And are Chicken Nuggets really healthier than a turkey sandwich? Read the original here.
Preschooler's homemade lunch replaced with nuggets
Published February 14, 2012 FoxNews.com
A Hoke County preschooler was fed chicken nuggets for lunch because a state worker felt that her homemade lunch did not have enough nutritional value, according to a report by the Carolina Journal.
The West Hoke Elementary School student was in her More at Four classroom when a state agent who was inspecting lunch boxes decided that her packed lunch — which consisted of a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, apple juice and potato chips — “did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines,” the Journal reports.
The decision was made under consideration of a regulation put in place by the the Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services, which requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs to meet USDA guidelines.
“When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones,” the Journal reports.
The student’s mother told the Journal she received a note from the school about the incident and was charged $1.25 for the cafeteria tray, from which her daughter only ate three chicken nuggets.
The note explained how students who did not bring “healthy lunches” would be offered the missing portions and that parents could be charged for the cost of the cafeteria food, the Journal reports.
The mother, who was not identified in the report, expressed concern about school officials telling her daughter that she wasn’t “packing her lunch box properly.”
MyFox8 contributed to this story.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/14/preschoolers-homemade-lunch-replaced-with-nuggets/#ixzz1mSvJG0Cq
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
What's the extent of Executive Power?
Read the original here.
Executive power: Obama now substituting his own regulations for No Child Left Behind law
POSTED AT 6:43 PM ON FEBRUARY 9, 2012 BY ALLAHPUNDIT
Conn Carroll’s already covered the bases on this at the Examiner but let me quote the key bit from an analysis by the lefty think tank Brookings back in August when the waivers were first announced:
The White House has announced its plan to grant waivers of the provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to states that agree to put in place the education reforms favored by the administration. Thus states that agree, for example, to adopt the Common Core state standards for what students should learn and to evaluate teachers for tenure based on student test gains will be freed from the consequences facing schools that fail to meet adequate yearly progress goals under NCLB. The reforms the administration seeks as a condition of granting waivers are the same that it put forward in its Blueprint for reauthorizing NCLB, and that it advanced in its Race to the Top competition using the $5 billion in discretionary funds made available to it by Congress under the Stimulus Act…
It is one thing for an administration to grant waivers to states to respond to unrealistic conditions on the ground or to allow experimentation and innovation. Similar waiver authority has been used to advance welfare and Medicaid reform going back to the Reagan administration, and to allow a few districts and states to experiment at the margins of NCLB in the Bush administration. It is quite another thing to grant state waivers conditional on compliance with a particular reform agenda that is dramatically different from existing law. The NCLB waiver authority does not grant the secretary of education the right to impose any conditions he considers appropriate on states seeking waivers, nor is there any history of such a wholesale executive branch rewrite of federal law through use of the waiver authority.
In other words, the states are stuck trying to meet an impossible NCLB standard by 2014 and Congress is stuck trying to reach a compromise on revised standards before then. But rather than merely waiving the current standards until Congress has come up with something new, O’s actually going to impose new standards of his own as a condition of the waiver. He’s basically swapping out a federal law for his own policy, in other words. Just like he did in ignoring the War Powers Act to wage war in Libya, just like he did in ignoring the Recess Clause to appoint Cordray and the new NLRB commissioners. This strategy of bypassing Congress with unilateral executive action actually dates back nearly two years, well before the GOP took back the House, but he’s gotten more aggressive with it lately as our gridlocked Congress’s approval rating sinks ever deeper into the toilet. He’s making a bet here about the public’s view of separation of powers: So long as he can argue that he’s taking action towards a virtuous end — and education is as virtuous as it gets politically — voters will let him slide on the legal niceties. A war to avert a humanitarian disaster in Libya, a new consumer-protection advocate, relief for public schools from onerous, unrealistic federal regulations: The ends justifies the means in all three cases because that darned “do-nothing Congress” he’s running against refuses to see the light. You already know from yesterday’s poll on Gitmohow seriously the left takes its own rhetoric about the rule of law; O’s wagering that the rest of the electorate is in the same boat, ready and even eager to let the unitary executive cut through swaths of procedural “red tape” so long as it leads to a good outcome. Is he wrong?
VIDEO CLIPS at the original.
POSTED AT 6:43 PM ON FEBRUARY 9, 2012 BY ALLAHPUNDIT
Conn Carroll’s already covered the bases on this at the Examiner but let me quote the key bit from an analysis by the lefty think tank Brookings back in August when the waivers were first announced:
The White House has announced its plan to grant waivers of the provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to states that agree to put in place the education reforms favored by the administration. Thus states that agree, for example, to adopt the Common Core state standards for what students should learn and to evaluate teachers for tenure based on student test gains will be freed from the consequences facing schools that fail to meet adequate yearly progress goals under NCLB. The reforms the administration seeks as a condition of granting waivers are the same that it put forward in its Blueprint for reauthorizing NCLB, and that it advanced in its Race to the Top competition using the $5 billion in discretionary funds made available to it by Congress under the Stimulus Act…
It is one thing for an administration to grant waivers to states to respond to unrealistic conditions on the ground or to allow experimentation and innovation. Similar waiver authority has been used to advance welfare and Medicaid reform going back to the Reagan administration, and to allow a few districts and states to experiment at the margins of NCLB in the Bush administration. It is quite another thing to grant state waivers conditional on compliance with a particular reform agenda that is dramatically different from existing law. The NCLB waiver authority does not grant the secretary of education the right to impose any conditions he considers appropriate on states seeking waivers, nor is there any history of such a wholesale executive branch rewrite of federal law through use of the waiver authority.
In other words, the states are stuck trying to meet an impossible NCLB standard by 2014 and Congress is stuck trying to reach a compromise on revised standards before then. But rather than merely waiving the current standards until Congress has come up with something new, O’s actually going to impose new standards of his own as a condition of the waiver. He’s basically swapping out a federal law for his own policy, in other words. Just like he did in ignoring the War Powers Act to wage war in Libya, just like he did in ignoring the Recess Clause to appoint Cordray and the new NLRB commissioners. This strategy of bypassing Congress with unilateral executive action actually dates back nearly two years, well before the GOP took back the House, but he’s gotten more aggressive with it lately as our gridlocked Congress’s approval rating sinks ever deeper into the toilet. He’s making a bet here about the public’s view of separation of powers: So long as he can argue that he’s taking action towards a virtuous end — and education is as virtuous as it gets politically — voters will let him slide on the legal niceties. A war to avert a humanitarian disaster in Libya, a new consumer-protection advocate, relief for public schools from onerous, unrealistic federal regulations: The ends justifies the means in all three cases because that darned “do-nothing Congress” he’s running against refuses to see the light. You already know from yesterday’s poll on Gitmohow seriously the left takes its own rhetoric about the rule of law; O’s wagering that the rest of the electorate is in the same boat, ready and even eager to let the unitary executive cut through swaths of procedural “red tape” so long as it leads to a good outcome. Is he wrong?
VIDEO CLIPS at the original.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Standards too high or is the US just sidestepping the issue?
Ahhh....the waiver. Favorite tool of the Obama administration. Read the original here.
Obama Administration Exempting Schools From Federal Law’s Testing Mandate
(AP) - State and local education officials have been begging the federal government for relief from student testing mandates in the federal No Child Left Behind law, but school starts soon and Congress still hasn't answered the call.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he will announce a new waiver system Monday to give schools a break.
The plan to offer waivers to all 50 states, as long as they meet other school reform requirements, comes at the request of President Barack Obama, Duncan said. More details on the waivers will come in September, he said.
The goal of the No Child Left Behind law is to have every student proficient in math and reading by 2014. States have been required to bring more students up to the math and reading standards each year, based on tests that usually take place each spring. The step-by-step ramping up of the 9-year-old law has caused heartburn in states and most school districts, because more and more schools are labeled as failures as too few of their students meet testing goals.
Critics say the benchmarks are unrealistic and brands schools as failures even if they make progress. Schools and districts where too few kids pass the tests for several years are subject to sanctions that can include firing teachers or closing the school entirely.
Through the waivers, schools will get some relief from looming deadlines to meet testing goals as long as they agree to embrace other kinds of education reforms such as raising standards, helping teachers and principals improve, and focusing on fixing the lowest performing schools.
Duncan and Melody Barnes, director of the Domestic Policy Council at the White House, said the administration will encourage every state to apply and will work with them to meet the requirements.
Nothing in this plan for temporary relief from some aspects of the federal law will undermine what Congress is still discussing in terms of revising federal education laws, Duncan said. The long-awaited overhaul of the law began earlier this year in the U.S. House, but a comprehensive reform appears far from the finish line.
"What we do in terms of flexibility can be a bridge or transition," he said. "We all want to fix the law. This might help us get closer to that."
The chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, however, says he is worried about Duncan's waiver plan.
"I remain concerned that temporary measures instituted by the department, such as conditional waivers, could undermine the committee's efforts to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act," said Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., in a statement, referring to the formal name of the No Child Left Behind law.
The Obama administration requested a revision more than a year ago. Duncan said another school year is about to start and state education officials have told him they can't keep waiting for relief from the mandates.
"I can't overemphasize how loudly the outcry is to do something now," Duncan said.
Duncan has warned that 82 percent of U.S. schools could be labeled failures next year if No Child Left Behind is not changed. Education experts have questioned that estimate, but state officials report a growing number of schools facing sanctions under the law.
Montana Schools Superintendent Denise Juneau said she welcomed the waiver proposal, as long as it offers relief from the 2014 deadline. She said her state isn't afraid of high standards and education reform but needs enough time to reach those standards and freedom to institute change in a way that works for Montana.
Montana decided to skip a planned increase in its testing goals this past school year.
"I don't mind the goals and we're certainly not afraid of accountability. They can set the bar wherever they want. They just have to let us have the flexibility to get there," Juneau said. "We can definitely meet any bar they throw at us."
The chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee said he understands why it was time for the administration to take action.
"This Congress faces real challenges reaching bipartisan, bicameral agreement on anything," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, in a written statement. "Given the ill-advised and partisan bills that the House majority has chosen to move, I understand Secretary Duncan's decision to proceed with a waiver package to provide some interim relief while Congress finishes its work."
Harkin said he remains committed to keep working toward a bipartisan solution to reform the federal education law.
Obama Administration Exempting Schools From Federal Law’s Testing Mandate
(AP) - State and local education officials have been begging the federal government for relief from student testing mandates in the federal No Child Left Behind law, but school starts soon and Congress still hasn't answered the call.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he will announce a new waiver system Monday to give schools a break.
The plan to offer waivers to all 50 states, as long as they meet other school reform requirements, comes at the request of President Barack Obama, Duncan said. More details on the waivers will come in September, he said.
The goal of the No Child Left Behind law is to have every student proficient in math and reading by 2014. States have been required to bring more students up to the math and reading standards each year, based on tests that usually take place each spring. The step-by-step ramping up of the 9-year-old law has caused heartburn in states and most school districts, because more and more schools are labeled as failures as too few of their students meet testing goals.
Critics say the benchmarks are unrealistic and brands schools as failures even if they make progress. Schools and districts where too few kids pass the tests for several years are subject to sanctions that can include firing teachers or closing the school entirely.
Through the waivers, schools will get some relief from looming deadlines to meet testing goals as long as they agree to embrace other kinds of education reforms such as raising standards, helping teachers and principals improve, and focusing on fixing the lowest performing schools.
Duncan and Melody Barnes, director of the Domestic Policy Council at the White House, said the administration will encourage every state to apply and will work with them to meet the requirements.
Nothing in this plan for temporary relief from some aspects of the federal law will undermine what Congress is still discussing in terms of revising federal education laws, Duncan said. The long-awaited overhaul of the law began earlier this year in the U.S. House, but a comprehensive reform appears far from the finish line.
"What we do in terms of flexibility can be a bridge or transition," he said. "We all want to fix the law. This might help us get closer to that."
The chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, however, says he is worried about Duncan's waiver plan.
"I remain concerned that temporary measures instituted by the department, such as conditional waivers, could undermine the committee's efforts to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act," said Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., in a statement, referring to the formal name of the No Child Left Behind law.
The Obama administration requested a revision more than a year ago. Duncan said another school year is about to start and state education officials have told him they can't keep waiting for relief from the mandates.
"I can't overemphasize how loudly the outcry is to do something now," Duncan said.
Duncan has warned that 82 percent of U.S. schools could be labeled failures next year if No Child Left Behind is not changed. Education experts have questioned that estimate, but state officials report a growing number of schools facing sanctions under the law.
Montana Schools Superintendent Denise Juneau said she welcomed the waiver proposal, as long as it offers relief from the 2014 deadline. She said her state isn't afraid of high standards and education reform but needs enough time to reach those standards and freedom to institute change in a way that works for Montana.
Montana decided to skip a planned increase in its testing goals this past school year.
"I don't mind the goals and we're certainly not afraid of accountability. They can set the bar wherever they want. They just have to let us have the flexibility to get there," Juneau said. "We can definitely meet any bar they throw at us."
The chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee said he understands why it was time for the administration to take action.
"This Congress faces real challenges reaching bipartisan, bicameral agreement on anything," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, in a written statement. "Given the ill-advised and partisan bills that the House majority has chosen to move, I understand Secretary Duncan's decision to proceed with a waiver package to provide some interim relief while Congress finishes its work."
Harkin said he remains committed to keep working toward a bipartisan solution to reform the federal education law.
Friday, May 27, 2011
What color is your shirt? It might make you a racist
Also, this headline seems misleading. It's not the students who are claiming white supremacy, it's the school that is claiming that the students might be claiming it.Read the original here.
Soquel Students Suspended For White Supremacy Claims
SOQUEL, Calif. - Students banned from a Central Coast school for wearing a white t-shirt.
On Wednesday, Soquel High School suspended at least two students. The students say it's because of allegations, they're part of a white supremacist group.
"All the girls wore pink, all the sports guys wore tank tops," says Soquel High Senior Mikey Donnelly. "We were all going to wear white so that was the plan. Just wear white t-shirts to identify ourselves and look back and say that was our group of friends right there."
Soquel High Senior Mikey Donnelly wore a white t-shirt for his senior class photo Tuesday. About 10 of his friends did the same. That decision may seem harmless. But Soquel High suspended Donnelly for three days because of it.
Donnelly said the school told him people were offended and intimidated by his group, claiming they're a white supremacist gang.
"I do think this is BS," says Donnelly. "I'm not a white supremacist in any way shape or form. If I did say white power, I would probably say it just as much as I say black power."
He's not the only one upset.
"I feel disrespected," says Soquel High Senior David Mine.
Mine also wore a white t-shirt and was also suspended. He's missing out on finals and that could jeopardize his graduation.
"I'm Asian," says Mine. "I don't see how I can be a white supremacist. I'm against it completely."
Soquel High Principal Ken Lawrence-Emanuel was very tight-lipped about it, saying students' punishments are confidential. But told me the school got several complaints about a white pride group on campus.
"Safety is always first at Soquel High," says Lawrence-Emanuel. "We want to make sure we do everything we can to keep people from feeling and being safe on campus."
But, the students don't agree and are ready to fight it.
"It's a pretty bad feeling to be labeled something you're not," says Donnelly.
Donnelly said nobody's ever accused him of being a white supremacist before and plans on appealing the schools decision. He'll even take it to court if he needs to.
Submitted by Azenith Smith, Central Coast News
Soquel Students Suspended For White Supremacy Claims
SOQUEL, Calif. - Students banned from a Central Coast school for wearing a white t-shirt.
On Wednesday, Soquel High School suspended at least two students. The students say it's because of allegations, they're part of a white supremacist group.
"All the girls wore pink, all the sports guys wore tank tops," says Soquel High Senior Mikey Donnelly. "We were all going to wear white so that was the plan. Just wear white t-shirts to identify ourselves and look back and say that was our group of friends right there."
Soquel High Senior Mikey Donnelly wore a white t-shirt for his senior class photo Tuesday. About 10 of his friends did the same. That decision may seem harmless. But Soquel High suspended Donnelly for three days because of it.
Donnelly said the school told him people were offended and intimidated by his group, claiming they're a white supremacist gang.
"I do think this is BS," says Donnelly. "I'm not a white supremacist in any way shape or form. If I did say white power, I would probably say it just as much as I say black power."
He's not the only one upset.
"I feel disrespected," says Soquel High Senior David Mine.
Mine also wore a white t-shirt and was also suspended. He's missing out on finals and that could jeopardize his graduation.
"I'm Asian," says Mine. "I don't see how I can be a white supremacist. I'm against it completely."
Soquel High Principal Ken Lawrence-Emanuel was very tight-lipped about it, saying students' punishments are confidential. But told me the school got several complaints about a white pride group on campus.
"Safety is always first at Soquel High," says Lawrence-Emanuel. "We want to make sure we do everything we can to keep people from feeling and being safe on campus."
But, the students don't agree and are ready to fight it.
"It's a pretty bad feeling to be labeled something you're not," says Donnelly.
Donnelly said nobody's ever accused him of being a white supremacist before and plans on appealing the schools decision. He'll even take it to court if he needs to.
Submitted by Azenith Smith, Central Coast News
Friday, May 20, 2011
Teachers that don't deserve to have their job
And seriously, what's the logic path here. What could this teacher have possibly been thinking? Gotta love that she was suspended, but with pay. Read the original here.
Waco Teacher Arrested After Student Attacked For Racial Slurs - KXXV-TV News Channel 25
by John Cuoco
WACO- A Waco teacher got locked up after allegedly looking the other way while her class attacked another student following some racial slurs.
Roberta Buck, 58, was a teacher at Cesar Chavez Middle school. She was arrested for endangering one of her students.
According to arrest warrant, Buck didn't allow her class to watch to watch a movie after one of her students complained about the film.
Waco ISD police said Buck had a private conversation, outside the classroom, with the student about the movie.
It was there that the student told Buck that he didn't like African Americans, but he referred to them using the "N-word" or something similar.
Buck then reportedly went back relayed that information to her predominantly African American class (78.26%).
"She did not physically cause harm to the student, but from the arrest affidavit you can see what she said lead to the student being struck by other students and that's totally unacceptable," Waco ISD spokesman Dale Caffey said.
The warrant goes on to say that Buck gave the class permission to hit the student who made the comment.
That's exactly what his classmates reportedly did in the hallway after class. Buck supposedly didn't stop her students from hitting the teen in head, back and shoulders. All while he covered his head and tried to protect himself.
"From this schools stand point and WISD's stand point this is an incident that could have been avoided," Caffey explained. "Unfortunately, we had a teacher who made a bad mistake and she's going to pay for that now and we are going to pay for that now too."
Buck was booked into jail Thursday on a charge of endangering a child. She's already been released on $1,000 bond.
She Has also been suspended with pay by the district and News Channel 25 was told it's unlikely she'll be brought back next year.
Waco Teacher Arrested After Student Attacked For Racial Slurs - KXXV-TV News Channel 25
by John Cuoco
WACO- A Waco teacher got locked up after allegedly looking the other way while her class attacked another student following some racial slurs.
Roberta Buck, 58, was a teacher at Cesar Chavez Middle school. She was arrested for endangering one of her students.
According to arrest warrant, Buck didn't allow her class to watch to watch a movie after one of her students complained about the film.
Waco ISD police said Buck had a private conversation, outside the classroom, with the student about the movie.
It was there that the student told Buck that he didn't like African Americans, but he referred to them using the "N-word" or something similar.
Buck then reportedly went back relayed that information to her predominantly African American class (78.26%).
"She did not physically cause harm to the student, but from the arrest affidavit you can see what she said lead to the student being struck by other students and that's totally unacceptable," Waco ISD spokesman Dale Caffey said.
The warrant goes on to say that Buck gave the class permission to hit the student who made the comment.
That's exactly what his classmates reportedly did in the hallway after class. Buck supposedly didn't stop her students from hitting the teen in head, back and shoulders. All while he covered his head and tried to protect himself.
"From this schools stand point and WISD's stand point this is an incident that could have been avoided," Caffey explained. "Unfortunately, we had a teacher who made a bad mistake and she's going to pay for that now and we are going to pay for that now too."
Buck was booked into jail Thursday on a charge of endangering a child. She's already been released on $1,000 bond.
She Has also been suspended with pay by the district and News Channel 25 was told it's unlikely she'll be brought back next year.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Parent Sues Preschool Over Child's Education
Stories like this make me so glad we don't live in New York.
Read the original story here.
A mad-as-heck Manhattan mom says her daughter's Ivy League dreams have been all but dashed -- and she's only 4 years old.
Nicole Imprescia is suing the $19,000-a-year York Avenue Preschool, saying her daughter, Lucia, was forced to spend too much time with lesser-minded 2- and 3-year-olds when she should have been focusing on test preparation to get into an elite elementary school.
The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, notes that "getting a child into the Ivy League starts in nursery school" and says the Upper East Side school promised Imprescia it would "prepare her daughter for the ERB, an exam required for admission into nearly all the elite private elementary schools."
But "it became obvious [those] promises were a complete fraud," the suit says. "Indeed, the school proved not to be a school at all but just one big playroom."
The miffed mom yanked her daughter after just three weeks -- but the school is refusing to refund the $19,000 she had to pay up front, said her lawyer, Mathew Paulose.
"What are they keeping the $19,000 for when the child was in school for under a month?" Paulose said. "It's ridiculous."
The school's lawyer, Bill Wachtel, said that his client was "surprised and disappointed" that Imprescia gave up her highly sought-after slot but that there is a no-refund policy.
The suit claims: "Studies have shown entry into a good nursery school guarantees more income than entry into an average school."
Imprescia's suit said the school boasted of having an age-appropriate curriculum and a "high success rate in getting its students into high-caliber Manhattan elementary schools, both public and private."
Imprescia said she soon realized she'd gotten schooled.
"Plaintiff's daughter, as well as the sons and daughters of the other parents, were dumped amongst each other, notwithstanding their age differences," the suit says.
Also, at age 4, the school was "still teaching plaintiff's daughter about shapes and colors," the suit says. "In other words, there was no 'curriculum designed for a specific age group' also as promised," the suit says.
Nicole Imprescia is suing the $19,000-a-year York Avenue Preschool, saying her daughter, Lucia, was forced to spend too much time with lesser-minded 2- and 3-year-olds when she should have been focusing on test preparation to get into an elite elementary school.
The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, notes that "getting a child into the Ivy League starts in nursery school" and says the Upper East Side school promised Imprescia it would "prepare her daughter for the ERB, an exam required for admission into nearly all the elite private elementary schools."
But "it became obvious [those] promises were a complete fraud," the suit says. "Indeed, the school proved not to be a school at all but just one big playroom."
The miffed mom yanked her daughter after just three weeks -- but the school is refusing to refund the $19,000 she had to pay up front, said her lawyer, Mathew Paulose.
"What are they keeping the $19,000 for when the child was in school for under a month?" Paulose said. "It's ridiculous."
The school's lawyer, Bill Wachtel, said that his client was "surprised and disappointed" that Imprescia gave up her highly sought-after slot but that there is a no-refund policy.
The suit claims: "Studies have shown entry into a good nursery school guarantees more income than entry into an average school."
Imprescia's suit said the school boasted of having an age-appropriate curriculum and a "high success rate in getting its students into high-caliber Manhattan elementary schools, both public and private."
Imprescia said she soon realized she'd gotten schooled.
"Plaintiff's daughter, as well as the sons and daughters of the other parents, were dumped amongst each other, notwithstanding their age differences," the suit says.
Also, at age 4, the school was "still teaching plaintiff's daughter about shapes and colors," the suit says. "In other words, there was no 'curriculum designed for a specific age group' also as promised," the suit says.
Bullying to become a federal crime?
Department of Education would have jurisdiction? Why not just let this happen? Read the original article here.
If taxpayers wonder why federal budgets have ballooned over the last few decades, look no further[3]. Riding the coattails of one of the few issues on which Barack Obama has willingly engaged, a House Democrat has proposed making school bullies a federal jurisdiction:
Of course, that’s ridiculous. Everyone knows that public-employee unions back Democrats.
Seriously, though, what part of this transaction has any federal jurisdiction at all? Not the schools, which operate through local school boards, buried under federal mandates as they are. Not the disabled, whose citizenship does not transcend local communities and states in the manner that military personnel and federal workers might in a legal sense. The bullies are certainly not federally funded. Assaults and batteries are crimes that don’t require federal intervention in other contexts. So why would anyone in Congress propose creating an entirely new federal bureaucracy to tally and track bullies in schools who pick on the disabled, among other kids?
If public schools aren’t competent to deal with these situations, then that is a problem for the school boards, parents, and the community … and a great argument for school vouchers. Meanwhile, Speier’s caucus couldn’t even pass a budget with a 77-seat majority last year in what was their primary jurisdiction. Why should we trust them to take on entirely new jurisdictions? And shouldn’t Congress be focused on budgets before looking for new vistas to expand federal powers anyway?
While the Department of Education continues its crackdown[4] on mean-spirited taunting on Facebook, some members of Congress are joining the fight in Washington’s War on Bullying with a new bill aimed directly at kids who target students with disabilities.Speier’s part of the minority and will have a tough time getting her bill to a floor vote, unless of course Republicans decide to join in on expanding federal authority. And why not? If they do, they get to say that they’re trying to protect the defenseless against victimization. If they don’t, then Speier and her allies in Congress and the media will paint the GOP as heartless, and perhaps secretly indebted to the all-powerfulbullying lobby.
Rep. Jackie Speier, California Democrat, will introduce a bill that would require schools to report incidents of bullying against children diagnosed with conditions like Down syndrome and Aspergers to the federal government. It would also mandate that any federal dollars that promote anti-bullying programs focus partially on that group.
“There is [currently] no requirement that as part of the anti-bullying curriculum, that there be made specific reference to children with special needs. That’s particularly dumb,” Speier said during a briefing on school bullying on Capitol Hill Wednesday. “What I want to do is create an environment where there is zero tolerance. I think that starts first with education and awareness. Then, when behavior is egregious, then people have to be called out on that.”
Of course, that’s ridiculous. Everyone knows that public-employee unions back Democrats.
Seriously, though, what part of this transaction has any federal jurisdiction at all? Not the schools, which operate through local school boards, buried under federal mandates as they are. Not the disabled, whose citizenship does not transcend local communities and states in the manner that military personnel and federal workers might in a legal sense. The bullies are certainly not federally funded. Assaults and batteries are crimes that don’t require federal intervention in other contexts. So why would anyone in Congress propose creating an entirely new federal bureaucracy to tally and track bullies in schools who pick on the disabled, among other kids?
If public schools aren’t competent to deal with these situations, then that is a problem for the school boards, parents, and the community … and a great argument for school vouchers. Meanwhile, Speier’s caucus couldn’t even pass a budget with a 77-seat majority last year in what was their primary jurisdiction. Why should we trust them to take on entirely new jurisdictions? And shouldn’t Congress be focused on budgets before looking for new vistas to expand federal powers anyway?
References
- ^ look no further (news.yahoo.com)
- ^ continues its crackdown (us.rd.yahoo.com)
- ^ look no further (news.yahoo.com)
- ^ continues its crackdown (us.rd.yahoo.com)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Attorney General Bill Schuette: EMU's student's religious beliefs against homosexuality violated
Read the original story here.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has waded into a closely watched federal appeals case, siding with an Eastern Michigan University student who claims her dismissal from the university for refusing to counsel gay and lesbian patients violated her religious belief against homosexuality.
Schuette is the latest entrant in a case that has drawn conservative and religious groups, public universities and civil liberties organizations.
"This case really is at the intersection of a lot of values," said Christopher Lund, an assistant law professor at Wayne State University who specializes in religious liberty issues.
"There's gay rights versus religious liberty and the rights of individuals versus the rights of the universities to set curriculum. Whenever all those cross, you've got a lot of people and organizations that are interested."
The suit also shows Schuette's willingness to weigh in on social issues.
"This case signals he will act on questions of constitutionality, such as the case of President Obama's health care law," said AG spokesman John Sellek. "This case is also a constitutional issue, where no one should lose their religious freedoms as they work to get an education."
A case study of religious versus university rights
Eastern Michigan University discriminated against former student Julea Ward when it dismissed her from its counseling program after she said her Christian beliefs prohibited her from counseling a gay client, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a court filing.
That's not the case at all, EMU said. Ward was dismissed because her refusal to counsel the patient didn't follow the assigned curriculum and professional ethics guidelines set up the American Counseling Association, the school said.
EMU's position has been upheld by a federal judge. Now Ward, with briefs of support from Schuette and a number of religious rights organizations, has appealed that ruling. Oral arguments are expected to begin later this year.
It's a case that's being closely watched, not only by religious organizations, but by other universities. Nine Michigan public universities have filed a brief supporting EMU, saying the case is about who controls curriculum -- the university or the students.
"Fundamentally, this case raises the question of whether universities have the freedom to determine their own curricula or whether they must fashion their curricular requirements around the religious, political, social, philosophical and ideological beliefs and expressions of each and every students," said the brief submitted by the University of Michigan, Central Michigan, Grand Valley State, Michigan State, and five other schools.
It was written by Debra Kowich of U-M's general counsel office, who wrote that a ruling for Ward "could require universities to dilute their curricular requirements to the point that they would not possibly offend any student of any faith" or political view.
But that's not how Ward sees it. She and her attorneys at the Alliance Defense Fund say the case is about religious discrimination.
Ward sued the university after it dismissed her from its graduate counseling program in 2009 after she refused to work on a gay client's relationship issues in a clinical program. She said she believes homosexuality is immoral and being gay or lesbian is a choice and thus she could not in good conscience counsel the client.
EMU said it dismissed her because she didn't follow a code of ethics that requires counselors to set aside their own personal beliefs in order to work with clients.
Judge George Steeh of the U.S. District Court in Detroit ruled for EMU last July, saying the school was within its rights to dismiss Ward for failing to follow its curriculum. The judge wrote that Ward "has distorted the facts in this case to support her position that defendants dismissed her due to her religious beliefs."
Ward and her attorneys, a legal group that works to uphold the rights of religious college students and faculty, have asked the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to step in. They did not return calls seeking comment on Monday.
But in their legal brief for Ward, the lawyers wrote that "EMU violated Ms. Ward's right to the free exercise of religion by acting as arbiters of her religious beliefs."
Schuette agrees with them.
"There is a striking difference between EMU's written standards and EMU's application of those rules to Julea Ward," the brief by Schuette's office said. "Indeed, the evidence suggests that Ward was punished and ultimately dismissed from the program solely for her attempt to exercise disfavored religious beliefs, not for a violation of the code.
The attorney general's brief, filed Friday, also suggests political correctness was at work, suggesting "that EMU 'weeded out' Ward solely because of her religious views to ensure that only candidates with the 'right' beliefs are admitted to the counseling profession."
A number of gay rights groups have weighed in as well, including a brief filed jointly by the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Affirmations and the Ruth Ellis Center in support of EMU, which says counselors, especially school counselors (which Ward wanted to be), must be supportive of students, whatever their own views.
"A school counselor who is unwilling to assist such students, or worse, a counselor who expresses disapproval of a student's status as LGBT -- is both incapable of doing her job and likely to cause significant harm," the groups' brief said.
EMU says the case is about its curriculum, and nothing else. "This case has never been about religion or religious discrimination," EMU spokesman Walter Kraft said in a statement last week. "It is not about homosexuality or sexual orientation. This case is about what is in the best interest of a client who is in need of counseling, and following the curricular requirements of our highly respected and nationally accredited counseling program."
Monday, March 14, 2011
Robert Bobb's new plan for DPS: Turn 41 struggling schools into charters
Read the original story here.
Detroit Public Schools emergency financial manager Robert Bobb announced a radical restructuring plan for the struggling school system Saturday that he says would save the district millions of dollars by converting 41 poorly performing schools into DPS-authorized charter schools.
Based on a similar plan in post-Katrina New Orleans, the Renaissance Plan 2012 would lease the buildings and equipment to charter operators, who would run the buildings as public school academies in the fall.
The proposal was among four models Bobb presented to the school board at a workshop Saturday. It will require board approval. Under his Renaissance Plan, the estimated immediate savings would be between $75 million and $99 million, said district spokesman Steve Wasko. The district is facing a $327-million deficit.
About 16,000 students currently enrolled in 41 failing Detroit public schools could find themselves attending charter schools next fall, without even changing school buildings.
Under a proposal presented Saturday by Detroit Public Schools emergency financial manager Robert Bobb and first reported on freep.com, the district would send out requests for proposals as early as this week to charter school operators. Those selected would lease buildings from DPS, generating about $22 million for the district.
The district would see up to $99 million in immediate savings by not having to pay to operate those buildings, Bobb said.The charters would be authorized by DPS, and the students currently attending those schools would receive priority enrollment.
In addition, the teachers, should they decide to stay, would still be part of the bargaining unit.
"Rather than simply closing schools, this plan seeks to transform DPS into one of the nation's premier urban school districts by recruiting some of the best, proven school operators to serve Detroit's children and remake schools that have been failing them for years," Bobb said.
Though Bobb and the school board have often been at odds over management of the district -- even taking their battles to court -- board President Anthony Adams said their independent research came to similar conclusions about the value of a charter-heavy district. The board would have to approve Bobb's plan. But if legislation expanding powers to emergency financial managers passes, that would change.
"Our first goal is to preserve the integrity of DPS as a system," Adams said of keeping the charters under DPS watch. "Our second goal is to eliminate the legacy of debt."
In August, the state Department of Education issued a list of failing public schools. Among Detroit schools, 41 were listed as being in danger of a state takeover. District officials said those schools aren't necessarily the same schools being eyed for charter conversion.
Steve Wasko, spokesman for DPS, said schools with recent remodeling, building projects or personnel overhauls would be largely exempt from the conversion. The district has 142 schools, including nine charters, and is accepting applications for a residential charter school to start in the fall.
But if charter school operators don't step forward, the schools will close, adding to the ranks of shuttered buildings in the district, where enrollment has dropped by more than half since 2000 and district projections put enrollment in the 50,000 range by 2016.
The Renaissance Plan 2012 is one of several models Bobb presented Saturday. Under another model, DPS's revenue would be used to pay off all outstanding debts; the existing school system would be closed and a brand new district would be established with new contracts and staffing levels. Under a second model, a system of charter schools and traditional public schools would be created to replace the existing DPS.
For education experts, the Bobb's announcement represents a do-or-die moment in fixing schools.
"We don't know what kind of results will come from this," said Sharif Shakrani, professor and senior scholar at the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University. "If we continue in the same direction, down the same road, you are not likely to see a significant change. Mr. Bobb basically has no choice but to go that way."
Adams called for public input through a series of meetings citywide.
More details, including the list of schools that could be affected and the call for proposals for charter organizations, will be released this week, school officials said.
Teachers could stay at the schools of their choice and remain under the collective bargaining agreement, said Detroit Federation of Teachers President Keith Johnson.
Johnson is expected to meet with school officials Monday to discuss the plan.
"I don't have an initial reaction," he told the Free Press on Saturday, but he said that 41 independent charters would be out of the question.
"By law, if they are DPS charters, they have to be under the collective bargaining agreement."
But Jose Afonso, director of U.S. business development for SABIS Educational Systems, which runs nine charter schools in six states, including two in Michigan, says he would not want to run a Detroit school that was governed by a teacher contract. None of the SABIS schools are unionized.
"We would need complete flexibility over staffing," Afonso said.
Yet as Mayor Dave Bing moves to reshape the city, the identity and future of these schools could change some of Bing's boundaries, said Dan Lijana, Bing's spokesman. DPS and the city have worked together in the past when schools closed, he said.
"A strong school is one of those factors that comes into the equation," he said of deciding what areas to consolidate.
"DPS understands (that) what they're doing has to fit in with how the city is going to restructure," Lijana said.
Doug Ross, CEO of New Urban Learning, a nonprofit that runs University Preparatory Schools, said Bobb's plan fits in perfectly with the Excellent Schools Detroit initiative, a plan announced last year to open 70 new high-performing schools in Detroit while closing low-performing schools.
"It could not be more consistent," said Ross.
DPS ranks third in the nation in the percentage of its students attending charter schools, at 36%. The New Orleans and Washington, D.C. districts are Nos. 1 and 2. DPS likely would see its percentage rise to 47% if all 41 schools becomes charters.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Education in Detroit: Two Sides
What do you think?
Rochelle Riley: Educator Michelle Rhee tells legislators: Teacher tenure hurts children
LANSING -- Michelle Rhee brought her campaign to improve teaching to Michigan Wednesday, and she didn't mince words.
"Most teachers are granted tenure within just a few years," she told a joint meeting of Senate and House education and appropriations committee members. "Once a teacher has tenure, in most states, that teacher essentially has a job for life, regardless of performance.
"It should be virtually impossible for an ineffective teacher to remain in the classroom," she said.
Rhee, former chancellor of the Washington, D.C., public schools, founded StudentsFirst, an advocacy organization to protect children's needs the way labor groups protect educators. She is touring states to discuss ways to improve teacher performance, and to recruit 1 million members and raise $1 billion for her cause.
Rhee urged Michigan legislators to end the "outdated and bureaucratic practice known as 'last in, first out' ... a policy that hurts children."
"Even after just one year, an ineffective educator can set a child behind for years to come," she said. "This also puts a greater burden on subsequent teachers who are working so hard to catch that student up. ... I understand that proposing to eliminate tenure outright is incredibly difficult politically."
But she suggested ways, such as requiring principals to consent before minimally effective teachers are moved into their buildings, and instituting rigorous evaluation systems based partly on third-party observation in the classroom.
Michigan legislators already are considering numerous bills to end teacher tenure.
Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, said that Michigan must change how it measures teacher and student achievement.
"To suggest that a 30% proficiency rate should be a passing grade for our students today is off-base," said Pavlov, who also lavished praise on the Detroit School of the Arts, which he toured last week. But he said he is concerned about how the dismal state of Detroit's schools will affect the good teachers and students in the district.
Even Rhee's critics -- and she had some on the committees -- can't dispute some facts: When she became chancellor of the Washington public schools, only 8% of students were performing at grade level. Yet 95% of the system's teachers were rated as doing a good job.
"When the sole function of a school system is to educate children," Rhee said, "how can you have a system in which the vast majority of adults are running around thinking they are doing great work while simultaneously producing such dismal results for students?"
In an interview before the legislative hearing, Rhee said that in the next 20 years, America will need employees for an estimated 123 million high-paying, highly skilled jobs, but American students will be prepared to fill only 50 million of them.
"Close to 75 million jobs will have to be outsourced to India and China," Rhee said.
The sad thing, she said, is that business leaders nationwide know there is a problem.
"They know you can't fire people by seniority. You've got to do it by value," she said. "They know this ... and they have refused in many cases ... to be out in front of these issues because they say, 'Oh, we don't want the teachers unions to boycott our company.' "
Rochelle Riley: The fix for American schools is change
OK. I've spent two days writing about student advocate Michelle Rhee's efforts to rid American schools of bad teachers and to focus America on protecting children's educational needs.
But now let's look at what Paul Harvey used to call "the rest of the story."
I called Keith Johnson, one of the fairest presidents ever of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, and asked him: What do unions do for children?
And he hasn't stopped answering since:
"What we try to do is create the best learning and teaching environment for children and teachers, making sure that where children go to school and the conditions under which they go to school are conducive to learning," he said.
"Protecting bad teachers is the least of what we do. And we don't protect them. We just protect their right to due process."
The voices shouting solutions to the problem of America's public schools get louder and louder. Everyone knows what went wrong.
An idea: Birth system anew
"The real challenge is reinvention of an educational system dismantled by the innovative forces of technological change and the unruly winds of globalization," wrote former Detroit teacher Lorraine Rudolph in a treatise she sent to the Free Press.
"Designed to prepare the majority of students for an industrial economy, schools, especially Michigan high schools, taught an overt curriculum of basic skills and a covert curriculum of rote memorization, physical quietude, punctuality, and obedience," she said. "A factory-based model of education prepared the masses for a pot of gold at the end of the high school rainbow: a life made prosperous by taking orders from management in a plant, or through repetitive tasks in an office."
Preach, Ms. Rudolph!
She contends that the only way to save America's public schools is to "give birth, much like during the era of Reconstruction, to a new educational and economic civilization."
Or, we could heed what billionaire Warren Buffett told Michelle Rhee: The only way to fix public education, he said, is to outlaw private education.
The law requires that children attend school. So require them to attend public schools. Imagine public schools having the attention of every CEO, millionaire, politician and principal. I told you the only problem America has ever had is segregation.
Remember how Vietnam was a gnat that most of America ignored until the Defense Department needed more troops and started drafting more than poor black and white boys from the South?
Then the antiwar effort really kicked in.
Teachers' voices getting lost
In the battle to improve America's schools, the voices getting heard the least are those of the best teachers on the planet.
For me, it was science teacher Ronnie Daughtry and advanced English teacher Viola Babcock and social studies teacher Archie Moseley, who taught not just social studies, but taught us to love and understand how the world worked. And there was Harry Amana, my news-writing instructor who became my lifelong friend.
None of them taught because they couldn't be scientists or writers or journalists. They taught because they loved it -- and they were good at it.
Thinking of them made it easy to see Johnson's point that teachers who fight for small classes and clean, safe buildings are fighting for children, too.
"If a child goes into a school that is filthy and infested with vermin, you're telling that child that they are less-than," Johnson said.
And that is why every teacher I've ever known has bought more paper towels and cleanser than I have in my lifetime.
All that said, Johnson is clear: Tenure does not grant every teacher a lifetime job.
"It is as not as clear as Michelle Rhee wants to paint the picture," Johnson said. "We are a union of professionals, and we don't want people in our profession who aren't good at it. We want teachers to be evaluated fairly. We want administrators to do their due diligence."
Johnson does agree with Rhee and most education advocates -- and with me -- on two things: The children must come first and, besides Papa, education needs a brand new bag.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Quote of the Day
I'm sure Steve Jobs would love that. If Jesse Jackson got his way, I'm buying Apple Stock. As of Census 2000, there were 54,500,000 children enrolled in K through 12 schools. Even if the Federal government bought Dell laptops, the ipods (at base price $229 each) would be worth $12,480,500,000. I'd say that should help stock prices....
The original statement from Rep. Jackson below...
__________________________________________________
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) 3/2/2011, statement in the US House of Representatives
Mr. Speaker, I believe that the answer to long term unemployment is actually in the Constitution of the United States. Well, let me say that a little differently. It's not in the Constitution of the United States. It should be in the Constitution of the United States and one of these days we are going to get there... We need to add to the Constitution the right to a family to have a decent home. What would that do for home construction, in this nation? What would that do for millions of unemployed people? He says (ed: not sure who "he" is, Jackson is reading from a newspaper) we need to add to the Constitution the right to medical care. How many doctors would such a right, create? He says we need to add to the Constitution of the United States the right to a decent education for every American. How many schools, would such a right, build? From Maine to California. How many people would be put to work building roofs and designing classrooms and providing every student with an ipod and a laptop? How many ghettos and barrios be touched by such an amendment? In fact, very little that we pass in the Congress of the United States even touches the long term unemployed. Only thing that touches them, that this Congress has access to, that can actually change their station in life is the Constitution of the United States... Mr. Speaker, there is an even greater America that's in front of us. It's the America that adds to our founding documents these basic rights.
The original statement from Rep. Jackson below...
__________________________________________________
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) 3/2/2011, statement in the US House of Representatives
Mr. Speaker, I believe that the answer to long term unemployment is actually in the Constitution of the United States. Well, let me say that a little differently. It's not in the Constitution of the United States. It should be in the Constitution of the United States and one of these days we are going to get there... We need to add to the Constitution the right to a family to have a decent home. What would that do for home construction, in this nation? What would that do for millions of unemployed people? He says (ed: not sure who "he" is, Jackson is reading from a newspaper) we need to add to the Constitution the right to medical care. How many doctors would such a right, create? He says we need to add to the Constitution of the United States the right to a decent education for every American. How many schools, would such a right, build? From Maine to California. How many people would be put to work building roofs and designing classrooms and providing every student with an ipod and a laptop? How many ghettos and barrios be touched by such an amendment? In fact, very little that we pass in the Congress of the United States even touches the long term unemployed. Only thing that touches them, that this Congress has access to, that can actually change their station in life is the Constitution of the United States... Mr. Speaker, there is an even greater America that's in front of us. It's the America that adds to our founding documents these basic rights.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
What makes me angry today
I was perusing my local school district's annual School Board statement online and was struck by the following Q&A (emphasis is mine):
What kind of garbage is it that the law requires that educational financial decisions be conducted via backroom dealings?
Have Lincoln's union's agreed to changes that will help alleviate our district's financial challenges?
By law, the Board is not at liberty to discuss details of the collective bargaining process. We are looking forward to far and equitable collective bargaining agreements with all of our district's unions.
What kind of garbage is it that the law requires that educational financial decisions be conducted via backroom dealings?
Friday, November 30, 2007
White guilt is positive?
A University of Texas at Austin press release came out earlier this month, and was mentioned in yesterday's Opinion Journal. The University studied a method of teaching children about racism and concluded that teaching both white and black children about racism. They conclude: "Challenging the idea that racism education could be harmful to students, a new study from The University of Texas at Austin found the results of learning about historical racism are primarily positive." What's odd, though, is this statement: "White children whose lessons included information on discrimination showed more defensiveness, had more racial guilt (if they were older than 7) and were less likely to accept stereotypical views about African Americans."
I agree with James Taranto over at Opinion Journal. It's very odd that they talk about racial guilt and personal defensiveness among white children learning these and don't talk about how that balances against the positive effects. This leads to one of two possibilities:
I agree with James Taranto over at Opinion Journal. It's very odd that they talk about racial guilt and personal defensiveness among white children learning these and don't talk about how that balances against the positive effects. This leads to one of two possibilities:
- They consider "white guilt" to be a positive thing; or,
- They consider "white guilt" to be an unavoidable consequence of education but it is balanced by fighting stereotypes.
White Children More Positive Toward Blacks
After Learning About Racism, Study Shows
The University of Texas at AustinAUSTIN, Texas -- Challenging the idea that racism education could be harmful to students, a new study from The University of Texas at Austin found the results of learning about historical racism are primarily positive. The study appears in the November/December issue of the journal Child Development.
Psychologists Rebecca Bigler and Julie Milligan Hughes found white children who received history lessons about discrimination against famous African Americans had significantly more positive attitudes toward African Americans than those who received lessons with no mention of racism. African-American children who learned about racism did not differ in their racial attitudes from those who heard lessons that omitted the racism information, the study showed.
"There is a considerable debate about when and how children should be taught about racism," says Bigler, director of the university's Gender and Racial Attitudes Lab. "But little research has examined elementary-school-aged children's cognitive and emotional reactions to such lessons."
Monday, October 22, 2007
Should the U.S. government close a private school for hatred?
What is going on in Virginia? A school funded and run by the Saudi government has been investigated by a Federal governmental panel which recommends its closing. Apparently, the school is teaching extremism including hatred for Jews. The school, for its part, denies this.
This really brings up a very clear difficulty. Does the government have a right to investigate religious schools in the U.S. and intervene in the teaching? The difficulty of balancing safety concerns with the religious rights of the school are obvious, even if the religious tenants of the school are disturbing to the vast majority of Americans. Let's just hope that when the school says it's not spreading hate that they're being honest with us. This has the potential to be a very messy situation otherwise.
This really brings up a very clear difficulty. Does the government have a right to investigate religious schools in the U.S. and intervene in the teaching? The difficulty of balancing safety concerns with the religious rights of the school are obvious, even if the religious tenants of the school are disturbing to the vast majority of Americans. Let's just hope that when the school says it's not spreading hate that they're being honest with us. This has the potential to be a very messy situation otherwise.
Feds Recommend Closing Saudi School in Va.
ABC NewsA private Islamic school supported by the Saudi government should be shut down until the U.S. government can ensure the school is not fostering radical Islam, a federal panel recommends.
In a report released Thursday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom broadly criticized what it calls a lack of religious freedom in Saudi society and promotion of religious extremism at Saudi schools.
Particular criticism is leveled at the Islamic Saudi Academy, a private school serving nearly 1,000 students in grades K-12 at two campuses in northern Virginia's Fairfax County.
The commission's report says the academy hews closely to the curriculum used at Saudi schools, which they criticism for promoting hated of and intolerance against Jews, Christians, and Shiite Muslims.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Thank goodness Standford has a "value of tolerance"!
Donald Rumsfeld has received a one-year appointment at The Hoover Institution, a conservative think-tank at Standford. Apparently,in a fit of childish rage, over 300 professors and 3,500 total individuals associated with Standford want him removed. All is not lost, however. There is at least one mature person at Standford:
"Personally I disagree with his politics," said Brett Hammon, a political science major. "But at the same time, I'm not sure I think it would be prudent for the university to refuse hiring him just because most students disagree with his politics. I know I would hate it if I went to school in Texas and the university refused to hire a prominent liberal politician just because most of the student body was conservative."
"Personally I disagree with his politics," said Brett Hammon, a political science major. "But at the same time, I'm not sure I think it would be prudent for the university to refuse hiring him just because most students disagree with his politics. I know I would hate it if I went to school in Texas and the university refused to hire a prominent liberal politician just because most of the student body was conservative."
Professors, students protest Rumsfeld's appointment
CNNStandford, California -- Students and professors at Standford University are protesting Donald Rumsfeld's appointment to a campus think tank, saying the former defense secretary does not uphold the "ethical values" of the school.
Shortly after Rumsfeld's appointment was announced in September, professor Pamela Lee began an online petition from faculty members opposed to bringing him to the Hoover Institution.
Since then, the petition has gained more than 3,500 signatures, including nearly 300 faculty members from such diverse disciplines as law, computer science, electrical engineering and drama.
"We view the appointment as fundamentally incompatible with the ethical values of truthfulness, tolerance, disinterested inquiry, respect for national and international laws, and care for the opinions, property and lives of others to which Standford is inalienably committed," the petition reads.
Friday, September 7, 2007
KC trying something new
Kansas City schools is trying a new process: eliminating middle school and having students from kindergarten through 8th grade all in the same school.
I love these sorts of pilot programs. They're brilliant ideas and it is great to be trying something different. These sorts of programs, though, would be better served if they were being conducted by the Federal Department of Education. I tend not to be a fan of Education on a Federal level, but one area they can do better than local areas is wide-spread research and development. Education has not changed much in the last 50 years, mainly because it is the only industry where there is no concerted effort to develop and rigorously test new methodology. Things like this are moving in the right direction. A federal umbrella over these programs would improve communication and information sharing, allow for better comparisons and controls, and thus would improve education for all students.
I love these sorts of pilot programs. They're brilliant ideas and it is great to be trying something different. These sorts of programs, though, would be better served if they were being conducted by the Federal Department of Education. I tend not to be a fan of Education on a Federal level, but one area they can do better than local areas is wide-spread research and development. Education has not changed much in the last 50 years, mainly because it is the only industry where there is no concerted effort to develop and rigorously test new methodology. Things like this are moving in the right direction. A federal umbrella over these programs would improve communication and information sharing, allow for better comparisons and controls, and thus would improve education for all students.
The Future of Education?
ABC NewsThe Kansas City, Mo., school superintendent believes he has found the wave of the future in education: Eliminate middle school and test scores will go up.
For 50 years, the model for American public schools has been elementary school, the middle school and then high school.
But Kansas City, Mo., is eliminating the middle schools in favor of a single "elemiddle" school that will go from kindergarten through eighth grade. There, students in all grades stick with one teacher for the most of the day, so older kids will not switch classrooms for every subject as in the practice in middle schools.
"You're in a nurturing environment," said Kansas City School Superintendent Anthony Amato. "You don't see as many teachers as you would in a large environment, [such] as a middle school 1,000 students."
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Time for a change
The most recent Michigan-wide academic test scores have come out and the results should sicken all of us. In Michigan, more than half of all 11th grade students failed the math portion. 45% of 11th graders taking the science exam failed while a nauseating 61% of 11th graders failed the writing portion. The social studies exam had an 83% pass rate which is better but still not acceptable.
Michael Horn, the principal of Southfield High School, said it best: "I am very, very disappointed in the test results. All of us are at fault. We must acknowledge that. We failed our kids."
This is an attitude which we need from administrators, teachers, and - more importantly - parents. Also, the state has just introduced a new, tougher set of standards for the entire state, which should improve the situation.
It's not enough.
Michael Horn, the principal of Southfield High School, said it best: "I am very, very disappointed in the test results. All of us are at fault. We must acknowledge that. We failed our kids."
This is an attitude which we need from administrators, teachers, and - more importantly - parents. Also, the state has just introduced a new, tougher set of standards for the entire state, which should improve the situation.
It's not enough.
What we need is a fundamental change in the way in which education is funded and operates. We need to consolidate technological infrastructure; consolidate services; create state-wide educational research and development programs; implement community mentoring of at-risk students; expand the use of charter-schools; identify and reward high-performing teachers; change the pay structure so that we can attract more and better math, science, foreign language, and special education teachers; and concentrate more heavily on personal success and personal discipline over the self-esteem-first approach that has plagued education in the past few decades.
This will require fundamental changes to the way in which education is handled, and will require implementation of the results which education R & D will provide - something which has not seriously been done in this country. We are still educating our children essentially the same way we did 50 years ago; despite radical advances in every other field of study, the advances in education have been negligible. We need to identify how education can benefit from new technology, new psychological theories, new sociological models, and even new economic processes. Instead, the only really significant improvement to education in the last 50 years is the move from blackboards to dry erase boards in classrooms.
Right now, we're failing half of an entire generation in providing them with the single most important contribution they can receive. With these abysmal, shameful results we as a society have received, we are condemning countless numbers to poverty and it in unacceptable.
Merit test scores fall short
Detroit NewsMore than half of Michigan's high school juniors failed the state's new exam in math and writing and fewer than 60 percent passed reading and science, according to results released Wednesday by the Michigan Department of Education.
The new Michigan Merit Examination, which replaces the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) in high school, is billed as a tougher gauge of how well prepared students are for college, and it showed in test scores.
While state officials said they expected room for improvement, some district officials expressed shock their scores.
"I am very, very disappointed in the test results," said Michael Horn, principal of Southfield High School, where students struggled in math and writing. "All of us are at fault. We must acknowledge that. We failed our kids."
The results are the first indicator of whether Michigan is on the road toward increasing college readiness, and it likely will present a roadmap of where improvements must be made.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
We need more of this
We are obviously and clearly failing to educate about 30% of all students in the United States. This should be a distinct and profound national shame, as most of the failure occurs within areas which are already impoverished. Changes like year round school should be considered, tried out, and tested to see if they improve performance. I can't wait to see in 5 years or so if this is making a difference for Chicago's new year round program. If it is, we should move this program to other areas. If not, at least we've tried something to improve circumstances for these children.
Year-round school takes off
The Chicago Sun-TimesBrand new second-graders should know how to tell time. But after a long summer break, many are rusty, forcing teachers to go back over the basics -- which is the hour hand? -- instead of diving into second-grade work.
That's not a problem at Alain Locke Charter Academy in East Garfield Park, which resumed class July 16 after a three-week summer break.
"They [still] know everything," said Beth Nelson, a Locke second-grade teacher. She used to spend weeks each fall reviewing. "I find everything I give them, they raise their hands and say, 'I'm done.' "
Locke switched last summer to a year-round calendar -- 10 weeks of school followed by three-week breaks -- and it seems to be paying off. Preliminary state test results are up over last year, including a 10 percentage point gain in reading. Teachers also report more time to plan ahead.
"I actually feel smarter," said 12-year-old Tierra Masupha. "I get a lot more knowledge."
The idea, long pushed by Mayor Daley, is starting to take off.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
"Safe and competent" snake oil salesman
According to the Daily Mail, there's a rising trend among UK universities to grant degrees in "complimentary medicine." Complementary medicine is, of course, a term used to try to legitimize the use of quackery like herbalism, “natural” remedies, and other unscientific, unproven, ineffective means to treat illness. Of course, the snake oil remedies are defended by the instructors of these classes in order to ensure that the “practitioners are safe and competent.” I’m sure that will help, someone who’s competent with the mystical potions which have no proven effects as they fraudulently peddle them to an ever-increasing market. The other justification? That there are now millions of people who are seeking to buy these products despite huge evidence that they’re worthless. It’s good to know that if you can con enough people into ignoring the mountain of scientific evidence that you’re a fraud you can even get a job at a university teaching other frauds.
Row over surge in 'scandalously un-academic' university courses
The Daily MailUniversities were today accused of offering "scandalously unacademic" courses such as complimentary medicine to boost their funding.
Spiralling numbers of students are flocking to the courses while scientific disciplines such as anatomy and pharmacy are suffering.
Now angry dons are breaking ranks to claim many so-called soft degree subjects represent a cynical attempt to generate income with little regard for academic standards.
Latest official figures reveal how degree course applications are up 5.3 per cent across the board on last year.
Yet some subjects are registering much steeper rises. Complementary medicine has drawn 31.5 per cent more applicants, so far receiving 1,908.
Physics is up 12.5 per cent but other science subjects have seen relatively modest increases, such as pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacy on 6 per cent. This represents barely any improvement at all, given the 5.3 per cent rise in applications overall.
The figures prompted leading pharmacologist David Colquhoun to accuse universities of "cashing in" on subjects such as complementary medicine.
The professor of pharmacology at University College London, told the Times Higher Education Supplement he was "appalled" by the trend.
"These courses are basically anti-science" he said.
"Universities that run them should be ashamed of themselves."
Friday, July 20, 2007
"Sex Ed" for Kindergarten
When Barack Obama is talking about sex education for kindergarten aged children, what is he talking about? Recent quotes make it appear as though he's talking about teaching children how to avoid pedophiles and what is inappropriate behavior from adults. This doesn't really strike me as "sex ed" so much as teaching the children how to avoid societal dangers. Teaching children that they should report "inappropriate touching" and what types of touching is inappropriate doesn't strike me as more problematic than teaching them to look before crossing the street or wear a helmet while biking.
Sex Ed for Kindergartners? Romney-Obama Debate Heats Up
Romney Asks, 'How Much Sex Education Is Age Appropriate for a 5-Year-Old?
ABC NewsWhen Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama reaffirmed to Planned Parenthood this week that he believes elements of sex education should begin in kindergarten, Republican Mitt Romney saw an opening -- and he pounced.
"I was governor four years,' said Romney. "I never had one person coming to me and say, 'You know what, governor, I'm concerned about something.' What's that? 'I'm concerned about sex education. I'm concerned my kids aren't learning enough about sex.' I never heard that."
Romney may have never heard that because Massachusetts -- the state where he served as governor from 2003 to 2007 -- has a decidedly progressive sex education curriculum. Under the state's non-binding framework, school districts can begin working towards the state's sex education goals as early as pre-kindergarten.
By the end of the fifth grade, it not only encourages schools to teach children the basics about puberty and the reproductive system, it also encourages them to know how to define "sexual orientation using the correct terminology (such as heterosexual, and gay and lesbian)." Before the end of fifth grade, the Massachusetts framework also aims to teach children about inappropriate touching.
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