Blocking wireless calls in Texas prisons...

Texas officials are planning to test cell phone jamming technology after a prison system lockdown that ended November 12. During this lockdown, officials found a total of 143 smuggled devices all together in Texas prisons. The devices included cell phones, chargers, and SIM cards. Of those 143 devices, 16 of them belonged to inmates on death row. Since the lockdown ended, 5 more cell phones have been found on death row. Due to all of these findings, the test to block all wireless cell phone calls has been proposed for next month on December 18 at the Travis County state jail here in Austin.

Some people think it is not such a great idea. Their argument is that the call blocking would run a risk for affecting some people using cell phones nearby. I on the other hand think the wireless call blocking is a pretty good idea. The people who are there in prison are there for a reason and clearly do not deserve any of privileges or luxuries that they got to enjoy before in their life outside of prison. I am glad that officials are acknowledging that they are of course not going to be able to monitor every single thing that goes in and out of the prison. It is good they are now taking a step to be in control of some of those things that are making it inside. I am looking forward to seeing what the outcome of the test is going to be.

Proposition 1

In Natasha’s blog she is urging people to vote “yes” for proposition 1. The proposition is for a tax increase in order to give our AISD teachers a raise.  The proposition would give our teachers a 3% raise, which according to Natasha, it’s a raise which they truly do deserve.

She gives three good solid reasons on why we should vote for Proposition 1. The first reason she provides is that we depend on these teachers to give our children a good education and that the least we can do is give them a raise. I think she is right about this, because if we think about it, what better to spend our money on than paying for our children to have the good education they deserve.

 Natasha then argues that if we don’t give our teachers the raise they deserve, then they will more than likely begin to search for jobs with better pay. She says they deserve their raise just as much as anyone else. This is very true. Most people get their raises automatically at their job after a certain amount of time working there, so it just doesn’t seem fair to require a vote for them to get their raise.

 Her last reason is that teachers do a lot to help our children to make sure they are well educated and that it is now our turn to return the favor. I think she is right about this as well. I think many people believe that teaching is not a difficult job and that they have it easy because they only have to work Monday through Friday, they get winter breaks, spring break, and summers off. But the reality is, yeah  teachers are only in the classroom Monday through Friday, but they take a lot of time outside of the class grading papers, making assignment plans to help the students better understand the material. They also spend lots of time before and after class to spend one on one time with those students who are having trouble and need extra assistance.

Overall I think Natasha’s arguments were excellent. I agree with all of her reasoning on why people should have voted yes for the proposition. She had a solid argument and did very well in her blog.