The dingy church hall remains silent as the audience listens to Nikki Espree call out senior Micah Espree’s achievements. Once he finishes, the crowd of Micah’s friends, family and fellow scouts fill the church hall with claps and cheers for the new Eagle Scout. Out of the seven ranks in the  Boy Scouts of America, the Eagle Scout rank remains the highest...

Another fight. Another form to complete. Another meeting to attend. Another safety procedure. Another drill. Another insurance cost increase. Another night of no sleep because of stress. Teaching since the COVID-19 shutdown, with the unbalance between pay and workload, has caused teachers to rethink their career choice. Whether or not it’s time to retire or find another profession, multiple studies confirm one in four teachers want out.   “A person who enters teaching knows they aren’t doing it for economic success,” Mr. John Davis, physics teacher, said. “But teachers also care about their students’...

As more Texas school districts prohibit phone use, school boards are discussing the possibility, and Mansfield ISD could soon join the conversation. Rather than restricting all personal devices, the district should consider alternate ways of improving student behavior and enforcing rules already in place.  When students use their phones at inappropriate times, the Student Code of Conduct allows campus staff to send the phones to the bookkeeper where they can be picked up for a fee. This rule has relaxed over time, and consequently, phone use has increased. Students take the teachers’ leniency for granted, and until the...