Free Republic

Were Sam Blumenfeld (AlphaPhonics) & Alex Newman (Crimes of the Educators) wrong that miseducation was deliberate, just because they were John Birchers (New American)? I know a duplicitous guy who writes for the New American (John Birch Society). I looked up his articles; they were transparently manipulative, clumsily so. But not Blumenfeld or Newman. (My John Birch acquaintance is a real stinker, he divorced and remarried, on the pretext that his Catholic marriage to his wife was performed by a priest of "schismatic" Catholic group SSPX. But SSPX has been rehabilitated and now has full sacramental faculties. So where does...

Head of the class: San Francisco schools already teach LGBT history, and they’ve done so since 1992. Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/07/bill-mandate-teaching-lgbt-history-moves-closer-classroom#ixzz1RM19rOze Prominent figures in LGBT history could play a larger role in classrooms throughout the state after a bill requiring their inclusion into California curriculum passed the state Assembly on Tuesday and headed to the governor’s desk.The FAIR Education Act by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would require schools to teach at all grade levels the historical contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.If signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, schools would have to...

"The bursting of our collective bubble comes quickly. A few weeks into the semester, the students must start actually writing papers, and I must start grading them. Despite my enthusiasm, despite their thoughtful nods of agreement and what I have interpreted as moments of clarity, it turns out that in many cases it has all come to naught. Remarkably few of my students can do well in these classes. Students routinely fail; some fail multiple times, and some will never pass, because they cannot write a coherent sentence. In each of my courses, we discuss thesis statements and topic sentences,...

Yoga Cred by: Deborah Lambert, January 29, 2008 Although students at Needham (Mass) High School may have felt a lot less stressed after principal Paul Richards stopped publishing the list of honor roll recipients last year, it seems the relaxation guru was just getting started, according to Michelle Malkin, who noted that his latest idea was for the school to sponsor “in-school yoga classes.” “It’s not that I’m trying to turn the culture upside down,” Richards told the New York Times, explaining that his goal was simply to bring “the culture to a healthier place.” These health concerns not only...

DETROIT -- Thousands of striking Detroit teachers defied a judge's order to return to work Monday as school officials and the union resumed contract talks in the two-week dispute. Circuit Judge Susan Borman on Friday ordered the 7,000 teachers to go back to work Monday, but district spokesman Lekan Oguntoyinbo said the overwhelming majority remained off the job. He said attorneys would go back in court Tuesday to ask the judge to "enforce our rights." State law allows for fines and other penalties against employees who ignore a back-to-work order, but Oguntoyinbo would not say what action the district would...

(Batavia, NY, August 28, 2006) - - Parents in Genesee County are getting a chance to voice their concerns about a teacher's plan to undergo a sex change. News 4's Michele McClintick reports. Parents in the Batavia school district will learn more about a topic that doesn't normally come up in a classroom. A science teacher at Batavia High School will soon undergo gender transformation surgery to become a woman. Last week, the school sent out a letter informing parents about the teacher's plans. Administrators will hold an informational meeting about the issue Monday night with legal and medical experts.

The Baltimore school board this week lowered the passing grae from 70% down to 60%. I was travelling to Baltimore this week and read the Sun Tues/Wed morning and read this article and how the hacks though it was wonderful but the parents were outraged due to the lack of public input and the lowering of standards.

The Linda Schrenko trial has suddenly ended in Atlanta, as the former Georgia State School Superintendent has pleaded guilty. In a deal with prosecutors, Schrenko pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to one charge of fraud and another of money laundering. Under the plea bargain, the former superintendent will serve an eight-year prison sentence, drop her right to an appeal and hand over other evidence in the case. Schrenko was accused along with two co-defendents of diverting federal education money into her failed gubernatorial campaign four years ago. The $600,000 had been earmarked for hearing-impaired and honors students. Prosecutors claimed Schrenko also...

(Update, July 22, 2005, 7:20 a.m.) A Hesperia teenager will go to trial for making a Girls Gone Wild-like video. Russell Sobo was bound over for trial Thursday on two counts of child sexually abusive activity. Last month the Hesperia school board suspended Russell and another student, William Gomber, for taping three girls baring their breasts in the parking lot of Hesperia High School...

The increasingly famous Montgomery County cucumber has been sentenced to legal limbo with the ruling of a federal judge last week, which is too bad, considering the hype that has enveloped this normally modest side dish. The Montgomery County cucumber has been the subject of countless news stories and commentaries this spring, as America undergoes the uncomfortable process of learning everything it ever wanted to know about the cucumber but was afraid to ask. The Montgomery County cucumber is the co-star of a low-budget flick, "Protect Yourself," along with an actress who has all the lines. Of course, the latter...

Oct. 9, 2004, 10:29AM Beaumont students watch 'Fahrenheit 9/11' in class Associated Press BEAUMONT -- A Southeast Texas businessman is upset that his son's English class watched Michael Moore's scathing documentary on President Bush and his handling of events after the terrorist attacks. ADVERTISEMENT Michael Kurth, a veteran, said he was opposed to the film "Fahrenheit 9/11" based on its R rating and political partisanship. His son Matthew, 17, said that he put his head on his desk and tried to sleep through it. "It bothered me," he said. Moore's condemnation of Bush's actions regarding the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks...

<p>Sandra Jolly said her 6-year-old son's Christmas was spoiled when his teacher told the first-grade class Monday that "Santa Claus is make-believe."</p> <p>"He had this sad, lost puppy dog look on his face. This unhappy, empty look," Jolly said. "He said his teacher informed the entire class that Santa is make-believe."</p>