http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/publikskoolz/ en-us Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:37:18 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2293595/posts To boost the economy out of the recession, President Obama has chosen to spend an additional $100 billion on public schooling over the next two years. His education secretary, Arne Duncan, is touring the nation to promote this education "stimulus." However well-intentioned, their effort isn't just futile; it's also counterproductive. Far from being an engine of wealth creation, the education system is bleeding the economy to death. The U.S. spends 2.3 times as much per pupil in real, inflation-adjusted dollars as it spent in 1970, but the return on this ballooning investment has been less than nothing. Student achievement at... IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2293595/posts#comment Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:37:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2293630/posts Early summer is sports day season and it seems as if we are living at my sons' schools, watching with pride as their little legs pump across the field, their eyes screwed up in concentration as they attempt to keep that pesky egg on the spoon. But I find myself wondering why they try so hard when their teachers are so determined that there should be no winners, no matter how far a child streaks ahead of his classmates. Last Friday was my five-year-old son Jacob's first sports day at his primary school, and when he powered over the finish... Daily Mail (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2293630/posts#comment Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:18:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2286704/posts Although–or, perhaps, because–liberalism has dominated public education since the 1960s, test results and competency in general continue to decline, much to the stated chagrin of officials in the school system and local, state, and federal governments. Barack Obama has made reforming the education system in America one of his highest priorities. “[Education reform] will require a willingness to break free from the same debates that Washington has been engaged in for decades – Democrat versus Republican; vouchers versus the status quo; more money versus more accountability,” Obama has said. “And most of all, it will take a president who is... The Constitutional Alamo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2286704/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 19:33:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285999/posts Bill H1377 would repeal the exemption for schools from the laws protecting children from "harmful material" including pornography. One might ask why this is needed. In years past sensible people assumed that schools could show kids legitimate works of classical art that, while technically showing the nude body, are not normally considered pornographic. People assumed that schools were run by mature people with common sense. But no one dreamed that schools would become purveyors of hardcore pornography and other graphic, disturbing material to children. In recent years, however, abuses against kids by schools have become epidemic across the state. But... massresistance.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285999/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 17:34:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2285152/posts <p>ELK GROVE, Calif. — A Northern California elementary school teacher sent her students home for the summer with a video of class memories, only the DVD included six seconds of her having sex on a couch.</p> <p>Officials at the Elk Grove Unified School District asked families of the teacher's 24 students to get rid of the DVD after the unintended clip was found spliced in a scene where children were sharing stories in class.</p> FoxNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2285152/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 23:50:24 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-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/2281066/posts It looks like Duke University has another rape case on its hands. This one may hurt the university nearly as much as the one that rocked its campus back in 2006. Unlike the previous case, this one appears to involve a credible confession of sexual abuse. Like the previous case, crucial facts are already being filtered through the prism of identity politics. Frank Lombard is the associate director of Duke’s Center for Health Policy. The university administrator was recently arrested by the FBI and charged with offering up his adopted 5-year-old son for sex. I tried to contact Frank Lombard... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281066/posts#comment Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:12:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279569/posts Two Democrats got into a verbal altercation — and according to one a physical one — on the floor of the House on Thursday night over an appropriations earmark one was seeking. After the House floor had largely cleared following a series of votes, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) split apart from a heated conversation and began yelling at one another. “You’re out of line,” Waters shot while walking down toward the well. “You’re out of line,” Obey shot back before turning and walking away. But then Obey stopped, turned back toward Waters, and shouted:... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279569/posts#comment Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:46:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2278766/posts A Silverton teacher is facing charges for the alleged four-year sex abuse of a boy that began in 2002 when he was 13 years old. Susan Christina Alderson, 46, a sixth-grade teacher at Robert Frost Elementary School in Silverton, was arrested Tuesday after a search warrant was served on her home in the 2100 block of Robins Lane Southeast in Salem. Police believe Alderson maintained an ongoing sexual "relationship" with the now 19-year-old victim, who was not one of her students, said Lt. Steve Birr, criminal investigations section commander. Oregon Live http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2278766/posts#comment Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:42:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2277075/posts An Indian immigrant says his son was forced to violate Hindu dietary rules by eating a beef taco at a Cincinnati public school. Ashish Gandhi has filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department alleging religious discrimination, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Sunday. Gandhi, who says a school employee force-fed the taco to his son, called it an "intentional act of religious bigotry" by the Academy of World Languages. Gary Winters, a lawyer for the Cincinnati Public Schools, says the 5-year-old boy selected the taco himself. "At most, there was an error made on a single occasion, for which CPS's personnel... UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2277075/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:06:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276446/posts The pressure to pass students - even those who rarely go to class or can't read - is pervasive in the Philadelphia School District, teachers around the city say. The push comes in memos, in meetings, and in talks about failure rates that are too high, the teachers say. It comes through mountains of paperwork and justification for failing any student. It comes in ways subtle and overt, according to more than a dozen teachers from nine of the city's 62 high schools. "We have to give fake grades," said a teacher at Mastbaum High in Kensington. "The pressure is... Philadelphia Inquirer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276446/posts#comment Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:07:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272430/posts GREENEVILLE, TN—Joseph Wayne Jennings, 53, of New Tazewell, Tennessee, was arrested on Wednesday, June 10, 2009, at the Holiday Inn located at 5435 Davy Crockett Parkway in Morristown, Tennessee. Jennings, an educator who is retired from the Claiborne County Board of Education, was a principal at Clairfield Elementary School and a teacher at the Renaissance School. After his retirement, he worked as a teacher for the Cherokee-Douglas Economic Authority and worked part-time for Toys R Us during the Christmas 2008 season. In a four-count complaint presented by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent Sandra Farrow, Jennings is charged with... Department of Justice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272430/posts#comment Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:00:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271211/posts Tim Latham, who has spent the last 19 years teaching students American history and government spent the past school year at a high school in Lawerence, Kan. and it appears his first year at the school will be his last. During Latham's brief meeting with the assistant principal ( Jan gentry ), he clamis gentry told him his school-affilated web site was " too patriotic ". The site links to the US Military Academy at West Point, the Air Force,and other military and history related sites Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271211/posts#comment Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:16:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2270829/posts ...... Latham also said that Gentry asked him about a "McCain-Palin" bumper sticker on his car. "She said, 'I don't know how you could support that woman,'" Latham said. "That was the beginning of what was going on. They were trying to find a reason to get rid of me." The married father of three said the experience hasn’t affected his desire to teach. And support from students and a local conservative group have inspired him to fight for his job. Chloe Mercer, who graduated Lawrence High School last month, said Latham's class was her favorite and said he was... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2270829/posts#comment Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:33:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2270718/posts Los Angeles Unified School District officials announced today that they were canceling nearly 500 layoff notices. Administrators at school sites opted to use funds to "buy back" 500 positions, including those of teachers and counselors, according to the district. L.A. Unified faces a nearly $133-million deficit this fiscal year and has issued preliminary layoff notices to about 2,500 employees. The district must resolve this year's deficit before July 1. LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2270718/posts#comment Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:28:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266548/posts The forces of political correctness once vowed that, should they ever take over, their free expression on all kinds of issues -- from gay rights to amnesty for illegals to space aliens inspiring the pyramids of ancient Egypt -- would no longer be censored. Censored? Heck, spouting the PC line is now mandatory, as many a professor lately hauled before a college Star Chamber on charges of having "given offense" now learns. Internationally renowned Austrian economics professor Hans-Hermann Hoppe used a standard textbook example of investment time preferences in a classroom lecture at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a... Las Vegas Review-Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266548/posts#comment Sun, 7 Jun 2009 10:19:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266558/posts While President Obama was in Cairo preaching Islamist propaganda to the ears of Muslim students this last week, his administration was carrying out an even more sinister agenda. While he was willfully misleading the television audience as to the "tolerance" that Islam allows, he quietly nominated a man who teaches students to hate parents. While President Obama seemingly praised the earliest traces of recognition of Sharia law on U.S. soil (women being subjugated into wearing hajibs even in America), he stealthily put forward a nominee who refused to report a sexual relationship where a man was molesting a school age... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266558/posts#comment Sun, 7 Jun 2009 11:19:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2266453/posts PURDY, Wash. -- A student presenting an essay at Peninsula High School in Purdy on Tuesday morning took out a marijuana joint, lit it, and began smoking it, police said. Read the essay here. See cell phone video. According to Pierce County sheriff's detective Ed Troyer, the student smoked the joint during his essay supporting the legalization of marijuana. He then finished his essay, sat down, finished smoking the joint and then ate the end after it was fully smoked. The teacher of the class contacted the school resources officer, a Pierce County sheriff's deputy, who found a small residual... www.kirotv.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2266453/posts#comment Sun, 7 Jun 2009 02:40:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266071/posts Members of the graduating class of 2009 at Florida's Pace High School have expressed their objections to ACLU restrictions on statements of religious faith at their school by rising up en masse at their ceremony and reciting the Lord's Prayer. The incident happened just days ago, but has been virtually ignored by media outlets throughout the region, according to officials with Liberty Counsel, a legal team representing Principal Frank Lay and teacher Michelle Winkler in their battle with the ACLU, which had complained that faculty and teachers were talking about their beliefs. Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace, a Santa... WorldNetDaily.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266071/posts#comment Sat, 6 Jun 2009 10:47:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265388/posts Nashville, N.C. — Some parents say Nash Central Middle School has become a battleground with student fights in the hallways and bathrooms. Concerned for their children's safety, parents filled the Nash-Rocky Mount school board meeting Monday evening. Parents, students say fights taking place at school WATCH VIDEO http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/5258741/ WRAL (N.C.) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265388/posts#comment Fri, 5 Jun 2009 12:27:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265053/posts LEE COUNTY — The Lee County School District is supported with taxes but is now on the list of property owners who have failed to pay 2008 taxes on time. According to the Lee County Tax Collector Web site, the district has not paid taxes on five of the 126 properties it owns, the largest of which is a $34,000 bill for 2008 taxes on an undeveloped property in Cape Coral. The taxes owed are non-ad valorem taxes — for services such as wastewater treatment — and not the same kind of taxes at the heart of a discussion in... Naples News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265053/posts#comment Fri, 5 Jun 2009 00:33:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265077/posts LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that GREGG M. CAVALUZZI, 34, a former Pelham middle school teacher, has been arrested for enticement of a minor. According to the Complaint filed yesterday in White Plains federal court and statements at CAVALUZZI’s presentment yesterday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge PAUL E. DAVISON: From approximately May 19 through May 31, 2009, CAVALUZZI had numerous recorded telephone conversations and text message exchanges with a police officer from the Westchester County Police Department who was posing as a 15-year-old girl. During the telephone conversations and... Department of Justice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265077/posts#comment Fri, 5 Jun 2009 00:56:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264325/posts Board votes to fire teacher charged with having sex with studentJune 2, 2009 By CRAIG A. WHITNEY Maine Township High School District 207 officials voted to terminate the employment of Jennifer Espinosa, the Maine East teacher charged on suspicion of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old former student. Board members voted 7-0 on the issue during Monday's regular Board of Education meeting in the board room of the Ralph Frost Administration Center, 1131 S. Dee Road. Jennifer Espinosa District spokesman Dave Beery explained the decision Tuesday, which became effective immediately. "They voted to terminate her employment," he said. The... Pioneer Local http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264325/posts#comment Thu, 4 Jun 2009 02:33:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264114/posts Middle-school students to be tried as adults in alleged locker room attackFour middle-school students in the Tampa, Fla., area are being charged as adults with sexually assaulting a younger flag-football teammate in a locker room. Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264114/posts#comment Wed, 3 Jun 2009 22:04:00 GMT