http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/education/ en-us Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:36:02 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285922/posts A slew of research shows that America is losing the conservative Christian youth in massive droves. These studies show a generation being increasingly won over to a socialistic/secular-humanistic worldview in spite of the American church increasing their apologetic courses, children's programs, youth rallies and books and sermon series on child training. What is happening? Could it be that we are doing something wrong? I would make the case that we are blatantly sinning in sending our kids to places that are, in fact, causing them to fall away. Let me lay out the case in three simple points. ( SNIP)... WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285922/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:36:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2285882/posts Despite almost 50 years of large and accelerating efforts to improve the school achievement of African-American students, the gap between their achievement and that of whites and Asians remains about as large as ever. Yet proposals for what to do about it seem basically unchanged: Spend more money and divert existing money to reduce class size and train teachers better, have more students take a rigorous college prep curriculum, work on improving self-esteem, eliminate ability-grouped classes, use cooperative-learning techniques, and reassign top teachers to schools with a high percentage of African-American students. I have become especially doubtful about whether those... Marty Nemko http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2285882/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 13:16:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285488/posts Today we celebrate that stirring day in history, July 4, 1812, when the first president of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, emerged from the old State House in Boston, held up the new Constitution freshly penned by Thomas Jefferson of New York, and announced to the cheers of the gathered throng that, "These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent of the crown of Spain!" Who would not wish to have been there, joining in the joyous tumult, as the commander of the Continental Army, Ulysses S. Grant, promptly ordered his men to board the... Las Vegas Review-Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285488/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 16:56:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284777/posts Video: "Indoctrinating America's Youth" Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284777/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 13:03:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2284364/posts Among the questions asked by the Goldwater survey were such puzzlers as “What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?” and “Who was the first president of the United States?” The full report will be released shortly, but here are ten of the questions asked, along with the percentage of students who answered them correctly. To pass, the students had only to correctly answer six of the ten questions, pulled at random from a pool of questions from the U.S. citizenship exam. Only 3.5% of the students, all from government schools, passed the test. That’s about 40 out of... The Constitutional Alamo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2284364/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 20:03:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284179/posts “The full-time residential model of higher education is getting too expensive for a larger share of the American population.” Is it any wonder “more and more students are looking for lower-cost alternatives to attending college?” What does the future hold for higher education? â–ª White students will likely be outnumbered by minority students on college campuses. â–ª People will need to rely on more and more formalized education to advance their careers or change to new ones. â–ª It is estimated that ten years from now, the average cost for a 4 year public college in-state resident will be $31,949.28... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284179/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 16:12:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284110/posts No matter how much money any government - federal, state or local - puts into public education, it's never enough in some people's eyes. A July 1 "NBC Nightly News" segment detailed a new use of tax payer dollars in one of the worst performing, financially struggling school systems in the country - the Washington, D.C. public school system. They are paying school children with taxpayer funds, part of a social experiment to improve school participation at the middle school level. --more with video-- newsbusters.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284110/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 15:13:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2283923/posts 15 Must-Have Web Apps for Students June 28, 2009 in Tips and Tools Welcome! If this is your first time here, you may want to subscribe to get updates in your RSS feed reader. Thanks for visiting! This is a guest post from Karen Schweitzer. For more from Karen, check out her blog about Online College Courses, or follow her on Twitter. College students are increasingly reliant on computers – and, for many of us, that means spending tons of money software that we’d rather not use anyway. The reality, though, is that there are a ton of great, free... the20life.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2283923/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:57:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283701/posts You know those groan-inducing spots on late-night television when the typical person-on-the-street can't identify the vice president? That's akin to what happened to the state's education system Tuesday, with the issuance of a new report that found only 3.5 percent of traditional public high school students would be able to pass a U.S. citizenship test— bombing out on questions such as who was America's first president, who wrote the Declaration of Independence and what do we call the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. There's little room to be smug from the charter school or private school arenas. While they... Arizona Daily Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283701/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 00:01:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2283412/posts   I have a suggestion for those in academia who are concerned that women be treated as intellectual equals: Try sexual modesty. Before the lynching party arrives, I hope I will have time to explain.   I have taught at several colleges, one of which has a dress code. To many, a dress code seems old-fashioned at best, a puri-tyrannical breach of our right to freedom of speech at worst. (It should worry us that clothing is considered speech.) But allow me to present two examples -- male and female -- that illustrate how sexual modesty is related to the... Inside Catholic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2283412/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 17:48:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2283059/posts Once I asked my students, “What do you think of the Constitution?” “It white,” one slouching black rang out. The class began to laugh. And I caught myself laughing along with them, laughing while Pompeii’s volcano simmers, while the barbarians swell around the Palatine, while the country I love, and the job I love, and the community I love become dimmer by the day. Blogspot http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2283059/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 06:14:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282727/posts Mayor Michael Bloomberg says New York City's schools can't close for Muslim holidays. The City Council is considering a non-binding resolution on Tuesday asking the Education Department to observe Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The city has the nation's largest school system. A 2008 study by Columbia University's Teachers College estimates at least 10 percent of its 1.1 million students are Muslim. Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282727/posts#comment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:07:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282322/posts Some illegal immigrant high school graduates will be able to attend Wisconsin state universities by paying in-state tuition, under a provision in the two-year budget Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law Monday. Wisconsin now becomes the 11th state to enact such a law. To qualify, students would have to reside in the state for three years, graduate from a Wisconsin high school or earn an equivalency degree here. The students would have to apply through the normal channels. It's estimated from 400 to 650 illegal immigrants annually graduate from state high schools, but they must pay out-of-state tuition if they... Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282322/posts#comment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:17:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282296/posts Uncle Sam has yet another program out to help distressed borrowers. This one bails out anyone with more federally-sponsored student loans than they can afford. Instead of repaying your student loans on a usual time- and interest-based schedule, the government is allowing people to pay based on income. It's an interesting idea, but I worry it could have some bad consequences. The Atlantic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282296/posts#comment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:42:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282140/posts Tacked to my wall is a lithograph of the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. For many years, it graced my mother's one-room schoolhouse in Lime Rock, N.Y. Antiquarian relic or enduringly relevant image? The same question may be asked of the "little red schoolhouse" itself, whose reality and legend are the subject of "Small Wonder." Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor at New York University, sets out to tell "how -- and why -- the little red schoolhouse became an American icon." Mr. Zimmerman proves a thoughtful and entertaining teacher. First, the chromatic debunking: One-room schools were often white and... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282140/posts#comment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:52:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282084/posts The chief counsel with the Pacific Justice Institute is fighting for the rights of parents to opt out of a controversial curriculum. San Francisco Bay-area Alameda Unified School District has approved a "lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender" (LGBT) curriculum for use with kindergarten through fifth-grade students. The curriculum is intended to deal with issues such as bullying and harassment. Kevin Snider with the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) says the board passed the curriculum despite the objection of 73 percent of the speakers from the community who attended the board meeting. "The fundamental problem with the curriculum is it gives a... One News Now http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282084/posts#comment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:32:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2281952/posts A petition has been launched to force council chiefs to drop plans to brand a Prescot school with a bizarre 12-word name. More than 100 people have already signed up opposing the plan to re-name Prescot School as Knowsley Park Centre for Learning - serving Prescot, Whiston and the wider community. Organisers behind the Prescotian - a website for former Prescot School pupils - have branded the new name "politically correct madness". They plan to present their petition to education bosses before the start of the next school term in a bid to force a u-turn. The far from snappy... St. Helens Reporter http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2281952/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:52:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281753/posts Minnesota Rep. John Kline expects Congress to pull back on federal testing requirements during an upcoming rewrite of the No Child Left Behind education law. Kline will have a prominent voice in the debate as the senior Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, a role he assumed this month. Speaking to reporters Monday, Kline said the law passed under then-President George W. Bush came with too many demands from Washington. He said states should have more say over the frequency of student testing. KSTP.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281753/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:39:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281713/posts As we approach the end of the first decade of the first century of the third millennium of the Christian Era, the corporate members of the new and influential Partnership for 21st Century Skills have begun to look beyond and behind and beneath their earlier commitment to the education of our students in critical thinking, collaborative problem solving, and global awareness. It has become obvious to industry leaders that more fundamental than all these new student skills for success in the business world is really Critical Likability. While it may be useful for new employees to know that the world... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281713/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:25:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281522/posts Protests by the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) forced the Canadian province of British Columbia to remove from its website a “loaded bomb” question that illustrates how anti-Zionism infiltrates into the educational system that often tries to rewrite history. A question prepared for a history examination in the province was posted on the website as part of a practice test until the CJC got wind of it. Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281522/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:51:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281500/posts Student Awarded $1.25M For Relationship With TeacherUPDATED: 9:50 pm PDT June 26, 2009 SAN DIEGO -- A jury awarded $1.25 million to a former student at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Paradise Hills because they found that the principal and others failed to report a sexual relationship between the student and her teacher. Teacher John Kyujoon Lee pleaded guilty to statutory rape back in 2007. But now, the San Diego Unified School District must pay for its role in allowing the sexual relationship between Lee and a former student to go on for nearly three years. Attorney... 10 News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281500/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:09:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280945/posts Some D.C. public charter schools continue selective admissions practices that discourage special-needs students from enrolling, and students citywide with possible disabilities still face delays in special education evaluations, a federal court monitor said this week. "Charter schools . . . generally have not enrolled students with significant disabilities who required extensive hours of special services or education," the monitor, Amy Totenberg, wrote in a report prepared for a court hearing yesterday. WaPo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280945/posts#comment Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:43:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280795/posts Outside of dealing with parents whose children can do no wrong there is probably no more contentious issue between a parent and school than homework assignments. The issue is clouded with research that indicates that proves that homework hurts students, doesn’t make any difference, helps students, or all of the above. In other words there clearly is no final word on the benefits or harm done by asking a student to work outside of school. The reason that homework has been an issue may not have anything to do with education, but with power. Who controls a student’s time? Is... ednews.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280795/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:11:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280622/posts Karen England Sacramento, Calif., Jun 27, 2009 / 08:04 am (CNA).- The Modesto City School Board on Monday voted to allow junior high and high school students to leave campus during the school day for “confidential medical services,” such as abortions, without the consent or knowledge of their parents. The school board adopted the new policy in a preliminary vote of 4-3, the California Catholic Daily says. The board members will take another vote on the issue on July 13.Karen England, executive director of the pro-family lobbying group Capitol Resource Institute, attended the meeting and reported that four people... cna http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280622/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:29:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2280030/posts The Obama administration is renewing efforts to sign a United Nations treaty supposedly aimed at protecting children’s rights. Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the UN announced on Monday that the administration is investigating “when and how it might be possible to join” the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). While a treaty codifying children’s rights may sound harmless, the true nature of this treaty is devastating to our family structure, Constitution, national sovereignty and security. New rights granted the child would include the right to “thought, conscience and religion.” Do our children not already enjoy these rights?... Canada Free Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2280030/posts#comment Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:53:43 GMT