The editorial discusses about voting for the better representation on
the State Board of Education in this upcoming election. The author explains
that there are two equally qualified candidates, Rebecca Osborne (a teacher at
McNeil High School) and Tom Maynard (director of the Texas Future Farmers of
America). The author makes the claim that it would be a smarter choice to go
with Tom Maynard because he has the leadership and communication skills to
“help get the fractious board back on the right track.” The board is in such a
fragile shape, it is going to need firmer leadership than ever, which he believes
that Maynard’s wide variety of experiences will help take the board in the
direction needed. The author also advocates Maynard’s conservative approach,
meaning that he pledged to adhere to local control.
Another secondary argument that he
makes is that even though people aren’t as familiar with state boards, they
should pay attention because the state board does plenty that affects local
school districts and individual schools. They review textbooks and
instructional materials, sets curriculum standards for schools, and deals with
Permanent School Funds. Even though we don’t hear about State Board of
Education very often, it still plays a vital role behind the scenes. The author
ends the article by saying “ Doing nothing emboldens the hardliners. Please
vote. Do that next week, starting Monday.”
The author’s intended audience is
people who are eligible to vote and those who are involved in education in
anyway. It could be those who are passionately on the lookout for Texas’
education, or mothers, teachers, professors and etc. As for the credibility of
the author, I’m a little hesitant because there is no name of the author – it just
says “Editorial Board.” I understand why they want to keep it semi-anonymous,
but not knowing who the writer is and what kind of position they are in,
decreases the credibility a little. I agree with the author, that Maynard may
be the candidate because I believe in their local control approach. Something
that could be appropriate to b taught at AISD could be in appropriate for
another district, with a different background and needs.
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