Elgin Courier (Elgin, Tex.), Vol. 125, No. 52, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 9, 2015 Page: 4 of 22
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PAGE 4A
ELGIN COURIER - ELGIN, TEXAS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015
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Paxton amends approach to refugee resettlement
’ommon core difficulties with math
'I
Answers
to prayer
Consider
This...
Capital
Highlights
The
Watson
Wire
Texas Sen.
Kirk
Watson
Neil
STONE
—
The Elgin Courier is published weekly by Blacklands Publications,
Inc. at 105 North Main, Elgin, Bastrop County, Texas 78621. Established
in 1890. Periodical postage paid at Elgin, Texas, 78621. SUBSCRIP-
TION RATES: $41.00 per year in Bastrop County; $44.00 per year out-
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Send address changes to ELGIN COURIER, P.O. BOX 631, ELGIN,
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Send e-mails to elgincourier@elgincourier.com or publisher@elgin-
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The Elgin Courier Letters to the Editor column is an open forum offering op-
portunities to the public to comment on issues of interest or concern to the com-
munity. They should refrain from making personal attacks on the individuals, and
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name of letter writers and anonymous letters will be discarded.
When we learn a lan-
guage, we must first
memorize its alphabet
(symbols), then its huge
vocabulary, followed by
the grammar, punctua-
tion, idioms, etc., until we
can effectively use that
language. The easiest lan-
guage to learn, that with
only 10 symbols for basic
communication in that
language, is Mathemat-
ics.
Why then do so many
people (and students)
find math to be such a
difficult subject?
The answer to that is
that it is taught in a way
that makes it confusing
and limits the imagina-
tion.
Start with the ques-
tion, “what is a num-
ber?” When one goes to
the dictionary, you find
all kinds of complex ex-
planations that don’t
quite tell all. However, if
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Abbott takes group
to Cuba
Gov. Greg Abbott
and first lady Cecilia
Abbott are back in
DAN KLEINER - PUBLISHER
PATTY FINNEY - MANAGING EDITOR
MATT MCELHINNEY - SPORTS EDITOR
MARIE OTT - AD DIRECTOR
HEATHER ROMINE - BOOKKEEPER/CLASSIFIEDS
IF THIS KEEPS
UP, YoULLBE
OUT OF A 0OB.
STATE OF
TEXAS
GOVERNOR
Greg Abbott
800-843-5789
LT. GOVERNOR
Dan Patrick
512-463-0001
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Ken Paxton
512-463-2100
U.S. SENATORS
John Cornyn
713-572-3337
Ted Cruz
713-718-3059
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Michael McCaul
202-225-2401
STATE SENATOR
Kirk Watson
512-463-0114
STATE
REPRESENTATIVE
John Cyrier
512-463-0682
BASTROP
COUNTY
COUNTY JUDGE
Paul Pape
512-332-7201
SHERIFF
Terry Pickering
512-549-5100
COUNTY COURT
Judge Benton Eskew
512-581-4277
JUSTICES OF THE
PEACE
Donna Van Gilder (Pct.1)
512-581-4258
Raymah Davis (Pct.2)
512-581-7112
Katherine Hanna (Pct.3)
512-332-7288
Larry Dunne (Pct.4)
512-581-7162
COMMISSIONERS
William Pina (Pct.1)
512-581-4001
Clara Beckett (Pct.2)
512-360-2764
John Klaus (Pct.3)
512-303-6800
Bubba Snowden (Pct.4)
512-332-7267
CITY OF
ELGIN
MAYOR
Marc Holm
512-788-6110
CITY MANAGER
Kerry Lacy
512-281-5724
POLICE CHIEF
Chris Bratton
512-285-5757
FIRE CHIEF
Randy Reyna
512-281-4025
CITY COUNCIL
Chris Cannon (Mayor
Pro-Tem, Ward 3)
512-217-1283
Mary Penson (Ward 1)
512-281-4158
Jessica Bega (Ward 1)
512-653-1900
Edward Maldonado
(Ward 2)
512-297-4258
Juan Gonzalez (Ward 2)
512-285-6499
Craig Fromme (Ward 3)
512-567-5702
Keith Joesel (Ward 4)
512-281-3182
Sue Brashar (Ward 4)
512-689-5692
ELGIN SCHOOL
DISTRICT
SUPERINTENDENT
Dr. Jodi Duron
512-281-3434
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is no dirt in a hole.®
Since we all use math
in our everyday lives,
doesn’t it make sense
that we become profi-
cient in at least the ba-
sics of it? Is it any
wonder why students are
“turned off” and find the
subject of math so diffi-
cult? I learned math in
the public school system
as it was taught “the old
way” and had no prob-
lem with it. Today, par-
ents are having a hard
time helping their chil-
dren with their math
homework because it
doesn’t make sense to
them.
Math is just a simple
language that is more
easily learned than any
other language, if pre-
sented correctly.
Neil Stone is a columnist
for the Elgin Courier. Con-
tact him at neil@elgin-
courier.com.
Texas after leading a
group of two dozen
members of the gover-
nor’s staff and eco-
nomic development
team and representa-
tives of economic in-
terests “with a stake in
increased trade with
and travel” to Cuba.
The group included of-
ficials from the ports
of Houston, Beaumont
and Corpus Christi,
plus Houston’s air-
ports.
News of the Nov. 30-
Dec. 3 trip was posted
by the governor’s of-
fice in a series of press
pool reports by the
Austin American-States-
man.
In one of those re-
ports, Cuba’s minister
of foreign trade and
investment told Gov.
Abbott that he be-
lieves “the normaliza-
tion of relations
between Cuba and the
United States is an in-
exorable process that
won’t be reversed no
matter who is elected
president in 2016."
“This is an historic
process,” said Rodrigo
Malmierca Diaz. “It’s
historic because it’s
been a long time and a
lot of administrations
and there weren’t any
changes, and now is
when the changes are
taking place. We think
this process is irre-
versible, it’s not going
to be taken back.”
Ed Sterling is the Di-
rector of Member Serv-
ices for the Texas Press
Association. Contact
him at 512-477-6755 or
edsterl ing@texaspress. co
m.
volunteer agencies to
help refugees transi-
tion to the state and
pay associated costs.
“Texas shouldn’t
have to go to court to
require Washington to
comply with federal
law regarding its du-
ties to consult with
Texas in advance,”
Paxton commented.
“Our state will con-
tinue legal proceed-
ings to ensure we get
the information neces-
sary to adequately pro-
tect the safety of Texas
residents. While we re-
main concerned about
the federal govern-
ment’s overall refugee
vetting process, we
must ensure that Texas
has the seat at the
table that the Refugee
Act requires.”
111110
IWWS
Border security
panel meets
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
acknowledged “strong
pleas for state assis-
tance” after a Dec. 3
Senate interim com-
mittee hearing on bor-
der security.
Patrick said he is
“committed to work
with the Senate, both
during this interim
and the remainder of
my term in office, to
make sure that assis-
tance is provided.”
During the hearing,
Texas Department of
Public Safety Director
supposed to break down
5x3 as “five groups of
three.” So “three groups
of five” is wrong. What is
the matter with just
knowing that 5x3=15,
and that it’s the same as
3x5?
Basic elementary
school level math is not
only simple to learn, but
becomes intuitive and
even fun if presented as
such.
As an example of how
imagination is stifled in
the teaching of math, I
tried a simple experi-
ment. I asked over 100
high school students,
“How much dirt is in a
hole 1 foot long, 1 foot
wide, and 1 foot deep?”
The students who were
taught basic math in the
more complicated way
all said, “I cubic foot.”
The students who were
taught math the easy and
fun way all said, “There
you start out knowing ex-
actly what a number is,
math would make much
more sense right from
the beginning.
Here’s a “repeated ad-
dition” Common Core
problem that’s taught in
third grade in U.S.
schools:
• Use the repeated-ad-
dition strategy to solve:
5x3.
• If you answer the
question with
"5+5+5=15,” you would
be wrong.
• The correct answer is
"3+3+3+3+3.”
Mathematically, both
are correct. But under
Common Core, you’re
Opinion
m Email the Editor at elgincouner@elgincourier.com
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I pray frequently.
I don’t typically talk
about it the way some
do. I tend to keep my
prayers to myself in
large part because of
my father, who was a
very thoughtful, reli-
gious man that worked
to raise his children
with faith. In teaching
the power of prayer, he
pointed to Matthew 6:5,
and the admonition to
avoid the hypocrisy of
praying in a way to be
seen. I’ve always felt
that the admonition ap-
plies to bragging about
how much I’m praying,
suggesting I’m holier
than everyone else be-
cause I’m praying and
implying that I don’t
have to do anything so
long as I’m praying.
The current hot dis-
cussion related to
prayer and the numer-
ous gun tragedies up-
sets me. It feels like
some are using prayer
as a weapon. They use
the weapon to dismiss
those who are calling
for more human action
to stop gun violence.
The suggestion is that
those seeking action are
not faithful enough. It
seems also to be a way
to deflect the calls for
human interventions
and suggest there’s not
a need for such action.
We all know the story
of a man stuck on his
roof during a big flood.
He prays for a miracle
to save him. A neighbor
rows by in a boat and
urges him to get in. But,
he says, “No. I’ve prayed
and believe I’ll be taken
care of.”
The water continues
to rise as he prays again.
Another boat comes up
and he says he’ll stay
because he believes
God will save him. Then
a helicopter drops a lad-
der to him. He says,
“No. My prayers will be
answered and God will
show me a miracle.”
He dies. And when he
gets to heaven he’s
miffed. He tells St.
Peter that he’d been
praying for relief and
got nothing. St. Peter
replied, “I don’t know
what you’re whining
about. We sent two
boats and a helicopter.”
Maybe we’re getting
answers to all of these
prayers about gun vio-
lence.
Maybe the answer is
we need to act.
Kirk Watson represents
Senate District 1^ which
covers most of Travis
County and all of Bastrop
County.
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Steven McCraw testi-
fied that over the last
four years more than
174,000 undocu-
mented individuals
had been arrested and
booked into Texas
jails.
A. J. Louderback of
Texas Sheriffs’ Associ-
ation also testified,
saying PEP — the Pri-
ority Enforcement Pro-
gram of ICE, the U.S.
Immigration and Cus-
toms Enforcement
Agency, “significantly
weakens how we pro-
tect the state.”
Under PEP, ICE
seeks the transfer of a
removable individual
when that individual
has been convicted of
an offense listed
under the U.S. Depart-
ment of Homeland Se-
curity’s civil
immigration enforce-
ment priorities, has in-
tentionally
participated in an or-
ganized criminal gang
to further the illegal
activity of the gang, or
poses a danger to na-
tional security.
Patrick, who pre-
sides over the Texas
Senate, said, “While
securing the border is
a responsibility of
Washington, D.C., it is
still a Texas problem.
That’s why the Senate
led the way during the
last session to provide
funding for border se-
curity at the highest
levels in history.”
AUSTIN—Texas At-
torney General Ken
Paxton on Dec. 4 with-
drew his request for a
temporary restraining
order to put a hold on
the federal govern-
ment’s plan to relocate
Syrian refugee fami-
lies in Texas.
Paxton, as the state’s
chief law enforcement
officer, initiated the
court action on behalf
of the Texas Health
and Human Services
Commission, the state
agency potentially
most involved with the
resettlement process.
In an explanation of
his reasoning, Paxton
cited the U.S. Refugee
Act of 1980, a law re-
quiring that the fed-
eral government
consult with state au-
thorities in advance of
such relocations.
Paxton said, in ef-
fect, that his request
for the restraining
order prompted the
federal government to
provide information
that he said would
help resolve security
concerns about the
first group of refugees
set to arrive in Texas.
Still, however, Texas
continues to seek a
federal court injunc-
tion requiring the fed-
eral government to
consult with state au-
thorities before reset-
tling refugees.
According to the
state attorney gen-
eral’s office, Texas
takes in roughly 10
percent of the
refugees resettled in
the United States,
partnering with local
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Finney, Patty. Elgin Courier (Elgin, Tex.), Vol. 125, No. 52, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 9, 2015, newspaper, December 9, 2015; Elgin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1555313/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Elgin Public Library.