Assignment Introduction
Evidenced from your readings in Unit One, demographics are characterized by a population’s age, gender, ethnicity/race, employment, and income. In essence, social scientists use such characteristics to describe groups in society. These characteristics are rapidly changing in Texas as it is one of the fastest growing states in the U.S., becoming more diverse in terms of immigrants from other nations and migrants from other states moving to the Lone Star State. Texas’s size and diverse geography (diverse regions) have also contributed to its unique blend of culture.
Today, Texas is culturally diverse with projections of continuous population growth as well as growth in urban areas and shrinking rural populations. Political outcomes associated from such population shifts challenge previous political and economic conditions. Here, it is important to understand that demographic shifts have repercussions for Texas politics. Texas is no longer a rural state. Journalist, Paul Burka, from Texas Monthly, said it best: Texas is an “urban state with a rural soul” (Burka, 2010).
Political power in Texas has shifted from rural to both urban and suburban centers, as noted in Chapter One. With such shift, state policy priorities follow growing populations and wealthier citizens which influences institutions of Texas government addressing more and more problems from urban and suburban areas and less on rural issues.
Further, as population rises in both cities and the suburbs, so do the number of representatives in the Texas legislature (Texas State Representatives and Texas State Senators) as well as our U.S. delegation (U.S. House of Representatives). Texas gained 2 additional U.S. Congressional seats after the 2020 Census. Because of more representation, greater resources and funding take priority for those districts that Texas State legislators represent the Texas Legislature’s biennial budget.
Current projections expect Texas’s population to double in size by 2050. Such population growth will: (1) demand better and more efficient infrastructure systems (such as more roads and transportation); (2) require efficient and alternative water use policies; (3) require healthcare as more Texans become uninsured; (4) demand on more energy use; (5) require more education funding for students as population increases; and (6) demand increases in social and economic policies reflective of growing population, in general. These are some of the pertinent services, policies, and issues state legislators will need to evaluate and address in the near future. There are many other social and economic issues and policies that will be analyzed in Chapters 11 (Public Finance) and 12 (Public Policy).
Assignment Basics
Overview
This essay has a 350 word minimum. Your analysis must use specific information from the resources. You will get more specific in the last section of the instructions.
Preparation and Format
(This section is the same in all Mastery Assessments for this course)
This paper should be prepared in Microsoft Word according to MLA formatting guidelines; a template has been provided for you. If you choose not to utilize the template, information on MLA formatting is posted in the course. You will be graded on the content of your paper, of course, but a portion of the grade will be assigned based on correctly naming the file that you submit, submitting the paper correctly, formatting the paper correctly, citing sources correctly, and writing mechanics.
Template
A template Download templateis provided for your use on this assignment. This is a Microsoft Word document in which all of the MLA formatting has been set. To utilize this template, you will download it to your computer, adjust the heading on the first page (entering your name on the first line and the date of submission on the fourth line), and entering your content and source references. You will then name the file appropriately (see below) before submitting.
File Name
When you are preparing your paper, you will assign a file name when you save it on your computer. The file name needs to be correct—so that when you upload your paper, it will be distinguishable from the papers submitted by the other students. The correct file name is:
M1_LastName_FirstName
where “LastName” is replaced by your last name and “FirstName” is replaced by your first name (this should be your first name as it appears on my class roster—and this should match the first name that you put on the first line of the heading within the paper itself).
Grading
(This section is the same in all Mastery Assessments for this course)
As noted above, a portion of the grade for this assignment will be based on following the instructions: correctly submitting a Word document that is appropriately named and which is correctly formatted according to MLA standards, correctly citing and referencing your sources, and the mechanics of writing (since this is a writing-intensive college-level course).
The bulk of your grade will be determined based on the content. There are specific questions that you are asked to respond to. Additionally, your submission will be used to assess your ability with regard to social responsibility (one of the Core Competency Objectives identified by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board).
A grading rubric has been posted with the assignment, to help you better understand exactly how your submission will be graded.
The Content of Your Submission
Overall Goal
Each focus in the Content section below will specify the goals being achieved. You are working from specific learning objectives (LOs) that build to course competencies (CCs) and ultimately to Course Outcomes (COs). While I will not mention these again in other mastery assessments, I will in this one so that you can see how those course competencies on so many pages in the course form the structure of what you learn and what you are asked to perform to show you have mastered those competencies. If you pay attention to them from the very beginning while doing lessons you essentially have a “map” of what you will be asked to do in the mastery assessment for that module. If you keep that in mind while you read the text, do the Practice and Apply activities, you will arrive here fully ready for the mastery assessment.
Content
CC 1.1 Analyze the events that led to the Texas Revolution and how those led to the current state government structure
Section 1
LO1.1.1 Define Texas political culture and the elements that influence it
Goals:
CO8: Analyze issues, policies, and political culture of Texas
CO9
2. Communication Skills (CS) – Students will demonstrate effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication
3. Social Responsibility (SR) – Students will demonstrate intercultural competency and civic knowledge by engaging effectively in local, regional, national and global communities
4. Personal Responsibility (PR) – Students will demonstrate the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making
You will analyze each of the four demographics of Texas: age, gender, ethnicity/race, employment, and income). This is done through a few core building blocks. One is to list and define at least some of the cultural groups in Texas that you learned about. Without this at the core, you have no organizational structure for your analysis. Notice that list and define does not by themselves add up to an analysis. For that, we need an issue and see how that issue impacts each cultural group.
Section 2
LO1.1.2 Analyze the Texas Constitutional Structure
Goals:
CO1: Explain the origin and development of the Texas Constitution
CO9
1. Critical Thinking (CT) – Students will engage in creative and/or innovative thinking, inquiring analysis, evaluation, synthesis of information, organizing concepts, and constructing solutions.
2. Communication Skills (CS) – Students will demonstrate effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication.
Section 3
LO1.1.3 Identify both strengths and weaknesses of federalism and how it may either support or enhance democracy
LO1.1.4 Demonstrate how federalism shapes key policy debates today both federally and statewide
Goals:
CO2: Demonstrate an understanding of state and local political systems and their relationship with the federal government
CO9
1. Critical Thinking (CT) – Students will engage in creative and/or innovative thinking, inquiring analysis, evaluation, synthesis of information, organizing concepts, and constructing solutions
2. Communication Skills (CS) – Students will demonstrate effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication
Strengths and weaknesses
Federal-State relations
Powers, Rights, Duties
How does it shape policy debates and support or enhance democracy?
