TejanoJuanSays

This past weekend we witnessed the dysfunction of Washington, of the Republican controlled congress, of the President and of the Democratic Party. Our leaders in Washington were trying to make a deal. A deal with the author of the Art of the Deal. Meetings and meetings and no deal. Commercials and tweets blaming each other. Tweets applauding the other party, then tweets saying that they caved. That’s like a bully hitting you in the stomach then asking if you are ok. Then hitting you again. Is the blame game for them or for their political base? Who looks better in this shutdown? Part of the deal is what to do with DACA recipients. They should have nothing to do with the government shutdown. The border wall should have nothing to do with this shutdown. For whatever reason, both issues are part of the “Deal.” So, if no deal is reached by February 8 th , who will be at fault? The problem that I have is that if no deal is reached then nothing good comes of this for Dreamers or...

It is rigged!!! The election is rigged! This is the new argument that Donald Trump is presenting to his supporters. Elections are shaped by political ads and media every year. This is how politics work and have worked in the United States and other countries. This Presidential Election is not different yet it is different. Political ads are all over the media and the News media is placing the usual biases in their reporting depend on the Network. Social media is different; the internet is different. How messages are delivered to supporters is different. The main difference that I have noticed, how supporters are taking in the news, media and the messages sent by their candidates. The system is rigged or biased, like usual. The key is how each candidate is using the system to get out their message. Check the sources of your messages this election year and go vote.

ci·vil·i·ty səˈvilədē/ noun noun: civility formal politeness and courtesy in behavior or speech. When did we lose civility?  This Presidential Election has brought out the ugliness of us as human beings. In politics and other endeavors, we use to be civil to each other. We would agree to disagree, but the argument was always civil. That is how our leaders handled things and we followed that example.  Now things are different. We still follow the examples set from our leaders. The examples have changed. They are influenced by the number of clicks on a news story. That is what gets reported. Someone that is civil is not the top news story, like it was in the past.  I think we need to demand more from media. Do not forget, we are the consumers. If we don't click on a story, they might have to try something else. Maybe getting back to civility...

Today I was helping a colleague understand the results of the last class she gave her class of upper division college students. She kept telling me that she was not teaching well, she felt she did not do enough to prepare the class for the exam. We looked at the results of the exam and compared them to the scores on the first exam of the semester. The scores are supposed to drop off from the first exam, because of the difficulty of the course. It is a research methods course that students need to complete to graduate with their Bachelor’s degree. Through the magic of blackboard, we did item analysis, statistics that give the percentage of correct answers and the percentage of each of the wrong answers. This was a multiple choice exam. The statistics essentially say that the student did not student enough. Some would get the correct answer, but many would choose all of the other wrong answers. Some of the questions were designed to be easy, but still they would get the wrong answer...

We all have the right to a safe and humane work environment. Especially in the professional world. Is the NFL different? Are the players in the NFL professionals? These are some issues that are not being talked about at this time. Is the NFL Culture so different from other professional cultures? http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9913324/sources-nflpa-eyes-miami-dolphins-richie-incognito-jonathan-martin-case This incident between Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin is the discussion and debate in the world of sports at this moment. On one side, Incognito has been riding Martin about his toughness all season. This includes phone calls and text messages that are very personal, racist, and threatening. On one side, Jonathan Martin left the team for his own personal reasons because of Martin's actions. Martin talked to his coach and has not returned to the team. Is Richie Incognito a bully or a team leader? Is Jonathan Martin soft and going against team rules or the NFL culture...