Free Republic

WASHINGTON – Students beware: The summer vacation you just enjoyed could be sharply curtailed if President Barack Obama gets his way. Obama says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe. "Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom." The president, who has a sixth-grader and a third-grader, wants schools...

Official: New law may scare teachers away PIERRE (AP) — A school superintendent expressed worry that a new federal law that requires "highly qualified" teachers in every classroom might reduce the number of students entering the profession in South Dakota. Jim Holbeck of Clark raised that concern Tuesday during a meeting between Gov. Mike Rounds and most of the state's school superintendents. The meeting centered on the No Child Left Behind Act, a federal law that focuses on student achievement and improvement. The law requires that all students be taught by highly qualified teachers. Holbeck said South Dakota has...