Week 3 Assignment number 3: Texas school district turns away students from Mexico

The article "Texas school district turns away students from Mexico" reported by CNN highlights an issue that is prevalent in many border towns of the southwest United States. In the article mentioned, a district is forced to turn away students whom are attending the school because they don't live in the U.S. The article even makes a point to say that the school district went and checked the home addresses of many of the students only to find out that the address was a vacant lock. The issue addressed in the article is rooted in the issue of border patrol. However, I believe the place of a school is just to insure that children are being educated the best they can. While some of the students are not from the United States, the issue of border control is not an issue that the school district should concern itself with addressing, as opposed to worrying whether or not their students are learning everything they possibly can.

Week 3 Assignment number 2: Surge in Homeless Pupils Strains Schools

Upon Reading the article "Surge in Homeless Pupils Strains Schools" by Eric Eckholm I found myself in a state of wondering how outside factors affected the educational goals and endeavors of a child. In the article, examples of children faced with the strain of having to go to school and return to no home of their own has been addressed by local school administrations. The article is upsetting, but not only from an educational stand point, but also from the standpoint of not being able to understand the situation of the various families who are not able to find homes to place their children in. From an educational point of view, I now wonder how the children that belong to homeless families are doing in school; how does their living situation affect their ability to make the grades necessary to pass them on to the next grade and continue their education? As it is made note of in the article, the stress of not living in a home does affect the children, but it has to be in more ways than just affecting how they eat and sleep, which are two factors that have been documented in affecting the everyday learning of a child. I agree with the article to a certain extent. Pupils being homeless does put a strain on the schools, but I believe the true strain is put on the students more than anyone else.