Current Events Quiz 6.1

Mr. Winter, I have no idea why this was never posted. My apologizes.

1. If Jack Lew's proposal is acted on, Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the 20 dollar bill and other women and civil rights activists will be added to the $5 and $10. Originally planning to put a woman on the $10 (replacing former secretary of the treasury and founding father Alexander Hamilton), the decision to switch to the $20 may have something to do with the immensely popular rap musical about Hamilton, Hamilton. This proves that the arts and popular culture do have some degree of influence over government.

2. Three government employees have been charged with covering up evidence of lead contamination in Flint, Michigan. This has been called a "rare" development because the people at fault were only neglectful, not corrupt. The three things the Flint government did that caused this disaster were not replacing the old lead pipes that contaminated the water, switching their water source in order to save money (the new water ended up being corrosive to the pipes), and not addressing the issue soon enough. Flint's governor has pledged to drink filtered Flint tap water in order to show that it is safe. This will probably encourage residents to feel safe and use the filtered water.

3. The Clinton and Trump campaigns are both "invigorated" because of their big wins in the New York primaries. As of April 21st, Trump had 845 delegates out of the 1,237 needed to be nominated and Clinton had 1,930 out of 2,383. Next Tuesday, the primaries for Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island are happening. In Indianapolis, Trump protested the Republican nominating system. Clinton's win in New York upset Bernie Sanders's winning streak.

4. The Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) is suing the Texas Education Agency because of a new evaluation system that tied teachers' scores to standardized test scores. The TSTA says the new system is complicated, does not tell teachers how exactly to improve, and does not even accurately reflect a teacher's performance. They say, because of this, that it's unfair and violates state law. The article mentions AISD as adopting their own scoring system which limits the use of standardized test scores. Test scores will account to 10% of the teacher's rating as opposed to the 20% in the Texas Education Agency's system. A value-added model rates a teacher's success by examining the test scores of an individual student over time. This is exactly what the TSTA is protesting, saying that a student's progress relies very little on a teacher's performance. 

5. Volkswagen has made a deal to pay back U.S. customers who own diesel-fueled cars that cheat on emissions tests. The money involved is about $1 billion dollars and some might receive more money than others depending on the make and model of their car. Last September it was found that some Volkswagen cars had cheated during laboratory emissions tests and were actually polluting while on the road. Volkswagen will probably have to pay much more than $1 billion, as they face a charge of as much as $20 billion dollars for violating the Clean Air Act.

6. Surfing dog catches waves in Port Aransas: Gerilyn and Jason Hibbler of Port Aransas have taught their Belgian malinois, Halo, to surf and now thier doing the same for shelter dogs in the area. By doing this, they bring business to Animal Shelter, as the images of the surfing dogs are shared on social media and garner attention of potential dog owners. Teaching the dogs to surf has also helped the couple cope with the loss of their daughter who died in a drunk driving accident in 2013. 
I chose this story initially because the title caught my attention. It was unusual and made me want to read more. I don't think it was exactly newsworthy or important but it definitely used novelty to it's advantage and was a lighthearted and touching read.