An Education?

Wow this was very short and to the point. As a strong Christian I certainly believe Christian religion should be instilled ,embedded ,and incorporated in schools, be them public or private. Our country is based on religion so why not our schools? Needless to say I was elated when prayer was put back in schools. Eileen, author of “ In The Pink Texas” writes a blog entitled An Education that would shake Austin parents everywhere. The blog lays out proposed plans of curriculum in Austin school districts, mostly aimed at the subject of history and religion. A very interesting blog indeed. However, the author fails to provide any substantial information about who is proposing these change in curriculum or how they plan to do it. Something simple like a name or title for this plan would help the reader better understand the writers’ point of view on this subject matter. Until the very last paragraph where the author writes “Is there anyone who can verify some of the charges Saenz is making” I had no idea who was behind this horrible plan of “bigotry”. And even after reading this I still have little knowledge of who Saenz is, why he feels these changes are necessary, and the changes he plans to make. Like I said in the beginning the blog was very interesting and very appealing with all those quotes from angry parents but most of its content was based on feelings and opinions of others, not factual information .Towards the middle of the story the author quotes statements from historians like Thomas Jefferson and dose not expound on the reasoning behind the quote. The quotes she makes have no factual information and do not lead the reader to any factual information. These quotes are kind of like sitting ducks waiting to be criticized. Overall the blog was interesting and stirring with some of the things that were said but honestly it was hard to follow and hardly any factual information at all.

Terror Hits Home

As the news of the Austin plane crash spread "austinights" everywhere took grasps of air and wondered if this was an terrorists act. The editors of the Austin American Statesman write an intriguing and informational article for the public expressing the details of that unfortunate Thursday morning.
The editors start first by identifying with the reader emotionally. The first sentence ( As soon as word spread that an aircraft had crashed into a Northwest Austin office building,the first question to cross both mind and lip was :"Is this the work of terrorists?")connects the reader to the thoughts and feelings/expressions they first had when they heard of the plane`s crashing. This is a great way to intrigue the reader. By using familiar senses of emotion the reader and author are on the same page and the reader is more likely to understand the authors point of view and topic of choice.
Second, the editors take the incident to a national authoritative (president) level. The second paragraph enlightens the reader on our wonderful President`s insight and also expresses a local authoritative attitude. The sentence (President Barack Obama and Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo thought it important to reassure local and national aduiances that the act was not an act of terror) painted+ a picture or scaled a spectrum of just how huge of a spectacle this event was to the American public.
Next the editors take on a journalistic role and go deep inside the story to answer most Americans second question : Why? Towards the end of the article the editors spue out facts about the person who intentionally caused the crash and why he caused it. This gives the reader a better understanding of what actually happened in their moment of shock.
Finally the editors make predictions about the sense of security American people will have now that this has happened. The last paragraph almost tells the reader what precautions to take while in this soon to come state of paranoia.
Overall the article was spectacular. It provided Factual information and emotional coverage. Two thumbs up!