The Plight of Mental Illness Sufferers

Mental illness can be an uncomfortable front for us to deal with and in our local community we are having to constantly face the consequences that our lack support for sufferers hands us. Ligon's working toward a stronger mental health system is a great commentary on our fellow citizens in Texas who are battling the poor system we have in place for the mentally ill. My mother is a TA for the Autism unit at an elementary school, and because of the conglomeration of some of the schools programs she also tends to the children who have severe behavior management. Some of her students in the past and present are dependent on medication and have difficulty behaving appropriately in class. Unfortunately in many cases, several students of hers between the ages of 7 to 13 have been admitted to the Austin State Mental Hospital. Upon reading this commentary I felt as though the renovations that Ligon called on for the system hit close to home as she argues for a more diligent mental health system with tighter preventative measures. By changing our attitude from condemning to caring, providing the opportunity for assessment and treatment, and expanding medicaid, it would lead to a positive son sequence in which 'everyone in Texas would benefit'. The article details the nuts and bolts of how large and who makes up those who suffer from mental illness in Texas, something that I find sad as I hear my mothers stories of our troubled future adults. The preventative measures that the Ligon suggest are those that are well calculated and developed with our prospective future in mind. The ideas of a larger budget  for those in need would be an incredible step, allowing treatment to be closer to hand would be heaven sent as Ligon describes how the majority of sufferers are adults who live in near poverty. Ligon, who hails from the center for Public Policy Priorities does an incredible job informing those of an underestimated problem in Texas, and with her credible position as servant for the community does an amazing job at coming up with some solutions. For the ssafey of the sufferers and those who live in the same Texas communities, I as a citizen who worries of the safety of my community as well as my mother who sees the constant presence of mental illness in children, find Ligon's concern and proposition overwhelmingly wonderful for the future.

UT of Austin Embraces Online Education to the Masses

As a friend to many educators and a follower online media, I was totally fascinated by Reeve Hamilton's article 'UT-Austin Announces Nine Massive Open Online Courses' in the Texas Tribune. The article is a basic but optimistic telling of the free educational courses that UT will offer starting in Fall 2013 due to the partnership between UT and Edx ( A provider of massive open online courses).This is news that I had been expecting for about three years when I began my adventure into higher education. How wonderful would it be for the public to grab hold of something that could seem very elusive? I know many people who struggle with the bittersweet demands of higher education, whether it's due to financial woes, time restraints, or family obligations. I can't help but think that it would be an amazing opportunity for those willing to grasp at the chance. However, I also can't  imagine the reconstruction of the entire educational system and the substitutions that would be set. While still in its baby stages of development, this progressive moment involving wider availability to students is one to follow closely. Even though the classes are few and preliminary I feel a storm-a-comin' as far as online education availability goes. I watched this TED talks a while back (highly recommended) which is a wonderful look into online education that pairs perfectly with this chunk of Texas news.