Today, school is about indoctrination, not education. Diversity and tolerance and dependency trump the "3 Rs"NEA challenged on political outlays - Teacher's union fields "army of campaign workers"
Pasadena teacher who assigned politically charged letter writing to resign*** Williams, a member of the teachers association and president of the Pasadena Educators Association, took the letters to Austin in March. Many of the students pleaded for legislators to spare field trips, textbooks and teacher salaries from the budget ax.***
Critics Call Local High School Course Un-American*** A new elective course in international affairs at Farmington Hills High School has stirred up national interest for its alleged un-American content, Local 4 reported.
The course was brought to light when cable's FOX News Channel aired a story Monday night about some local parents who were angered over the course's content.
According to the cable station's Web site, many of the class readings come from left-wing Web sites like Alternet.org, Indymedia.org, Progressive.org and War-times.org that apparently attack the administration of President George W. Bush. After FOX News aired the story, the Farmington school district began receiving nasty e-mails from outraged citizens across the country, Local 4 reported. ***
Students To Earn Community Service Hours ***Rockville, Md. (AP) - When teachers rally in Annapolis for public school funding there could also be a lot of students in the crowd. Montgomery County (website - news) Public Schools will grant students who attend two hours community service credit for being there. The county requires students to perform 60 hours of community service as a requirement for graduation.
The February 9th rally is sponsored by the Coalition for Public School Funding. Teachers, school boards and community activists are seeking full funding of the Thornton Plan. Maryland Governor Bob Erlich has cut the program to help reduce a $1 billion deficit he inherited when he took office last year. Under Thornton, the state's schools were to receive an extra $365 million in the upcoming school year.
The rally is also prompting scheduling changes in Prince Georges County. Schools there will close two hours early to give teachers time to drive to Annapolis to participate in the demonstration. ***
Parents of boy slain at school recall his awards with pride***Parents of the boy killed at Southwood Middle School remember him as a scholar, musician and doting son who dreamed of becoming a scientist.***
HONORS: Maria and Jorge Gough show off a collection of awards and trophies earned by their son Jaime, a Southwood Middle School eighth-grader who was killed Tuesday. NURI VALLBONA/HERALD STAFF
"persistently dangerous" - School-safety rankings - or just black marks?***At the heart of the discrepancy may well be a reluctance on the part of educators to report campus crime fully. A survey by the National Association of School Resource Officers found that 89 percent of school police believe crime is already underreported. "It's the scarlet letter in education today," says Mr. Trump. "Administrators have said to me privately that they would rather be academically failing than be a dangerous school." ***