How Can Governor Perry's Hold on Texas Not be Affected by Poor Performance as Presidential Candidate?

 
  I tend to disagree with the article R.G. Ratcliffe wrote regarding Governor Perry and his hold on the Office of Governor in Texas if he fails to win his White House bid. I am not at all saying that he will not be re-elected as Governor but I do think it might be a much closer race and be a stepping stone in the right direction for a future gubernatorial candidate.

  It would seem as though Gov. Perry does have several commissions and Departments which are loyal to him and as we have learned in class this semester, the Governor is a desirable position to own but not necessarily a powerful one, and with all that being the case I can see how he (Perry) may come home relatively unscathed on the surface. However, I still contend that people feel the need to react when they see a leader fall on his sword. I am saying this as a dedicated Republican and avid Perry Party Supporter, but when leadership fails it must be replaced and if nothing else Perry's poor performance so far in the Presidential race will give democrats a feeling of power not recently felt in regards to winning the gubernatorial race.

  I believe these statements will have a true impact on how Rick Perry is perceived when he returns to Govern the state.  "He was in control of Texas government like no governor before," said Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson. "Then he goes out there and barely gets across the Red River before he tips over and embarrasses himself time and again, taking the edge off the respect tending toward fear of him in Texas politics. A good deal of that may be gone if he does come back."

  Again, I am in no way saying that he will lose financial backing or even a great deal of party support but there will be a significant doubt in voters’ minds come election time. And this could all change if Perry were to go ahead and win the Republican Primary but as it stands right now; I am saying that the Texas Gubernatorial race is a lot closer than it has been in a number of years.

A STAAR is born

  In this my most recent post I am going to attempt to capture a couple of the factual and mildly disturbing truths in my colleagues post about Texas implementing the new STAAR Test to replace the TAKS.  Mr. Bailey brings some interesting fodder to the fight.  His facts seem to be in order and me being the parent of a rather intelligent six year old, I could not agree more with him. 
  Some parents will  be over the moon with the replacement of TAKS, but that is only because they have not spent enough time teaching their kids what they need to know to advance to the next grade.  STAAR is only going to allow kids who are borderline on advancing to the next grade be advanced when they should actually held back or have to attend summer school.  Anytime a student is given a test and told it is pass/fail, if they know the material it will give them a sense of comfort knowing they can get so many answers right or wrong and still be OK. 
  I don't like to brag about my little man being a uber smart fellow but in this case he will not be rewarded in any way by doing better on his STAAR exam than the kids who struggle with it but pass it just the same.  How are we going to keep track of the kids who are excelling if the teacher is lumping their entire class together with a average pass/fail grading criteria? 
  Sebastian was just tested and evaluated for the Gifted and Talented Program and he was placed in the top 3% of all first graders in the nation which means he will be advanced to third grade assignments in certain subjects.  What does that mean?  To me it means he has an aptitude for learning but it also means he will still be a simple statistic on his teachers feedback form when her results come back for her class. 
  I am not one for holding a kid back or punishing a child that is meeting the minimum criteria for passing onto the next grade but where is the incentive for learning if a child knows he/she is just required to pass or fail?  Its kind of like saying whether or not you make $50,000 a year or $100,000 a year you still have to pay the same amount in taxes because you fall in the same tax bracket! Who knew we were increasing the gap with other countries on education of our youngsters? Oh, that's right, Its been like this for a while now!