http://www.newsweek.com/id/216862
There is a woman working in my school's front office whose sole charge is to root out and kick out those students who do not live in our district. It seems cruel, and I know she hates telling kids they can no longer be with their friends and teachers because Mommy and Daddy lied, but it has to be done. Our school is fed partly by property taxes of homes in our allotted school zoning area; if you live outside that zone, you can't possibly be contributing your fair share to your child's education. The less money we have as an educational institution, the fewer quality teachers we can hire, the less resources we have, and the quality of education we provide drops like the edge of the Marianas Trench. This is not only my district, every district in the State of Texas faces concerns of student residency qualifications. Why does one district make NEWSWEEK? Simply put, because they are trying to make a sob story out of it. Between the sappy picture, the Supreme court case, and the ALCU wannna-be lawyer, they are trying to make this a civil rights nightmare. Here's the thing, though. Civil Rights are for AMERICANS. The Bill of Rights is for AMERICANS. What part of Mexican Citizen is going misunderstood? The Supreme Court did in fact rule that illegal children have the right to attend school, but the implication is that they have to actually have a permanent home in the U.S.. They can be educated if they actually reside day to day in a certain school district, however Mexico, last time I checked, is not in any Texas school district. As for the argument that the border is being targeted, of course it is! Illegal Immigration is a huge, expensive, important issue that needs to be handled promptly and efficiently. If you go to the doctor with a systemic illness, the doctor first attempts to find the source of the problem. If there is a gaping wound in border patrol, such as this bridge the kids are walking over, let's treat the wound and close off the bridge. It's the first step to remedying this systemic illness of having of far too many illegal and potentially dangerous aliens. Furthermore, I have experienced in one way or another, 4 Texas school districts, all at least 500 miles from Del Rio and the Mexican border, and every one of those districts has an active policy to weed out non district resident students.Del Rio is no different than anywhere else in the state ,and shame on NEWSWEEK for biased reporting. I understand the importance of educating students; I do it presumably well on a daily basis. I have been through the system recently myself and know exactly what my kids are up against academically now and in their future. We as teachers, parents, and the community need all the resources we can muster to prepare our kids for what they are up against. Call me selfish or elitist or mean, but American kids need access to those things first. We need to take care of our own to ensure our continued existence as a nation. If we educate the rest of the world, and not our own children, then we are using our own resources to plot our own demise. We as a country are nothing without the educated few who step up to be our leaders, our teachers, and our voters. If I want to sob about something, it won't be this NEWSWEEK article, it will be the sad state of education and popular belief this country and it's pundits have fallen to. NEWSWEEK, take your tissues somewhere else.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/216862
