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What We're Reading | July 17, 2014

This piece from Sunday’s Dallas Morning News provides a good read on the both the potential of Mexico’s energy industry and the...

This piece from Sunday’s Dallas Morning News provides a good read on the both the potential of Mexico’s energy industry and the challenges of realizing that potential. One of those challenges involves drug cartels. The money quote in this piece comes from Medina Mora, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States. As he told the DMN: “The best way to counterattack organized crime is by generating jobs in areas that are heavily influenced by criminals. This is why energy reform is so important for Mexico, and why Texas, our closest neighbor, is so key to our future.”

In short, Mexico, the U.S., and Texas each stand to gain from the potential of Mexico’s energy reserves. So do young Mexicans in areas where gangs provide the only real financial alternative. This story has many more chapters ahead, but it is worth following for its possible impact on North America over the next decade.

A negative public perception of No Child Left Behind is undeserved according to a recent study published online in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association. The report, co-authored by University of Texas at Dallas professor Dr. James R. Harrington, finds that accountability measures of No Child Left Behind do not in fact contribute to teacher burnout or lower job satisfaction.

While the survey notes increased demands on teachers, Harrington adds, “We do find that teachers after NCLB felt like they had more autonomy at work and more control, which is kind of backward to what we hear when we think about ‘teach to the test’ … We also see that teachers feel more supported by administrators.”