters. 

But one Bible fits perfectly: Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, endorsed by former President Donald Trump and commonly referred to as the Trump Bible. They cost $60 each online, with Trump receiving fees for his endorsement. 

Mardel doesn’t carry the God Bless the U.S.A. Bible or another Bible that could meet the specifications, the We The People Bible, which was also endorsed by Donald Trump Jr. It sells for $90. 

“The RFP on its face seems fair, but with additional scrutiny, we can see there are very few Bibles on the market that would meet these criteria, and all of them have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump,” Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Executive Director Colleen McCarty said.

Former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said the request for proposals might violate state law.

“It appears to me that this bid is anything but competitive,” Edmondson said. “It adds to the basic specification other requirements that have nothing to do with the text. The special binding and inclusion of government documents will exclude almost all bidders. If the bid specs exclude most bidders unnecessarily, I could consider that a violation.” 

Separation of church and state concerns aside, much less expensive Bibles are readily available. Paperback versions of the New King James Version are available online for $2.99 each, less than 5% of what the Trump-endorsed Bible would cost. There are many free Bible apps, too. 

Though Walters has frequently said he wants Bibles in every classroom, he has also clarified publicly that he wants them in classes where the Bible might apply to academic standards, such as history or literature. The request for 55,000 copies doesn’t fit either scenario; there are only 43,000 classroom teachers in the state, and many fewer teaching just history or literature.

If the Bibles cost $60 each, and the state buys 55,000, that’s $3.3 million.

Walters: No ‘extra things’

On Sept. 26, Walters asked for $3 million to purchase Bibles for Oklahoma classrooms as part of his agency’s fiscal year 2026 budget request to the Oklahoma Legislature. 

“We have talked about ensuring that our history courses include the role the Bible played throughout American history,” Walters said. “We’ve talked about the efforts of left-wing groups and the teachers’ unions to drive the Bible out of school. I believe it’s important for historical context for our kids to understand the role the Bible played.” 

He said the request was in conjunction with $3 million the agency was already putting forth to provide Bibles in the classroom. In a discussion with the board at the meeting, Walters said he wanted to issue an RFP and wanted the King James version of the Bible. 

“We don’t want extra things in there; historical documents are fine,” Walters said. “If it’s the King James version and the Constitution, the Magna Carta, things like that, that are also in statute that can be used in the classroom, that’s fine. But we don’t want commentary around the Bible because this is to serve as a historical reference document.”

Bidding opened to fast-track Oklahoma classroom Bibles

Walters said finding a Bible vendor should go through the competitive bidding process because that would be the cleanest, easiest way to choose.

The board did not discuss purchasing Bibles with the current budget year appropriation. However, the state issued the solicitation Monday, and it’s open for just two weeks. The Office of Management and Enterprise Services typically recommends at least four weeks. 

Dan Isett, Walters' spokesman, said their intention with the RFP is to get Bibles distributed to classrooms as quickly as possible. 

Isett said the $3 million is coming from payroll savings.

“OSDE has realized significant personnel and administrative cost savings that can be directed toward this program,” he said. 

At least 130 people have resigned or been fired since Walters took office in 2023, according to The Oklahoman. 

‘Trump has praised our efforts’ 

In June, Walters announced a mandate that a Bible should be in every Oklahoma classroom, though it’s unlikely he would have the authority to enforce that. The Oklahoma Supreme Court affirmed that school districts maintain local control over curricula. Some superintendents across the state have said they do not intend to add the Bible to their curriculum. 

“We will not be forcing our teachers to do this,” Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller said on News Nation on Aug. 12. “As a Christian myself, the idea of diminishing the word of God to a mere classroom prop is a little repulsive to me, so we will not be complying with that directive of having a physical Bible in every classroom.” 

Walters has been touting his Bible plan to local and national groups. In these interviews, he talks more about Christianity than history. 

In one interview this week, Walters claimed Democrats plan to teach kids to hate their country as well as Christianity and Judaism and said his Bible initiative is an antidote to that.  

“We are going to be so proud here in Oklahoma to be the first state in the country to bring the Bible back to every single classroom and every state should be doing this.… President Trump praised our efforts. President Trump has been the leader on this issue.”

Walters is a frequent guest on conservative podcasts, radio shows and TV stations. His agency has a $60,000 per year contract with D.C.-based Vought Strategies to book him for national interviews weekly.

Walters endorsed Trump, and many onlookers surmise he’s angling for a cabinet position if Trump wins in November. 

Trump licenses his name, image and likeness to be used in the Greenwood Bible’s marketing. The company’s website says it has no connection to the Trump campaign.

Financial disclosure forms filed by Trump at the Office of Governmental Ethics show he does benefit from Greenwood Bible sales through a Trump company, CIC Ventures LLC. His latest disclosure, obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, shows Trump received $300,000 in royalties from the God Bless the U.S.A. Bible. 

Oklahoma Democratic Party Chair Alicia Andrews said Walters is attempting to endear himself to Trump via the RFP for such a specific Bible. “For (Walters) to craft this RFP, to specifically identify this Bible, this document that the state taxpayers would spend money on, either is a dereliction of duty, a dereliction of stewardship or maybe it is a … signal to former President Trump: ‘Hey, hey, I’m on your team, sir,’” Andrews said.

Edited October 4 by C-Man

[tx 3 putt 77956]

14 hours ago, pacman said:

You thought it was a joke..Walters putting in his bid for federal appointment under Trump

 

the chiense factory can slap that together asap. has trump even shipped a bible yet ? does the fine print state the usual - this item may or may not ship 

they’ll cut trumps price by 30% 

[Longhorn_Fan68 33953]

4 hours ago, HenryJames said:

Why don’t they just take a Bible from 55,000 hotel rooms?

exactly. it'll give those fucking gideons something to do. has anyone actually met a gideon? are they real?

[Surly Bevo 25539]

1 minute ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

has anyone actually met a gideon? are they real?

PM Derka

[Longhorn_Fan68 33953]

i fucking fell right into that trap, didn't i? well done

[MadTrapper 153]

On a more local level, our very well regarded principal got the axe from Miles a couple days ago and is now hitting the news.

We are supposed recertify as an IB school but the NES curriculum doesn't really allow for that.  Our principal pushed back and well, now she's on "administrative leave"

https://abc13.com/post/houston-isd-has-few-answers-parents-questioning-harvard-elementary-school-principals-leave-ongoing-investigation/15409427/ 

[speed817 19610]

Wasn't sure where to put this so here seems like a good place.....

https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4949458-colleges-state-politics-texas-florida-california-new-york-alabama/

Spoiler

Colleges and universities find themselves increasingly trapped with the politics of the state where they reside.

As state legislatures pass sweeping measures on everything from abortion to LGBTQ rights, more than a quarter of students, representing both sides of the aisle, are writing off schools simply based on where they are.

And there’s not much the colleges can do.

“I think we are in a place and a time where colleges are increasingly being seen as political places, and so it makes every sense that students would be aware of this as they’re making decisions about where to enroll, and that they would factor that into whether or not this is an institution they want to apply to,” said Katharine Meyer, a fellow in the Brown Center on Education Policy at The Brookings Institution.  

A poll from the Art & Science Group released this month showed 28 percent of students ruled out a school due to the politics of the state the college is in. Among those who excluded certain schools, 75 percent of liberals avoided ones they saw as too far to the right on abortion rights or LGBTQ issues, while 66 percent of conservatives crossed off colleges in states they labeled as too Democratic, too liberal on LGBTQ issues or too lenient on crime.  

Texas was the most frequently excluded state, with 31 percent of those who eliminated schools based on state saying it was a dealbreaker for them. The other states that were ruled out by 15 percent or more were Alabama, California, Florida and New York.

“Schools can try to be very public about being welcoming of everybody with different opinions and stuff like that,” said Dick Startz, professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. But he added, “I’m not so sure, when you’re talking about high school students who are looking for where to go, whether it’s really very easy to get that message across in any way.”

“And of course, it’s also true that there are actually realistic restrictions in a bunch of states. So, you know, there are states that have made a decision that universities, public ones, can’t have DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] offices, or these restrictions on abortion, and there are various examples like that that the schools really don’t have any control over, and it may matter to people,” Startz added. 

DEI offices are banned at state universities in Florida and Texas, which also have two of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans.

California and New York, meanwhile, are among the bluest states in the nation, with legislators there approving a bevy of liberal priorities, including extensive protections for abortion rights and transgender Americans.

A poll from last year found similar results, with 1 in 4 college applicants eliminating schools based on the politics of their state.

“I mean, it’s a challenge because there are certain dimensions of this where the institution has no control, and they are going to be asked to implement or enforce state policy. And in my experience, the vast majority of institutions are going to do that. They’re going to comply with that, and are not necessarily going to, you know, attempt to directly kind of challenge or to circumvent state policy. And so that means that there — there are certain laws that are going to be passed that are going to have ramifications for college students as well,” said Kevin McClure, associate professor of higher education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.  

“I think, you know, some institutions are likely trying to emphasize that despite what may be happening in the state, there are different realities in their particular area, and that there is a greater diversity of students and viewpoints that you can find there that creates somewhat of an island, as it were, within the greater context, political context of the state,” McClure added. 

And the schools don’t have much recourse besides tailoring their pitch to convince potential students they are not defined by their state.  

“What we have to do is to double down on the role of higher education, how we are educating the next generation of leaders and what makes each institution unique, so that students can find the place that’s the right fit,” said Heidi Tseu, assistant vice president of national engagement for the American Council on Education.  

“I think what this survey is showing is that the political noise that is generated, it doesn’t suit anyone. If students are making these decisions based on their desire to avoid politicization, we need to get the message across that higher education institutions are about education and formation, and that’s the work that I think, you know, we’re looking at when it comes to conveying the value of higher education,” she added. 

The trend does not appear to have significantly impacted enrollment numbers, but such shifts could be on the horizon. 

“If you’re in a state like Texas, the decline in out-of-state migration might not be such a big deal, because you are projected to have a larger high school cohort graduating in the coming years, and you’re less worried about the enrollment club, as opposed to, if your state, like California, that already … loses sort of more students every year and is forecasted to have more of an enrollment clip from the coming years,” Meyer said.

And as the nation becomes increasingly siloed politically, students choosing their school based on its state’s politics could only exacerbate the situation.

“This seems to be symptomatic of how polarized the country has become on many things, and one can understand why people make these decisions, but it’s kind of a shame that we’ve got ourselves into this situation.” Startz said. 

 

[dcbc 14570]

5 minutes ago, speed817 said:

Wasn't sure where to put this so here seems like a good place.....

https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4949458-colleges-state-politics-texas-florida-california-new-york-alabama/

  Reveal hidden contents

Colleges and universities find themselves increasingly trapped with the politics of the state where they reside.

As state legislatures pass sweeping measures on everything from abortion to LGBTQ rights, more than a quarter of students, representing both sides of the aisle, are writing off schools simply based on where they are.

And there’s not much the colleges can do.

“I think we are in a place and a time where colleges are increasingly being seen as political places, and so it makes every sense that students would be aware of this as they’re making decisions about where to enroll, and that they would factor that into whether or not this is an institution they want to apply to,” said Katharine Meyer, a fellow in the Brown Center on Education Policy at The Brookings Institution.  

A poll from the Art & Science Group released this month showed 28 percent of students ruled out a school due to the politics of the state the college is in. Among those who excluded certain schools, 75 percent of liberals avoided ones they saw as too far to the right on abortion rights or LGBTQ issues, while 66 percent of conservatives crossed off colleges in states they labeled as too Democratic, too liberal on LGBTQ issues or too lenient on crime.  

Texas was the most frequently excluded state, with 31 percent of those who eliminated schools based on state saying it was a dealbreaker for them. The other states that were ruled out by 15 percent or more were Alabama, California, Florida and New York.

“Schools can try to be very public about being welcoming of everybody with different opinions and stuff like that,” said Dick Startz, professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. But he added, “I’m not so sure, when you’re talking about high school students who are looking for where to go, whether it’s really very easy to get that message across in any way.”

“And of course, it’s also true that there are actually realistic restrictions in a bunch of states. So, you know, there are states that have made a decision that universities, public ones, can’t have DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] offices, or these restrictions on abortion, and there are various examples like that that the schools really don’t have any control over, and it may matter to people,” Startz added. 

DEI offices are banned at state universities in Florida and Texas, which also have two of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans.

California and New York, meanwhile, are among the bluest states in the nation, with legislators there approving a bevy of liberal priorities, including extensive protections for abortion rights and transgender Americans.

A poll from last year found similar results, with 1 in 4 college applicants eliminating schools based on the politics of their state.

“I mean, it’s a challenge because there are certain dimensions of this where the institution has no control, and they are going to be asked to implement or enforce state policy. And in my experience, the vast majority of institutions are going to do that. They’re going to comply with that, and are not necessarily going to, you know, attempt to directly kind of challenge or to circumvent state policy. And so that means that there — there are certain laws that are going to be passed that are going to have ramifications for college students as well,” said Kevin McClure, associate professor of higher education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.  

“I think, you know, some institutions are likely trying to emphasize that despite what may be happening in the state, there are different realities in their particular area, and that there is a greater diversity of students and viewpoints that you can find there that creates somewhat of an island, as it were, within the greater context, political context of the state,” McClure added. 

And the schools don’t have much recourse besides tailoring their pitch to convince potential students they are not defined by their state.  

“What we have to do is to double down on the role of higher education, how we are educating the next generation of leaders and what makes each institution unique, so that students can find the place that’s the right fit,” said Heidi Tseu, assistant vice president of national engagement for the American Council on Education.  

“I think what this survey is showing is that the political noise that is generated, it doesn’t suit anyone. If students are making these decisions based on their desire to avoid politicization, we need to get the message across that higher education institutions are about education and formation, and that’s the work that I think, you know, we’re looking at when it comes to conveying the value of higher education,” she added. 

The trend does not appear to have significantly impacted enrollment numbers, but such shifts could be on the horizon. 

“If you’re in a state like Texas, the decline in out-of-state migration might not be such a big deal, because you are projected to have a larger high school cohort graduating in the coming years, and you’re less worried about the enrollment club, as opposed to, if your state, like California, that already … loses sort of more students every year and is forecasted to have more of an enrollment clip from the coming years,” Meyer said.

And as the nation becomes increasingly siloed politically, students choosing their school based on its state’s politics could only exacerbate the situation.

“This seems to be symptomatic of how polarized the country has become on many things, and one can understand why people make these decisions, but it’s kind of a shame that we’ve got ourselves into this situation.” Startz said. 

 

I've got a friend in Chicago with two kids (boy and girl), and both of them loved UT didn't apply because of "politics."

/choice is the 99% reason for his kids and others

//meanwhile my older son who probably is, somehow, more liberal than Dad, is enjoying Austin like we all used to and isn't worrying about politics in the least. 

///shrugs

Edited October 25 by dcbc

[Longhorn_Fan68 33953]

I think that's a solution in search of a problem. I think people have always chosen schools based on one criteria or another. Maybe 18yo's are more plugged into politics than I was at that age, but I couldn't have given one fuck about politics when I started at UT. That changed further in, but I suspect politically involved kids have similar parents. My parents didn't vote for the time until a few years ago. 

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2687]

I think females of reproductive age don't have the luxury of ignoring the bullshit 

[Pancho 45527]

Just got a note:

A&M BoR gave the A&M president a directive to eliminate 52 minors and certificates due to “low enrollment.” One of the 52 is LGBTQ Studies

For those not in higher ed, I can tell you this is not the process for removing curriculum and programs. Aa BoR NEVER gets involved like this. 

[Chad Fuck 17872]

14 minutes ago, Pancho said:

Just got a note:

A&M BoR gave the A&M president a directive to eliminate 52 minors and certificates due to “low enrollment.” One of the 52 is LGBTQ Studies

For those not in higher ed, I can tell you this is not the process for removing curriculum and programs. Aa BoR NEVER gets involved like this. 

How does it usually work?  How is it supposed to work?

[tx 3 putt 77956]

25 minutes ago, Pancho said:

Just got a note:

A&M BoR gave the A&M president a directive to eliminate 52 minors and certificates due to “low enrollment.” One of the 52 is LGBTQ Studies

For those not in higher ed, I can tell you this is not the process for removing curriculum and programs. Aa BoR NEVER gets involved like this. 

 

Those include minors in global health, Asian studies, global culture and society, petroleum engineering, geophysics and LGBTQ Studies. The certificates include ones in transportation planning and diversity for the architecture school; business economics; Latino mental health; subsea engineering; investment banking; and performing social activism in the College of Performing Visual and Fine Arts.
 

[Pancho 45527]

28 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

How does it usually work?  How is it supposed to work?

Removing programs/degrees/certificates is more locally done within that department by faculty long with their dean. You get as much data and information as you can and make a determination. If it’s deemed the program/degree/certificates should be deleted or eliminated, then that’s a process that takes a few years because you have to ensure it won’t impact students who are already in the middle of completing that program/degree/certificate.

BoRs and Presidents/Chancellors do not get involved in curriculum. That is overreach. 

 

[Pancho 45527]

Really wish Lobo was still around as I’m looking for someone at UT to confirm this horseshit
 

 

[Iceman 2810]

Exposure to lunacy is part of education.

Leave it in there.

[Bozo_Casanova 26688]

On 10/4/2024 at 4:52 PM, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

exactly. it'll give those fucking gideons something to do. has anyone actually met a gideon? are they real?

Actually yes. My daughter has met a Gideon.
 

2 years ago my daughter (no pics, you perverts) spent the summer driving the beer cart at the golf course near by. Made a killing in tips - $300+/day, but it was extremely hot and you have to hustle.
One foursome on the course kept her busy for a couple of hours but didn’t drink alcohol - water, soft drinks, snacks, ice, etc. she probably served these guys 5-6 times during the round and they didn’t tip her once. Not cool but thems the breaks- or so she thought.

She was refilling the cooler with ice next to the parking lot and one of these guys is on his way out to the car. He says, “hey wait, I’ve got something for you,” jogs over to his car, grabs something out and brings her … the Gideons New Testament and shares with her The Good News. 
 

So she’s got that going for her, which is nice. 

Edited November 19 by Bozo_Casanova