Misty Ward is getting her degree in education. She chose a political cartoon about Hurricane Harvey that shows how Texans come together to help each other. Texas has traditionally minded people who are the heart of the state. Ward believes increasing teacher pay and benefits in Texas could reduce poverty and lower reliance on social programs since teachers deserve to be compensated fairly for their important work educating children. She also agrees with open carry gun laws as a means of self defense, though some will abuse these laws.

1. My name is Misty Ward and I am in the process of getting my degree in education. I chose this political cartoon because I believe it represents
what Texas is and the kind of people that live in Texas. This is during Hurricane Harvey and this cartoon shows how Texans come together to help
and support each other no matter what. Texas is considered very traditionalistic and so are the people and the people are truly the heart of Texas.

2. Some of the things that motivate me to be more active in our political system are things that would be a positive impact on my personal life. I’m
talking about better wages and better state health care benefits. I believe with an increase in these two things then we would see less poverty in
our communities. This will also lead to less people relying on state funded programs like Medicaid, TANF, and food stamps.
One of the things that I would like to see a change in is the pay and benefits for our Texas teachers. I believe that with everything our teachers do
for our children, they deserve better than what they are getting. It takes special people to do what they do, they are molding our children and
helping them learn and grow. We need our teachers, we need to keep our teachers invested so they can help our children, so they need to be
compensated fairly. What I do agree with is Texas open carry gun law. I believe that with all the shootings that have been happening, this is a way
one can protect themselves and others. Yes, we are going to have those people who will abuse this law but these people will violate the gun laws
no matter what they are.

3. What really surprised me about Texas was that Texas is one of the states with the lowest voter turnout. I was really surprised about this because
Texas is such a political state so I figured we would be one of the states with the highest voter turnout. However I did not know that Texas had so
many rules when it came to voting also. I think if we could change some of these rules then the voter turnout would increase. For instance allow
last minute voting like other states. I think this would make a huge difference in our elections. I was also very surprised about the Texas
Constitution and how detailed it is, leading it to have many amendments made to it. I would actually like to learn more about the Texas
Constitution and some of the laws that are a part of it.

4. I believe a big issue for our future generations would be school financing. I have learned that just recently the Texas Commission on Public School
Finance suggested several changes. In the past ten years, Texas school funding has decreased from 48.5 percent to 38 percent. Some of the
changes that were discussed was better pay for teachers, a chance to improve student outcome, and property tax relief. I believe this is very
important because the younger generation is our future and they need a good and proper education to be able to provide for themselves and
lead a good life and they definitely need a good education if that want to become a future leader of some kind.

5. Both state governments and the federal government have their own responsibilities. While the federal government have what is known as
exclusive powers, there are concurrent powers which are shared between the state and federal government. Some of the powers that they both
share consist of making and enforcing laws, borrowing money, the power to tax, and chartering banks. I believe Texas can influence federal
government with any one of these powers.

6. Some of the things that I learned about our Texas government include the voting laws and rules and how Texas has a low voter turnout than a lot
of other states, the different courts and their roles with certain trials or cases, the types of city government and the roles each figure play, the
Texas Constitution vs. the U.S. Constitution, and the education system. I believe all these things will help me in the future and I am definably
more educated and knowledgeable than I was in Texas government than I was before I started this class.