The Great Beyond

We in Texas, who just passed a state bond package to encourage and pay for research on cancer, can hope this creationism eruption will not seriously damage chances to recruit top researchers and graduate students.

But that's a hope borne of faith, and not of evidence. What Nobel winner would want to do research in a state where state agencies don't support the basics of the science?

Texas researchers have been able to stay mostly out of and mostly above the fray, and that has left Texas politics dominated by yahoos who extract from even municipal officials promises to support anti-science policies in school rooms.

It's time for scientists of all stripes to weigh in. Physicists and chemists have lent great aid in the past. Find the Texas affiliate of your professional organization and lend a hand, please.

I have just one more kid to graduate, and he will do that next year. But we're all in danger when the New Dark Ages roll. Think of the children: Speak up.

Comer sent out an email that was political in nature, apparently from her TEA email account. She made the political move, and got fired for it. Really, "Trojan Horse?" That's worse than "not neutral."

If it's really "political" to urge people to listen to a well-known and well-respected professor explain what the U.S. courts say the law of the land is, and why, and how that improves the quality of science, just say so.

Are you saying, Ms. Nuckols, that Republicans oppose science, oppose the U.S. courts, oppose the First Amendment, and generally think education is unnecessary?

Good to have that on the table, if that's what you're saying.

All of those positions are counter to the laws of Texas which express policy on the matter. It should never be against the law for a government employee to support the law.

"Political" indeed.

I am outraged by the firing of Chris Comer from the Texas Education Agency. Frankly, maybe we should rename the agency the Texas "Mis-Education" Agency. At the very least, the wrong person was fired. The idea that a respected career science educator would be castigated and forced to resign over a "sharing-of-information" issue reflects the climate created in Washington that has floated down to Texas, that being the blatant disregard for our nation's constitution. (Actually, it was created in Texas, transported and reconstructed for the national level, and then it floated back to Texas.)

If parochial schools, privately supported, in Texas want to teach intelligent design, that's fine and dandy, but it's not fine and dandy for public schools supported by my tax dollars. I, for one, am calling for the resignation of Lizzette Reynolds and any other pseudo educators who were responsible for ousting Ms. Comer. Furthermore, where is the promised leadership of the newly appointed commissioner of education Robert Scott? Was he too insecure in his job to rule against the firing?

How in the world can Texas, with its fabulous world-class medical research centers scattered throughout the state, staff a state agency as important as the education agency with such incompetent, backward thinking, and biased individuals? No wonder the Texas school system is in the dumper.

Applied Educational Research Journal (AERJ)
22 (3) 2009

National Viewpoint: The Importance of Hiring a Diverse Faculty

Crystal J. Collins
PhD Student in Educational Leadership
Prairie View A&M University
Counselor
Fort Bend Independent School District
Sugarland, Texas

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Professor and Faculty Mentor
PhD Program in Educational Leadership
Prairie View A&M University
Member of the Texas A&M University System
Visiting Lecturer (2005)
Oxford Round Table
University of Oxford, Oxford, England
Distinguished Alumnus (2004)
Central Washington University
College of Education and Professional Studies

ABSTRACT

In the current educational climate, our schools are increasing in diversity amongst students; however the teachers are remaining the same. Many students are faced with the realization that their teachers “do not look like them” and therefore have a desire for their teachers to be as diverse as the student body. For many years the hiring of teachers with diverse backgrounds has been a concern. This article will examine the benefits of having a diverse faculty in an educational setting. Students receive the greatest benefit when their teachers come from diverse backgrounds.

[edited for length]

Human Resource Management in Small Rural Districts: The Administrator’s Role in Recruitment, Hiring, and Staff Development

Rhodena Townsell
Ph.D. Student in Educational Leadership
The Whitlowe R. Green College of Education
Prairie View A & M University
Prairie View, Texas
Principal
Madisonville Consolidated Independent School District
Madisonville, Texas

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Professor and Faculty Mentor
PhD Program in Educational Leadership
The Whitlowe R. College of Education
Prairie View A&M University
Member of the Texas A&M University System
Visiting Lecturer (2005)
Oxford Round Table
University of Oxford, Oxford, England
Distinguished Alumnus (2004)
Central Washington University
College of Education and Professional Studies

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is to review the rural area administrator’s role in the areas of teacher recruitment, hiring and staff development. State and Regional Policies reveal that these areas are chief among the concerns of rural school leaders (Johnson, 2005). The rural school administrator’s role often requires him/her to become involved in every aspect of a school’s functions. It is crucial for the rural administrator to understand the culture of the surrounding community in order to become successful in these endeavors (Helge, 1985). Seeking teachers most likely to be sold on the benefits of teaching in a rural school is recommended. Such individuals usually have rural backgrounds, personal characteristics or educational experiences that predispose them for life in a rural area (Collins, 1999).
________________________________________________________________________

Purpose of the Article

The purpose of this article is to review the rural area administrator’s role in the areas of teacher recruitment, hiring and staff development. State and Regional Policies reveal that these areas are chief among the concerns of rural school leaders (Johnson, 2005). The rural school administrator’s role often requires him/her to become involved in every aspect of a school’s functions. It is crucial for the rural administrator to understand the culture and expectations of the surrounding community in order to become successful in these endeavors (Helge, 1985).

Largest Number of Students Attending Schools in Rural Areas is in Texas

[edited for length]