tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86282628721031712932024-03-13T09:14:14.334-07:00fabrica blogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-17053715766065398862012-11-19T04:44:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.351-08:00<br /><br /><br /><b>British primary school teachers could face dismissal for refusing to promote homosexual marriage</b><br /><br /> Primary school teachers could face the sack for refusing to promote gay marriage once same-sex unions become law, a minister has signalled. Liz Truss, an education minister, refused to rule out the possibility that teachers, even in faith schools, could face disciplinary action for objecting on grounds of conscience. <br /><br /> Miss Truss said simply that it was impossible to know what the impact of the legislation would be at this stage. Her admission came in a letter to a fellow Conservative MP, David Burrowes, last month. <br /><br /> Mr Burrowes, a practising Christian, originally wrote to Maria Miller, the equalities minister, raising concerns about the impact on schools of the Coalition's plans to change the marriage laws. <br /><br /> It followed the publication of a legal opinion by Aidan O'Neill QC, a barrister in the same London chambers as Cherie Blair, commissioned by the Coalition for Marriage, which campaigns against same-sex unions. <br /><br /> Mr O'Neill, an expert on human rights, was asked to advise on the impact redefining marriage to include same-sex couples could have on schools, churches, hospitals, foster carers and public buildings. <br /><br /> Among his conclusions was that schools could be within their statutory rights to dismiss staff who wilfully fail to use stories or textbooks promoting same-sex weddings. Parents who object to gay marriage being taught to their children would also have no right to withdraw their child from lessons, he argued. And, in theory, the fact that a school was a faith school would make no difference, he added. <br /><br /> One scenario he looked at was what would happen if a primary school asked a Christian teacher to use a book called King & King, a story of a prince who marries a man, and produce a play based on the tale. <br /><br /> Mr O'Neill concluded: "If the teacher refused to obey the otherwise lawful instructions of her employers then this would constitute grounds for her dismissal from employment." <br /><br /> He said that the teacher would be unlikely to be able to use human rights law to challenge such a decision because the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg had previously been "notably unwilling" to allow employers to use religion to request changes to their conditions of employment. <br /><br /> Mr Burrowes wrote to ministers seeking reassurances that the situation would not arise. <br /><br /> Replying on behalf of the Government, Miss Truss said that parents currently have a right to withdraw their children from sex education classes and that schools must apply "sensitivity" in deciding what materials to use, taking into account pupils' as well as their "religious and cultural background". <br /><br /> She added that it is ultimately up to heads to determine what teachers should teach and that staff with concerns should try to reach a "mutual understanding on the way forward." <br /><br /> However she underlined that teachers must act in an "un-discriminatory manner". <br /><br /> But she said it was impossible to know how the balance might change further if same-sex marriage becomes law and what the implications might be. <br /><br /> "As you are aware, legislation on equal civil marriage has yet to be announced by the Home Office, following a consultation exercise earlier this year," she wrote. <br /><br /> "I am, therefore, unable to advise on the specifics of any legislation and its future impacts at this time." <br /><br /> It comes despite the Coalition publishing a detailed "impact assessment" on the introduction of same-sex marriage which even included details of how immigration forms might have to be changed to replaces references to husbands or wives with "more neutral" terminology. <br /><br /> Mr Burrowes said the letter confirmed that gay marriage would be taught in schools and offered no reassurances to teachers who object on grounds of conscience. <br /><br /> "The reality is that these questions that are raised which have not been fully answered mean that they have not been rebutted," he said. "The fact that they have not been rebutted when we are so far down the line - the consultation will be coming out within the next weeks and no doubt the DfE has been consulted - now does raise more questions than answers. <br /><br /> "There is a big and serious question that gay marriage will undermine the liberty of conscience, that's a big question that will hang over the legislation."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9686306/Primary-school-teachers-could-face-sack-for-refusing-to-promote-gay-marriage.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Millions of pupils are being failed by 'cult of the average' in our schools says British business organization</b><br /><br />A `cult of the average' in Britain's state education system is failing millions of bright children and lower achievers, business leaders warn today.<br /><br />In a withering indictment, the CBI says that after 35 years of reforms and higher spending on schools than by many other nations the country is still facing `substantial' failure rates.<br /><br />The business lobby group claims some schools have become little more than `exam factories' churning out average grades while failing to stretch both the brightest and lower attainers to the limit of their ability, leading to classroom disruption.<br /><br />In a blueprint for reform, the CBI proposes radical changes. It says the raising of the school leaving age from 16 to 18 over the next few years means it is time to shift the focus of secondary education from GCSEs to A-levels, or vocational alternatives, at 18.<br /><br />Instead of public exams, there should be assessments at ages 14 or 16 that check pupils' progress and help them decide what subjects or career paths to take. More pupils should be able to begin a technical education at 14.<br /><br />The CBI's report, published as it meets for its annual conference in London, warns: `The education system fosters a cult of the average: too often failing to stretch the most able or support those that need most help.'<br /><br />John Cridland, the CBI's director-general, said: `Today we have a system where a large minority of our young people fall behind and never catch up.<br /><br />'It's not the fault of any individual concerned. It's not the fault of children, parents or teachers. It's a system failure. It's not acceptable any more than it's not acceptable that the top 10 per cent are not stretched enough.'<br /><br />Education Secretary Michael Gove has announced plans to scrap GCSEs and replace them with English Baccalaureate Certificates and reform A-levels and the national curriculum.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2234955/Millions-pupils-failed-cult-average-schools-says-CBI.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Online initiative to offer college courses for credit</b><br /><br />An initiative announced Thursday by 10 U.S. colleges and universities, including Vanderbilt, Northwestern and Brandeis, promises to bring top-quality online courses to students from all over the country and even the world. But don't call it a MOOC.<br /><br />"This is actually the polar opposite," said Jeremy Johnson, president of the initiative, called Semester Online. He's also co-founder of 2U, which for about four years has supported online master's degree programs for universities.<br /><br />Unlike MOOCs (massive open online courses), which are free and open to anyone with an Internet connection, Semester Online classes will charge students to enroll, and class sizes will be limited to 15 to 20 students each. Also unlike MOOCs, students will be able to earn college credit right out of the gate.<br /><br />Participating institutions see it as another opportunity to explore how technology can best expand and improve education. Earlier this week, the American Council on Education announced it would coordinate efforts to study the academic potential of MOOCs, which are largely unregulated, but have quickly emerged as an important development in higher education.<br /><br />Semester Online offers a different model. Details are still being worked out, but faculty at participating schools will design and teach the courses, which will be open only to academically qualified students. Schools within the consortium would award credit for the courses, which would include real-time discussions.<br /><br />Rogan Kersh, provost at Wake Forest University, one of the partner schools, said Semester Online enables universities to have more control as they experiment with the online environment.<br /><br />"This landscape is both quickly shifting and murky at the same time," he said. "No school has a really clear picture of how they're going to use technology."<br /><br />Kersh said Wake Forest is not ready to consider MOOCs because of its commitment to small classes and face-to-face interaction. Duke, another participating school, is also participating in MOOCs.<br /><br />"We're experimenting," Duke Provost Peter Lange said. "We believe both educational models have merit, and we're interested in seeing how they both go."<br /><br />Other participating schools include Emory, The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Notre Dame, University of Rochester and Washington University in St. Louis.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/15/college-online-courses-credit/1699677/">SOURCE</a><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-16148733175422422252012-11-18T04:57:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.358-08:00<br /><b>Britain</b><br /><br />I have been putting up a lot of posts about Britain lately. That is mainly because there seems to be real energy for educational reform in Britain at the moment. They seem to be proceeding in a generally constructive direction, though with a bit of zig-zagging -- JR.<br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-74359648500039528182012-11-18T04:54:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.363-08:00<br /><br /><b>Politicians are demonising independent schools, says top head</b><br /><br /> The leader of Britain's public schools has accused senior politicians of "demonising" independent education. In an outspoken attack, Dr Christopher Ray says there has been "wilful mischaracterisation" of fee-paying schools by political leaders, including "malicious" attempts to downplay the help they offer to poorer families and to state schools. <br /><br /> At the same time, he says, ministers over the years have failed to improve standards in state schools, leading increasing numbers of parents to seek to go private. <br /><br /> In an article for The Telegraph, Dr Ray, the chairman of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, writes that British public schools are "the envy of the educational world, even though we are demonised by some here at home". <br /><br /> "The existence of incredibly successful independent schools is an irritant to many Labour politicians, a puzzle to Liberal Democrats and, it often seems, an embarrassment to the Prime Minister. <br /><br /> "We are often damned with the faintest of praise, knowing that they cannot afford either financially or politically to dismantle us, whatever sabre-rattling they employ." <br /><br /> David Cameron has appeared sensitive to accusations from political opponents that his "posh" or "privileged" education at Eton College leaves him out of touch with voters. <br /><br /> The few prominent Labour politicians who have sent their children to private schools have faced fierce criticism from within their own party. <br /><br /> The attack by Dr Ray, who is also the High Master of Manchester Grammar School, comes at a key time for the Coalition as ministers seek to persuade independent schools to sponsor new academies in their flagship education programme. <br /><br /> However, Dr Ray criticises academies and the claim by their supporters that they benefit from being independent of local education authority control. <br /><br /> He says their continued reliance on state funding means they are not truly independent and that the term has been "abused by those who would like to dupe us into thinking that red is blue". <br /><br /> He points out that an increasing number of academies are in chains run by powerful chief executives, and notes that the freedoms they now enjoy may be reined in by a future government - "What one secretary of state may give, another may take away." <br /><br /> He directly dismisses an appeal from Lord Adonis, the former Labour schools minister and one of the architects of the academies policy, who this month urged independent schools to get involved with the programme, warning that otherwise they risked failing in their charitable missions. <br /><br /> In his article, Dr Ray accuses Lord Adonis of "failing to understand the nature of the independent sector". "It is ludicrous to characterise us all as exclusive public schools, educating only the rich." <br /><br /> The dispute echoes the row between public schools and Tony Blair's government in 2006, when the Charities Bill forced head teachers to justify the "public benefit" their institutions were providing in order to retain charitable status, which allows them not to charge VAT on school fees. <br /><br /> In his party conference speech this year, Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, made a point of highlighting his education at Haverstock comprehensive school in north London, claiming that his time there had taught him "how to get on with people from all backgrounds". <br /><br /> Mr Cameron did not mention Eton by name in his speech but simply said: "I went to a great school and I want every child to have a great education." <br /><br /> In a broad-ranging attack on standards in state schools, Dr Ray says that under Labour they "stubbornly resisted improvement" while a policy of "spend, spend, spend" had left only a "mess, mess, mess". <br /><br /> Grade inflation at GCSE and A-level, he argues, masked a decline in the performance of students relative to their international peers as recorded in tables released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. <br /><br /> About half a million children now attend independent schools, accounting for around seven per cent of all pupils aged 11-16. They produce a fifth of all students at the country's top 10 universities. <br /><br /> A survey published earlier this month found that 57 per cent of families would send their children to an independent school if they could afford to, up from 51 per cent in 1997. <br /><br /> Supporters of private education have argued that it saves taxpayers £3 billion a year, the extra cost that would fall on the state system if it were required to educate all the pupils currently at independent schools. <br /><br /> Last year, independent schools supported almost 40,000 children on means-tested bursaries with an annual value of almost £300 million, while more than 1,000 fee-paying schools had partnership links to help state schools or local community groups. <br /><br /> Dr Ray has led Manchester Grammar, a boys school founded in the 16th century, since 2004. The school, whose alumni include Mike Atherton, the former England cricket captain; Ben Kingsley, the actor and Chris Addison, the comedian, provides 230 bursaries for children from poorer families, has links with three academies and partnerships with 10 state primaries.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9685126/Politicians-are-demonising-independent-schools-says-top-head.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Britain's compulsory reading test 'should be scrapped'</b><br /><br />Bright children are being "failed" by the Coalition's controversial new reading test for six-year-olds, literacy experts warned today. <br /><br />Pupils with fluent skills are being confused by the assessment that forces children to decode "nonsense" words using phonics, it was claimed. The UK Literacy Association warned that the test - compulsory in all English state schools - may label some good readers as failures and knock children's confidence. In a damning report, it was suggested that the checks were "costly, time-consuming and unnecessary". <br /><br />The Department for Education has defended the test, which was introduced for the first time this year, insisting that it enabled teachers to identify pupils lagging behind in reading after at least a year of school. It is feared that any failure to improve reading skills at a young age can have hugely damaging effects on pupils throughout primary and secondary education. <br /><br />But David Reedy, UKLA general secretary, called for the tests to be made voluntary. "This shouldn't be a compulsory test and we strongly recommend that the Government re-thinks this," he said. <br /><br />"We know phonics is important, but for some children it is holding them back. It should be part and parcel of what teachers have to hand and they should be able to use it when they think it's necessary." <br /><br />The check is taken by around 600,000 pupils at the end of their first year of formal schooling. Pupils are supposed to use phonics - a system which breaks words down into a series of sounds - to decode a list of 40 words. The list includes made-up words such as "voo", "terg", "bim", "thazz" and "spron" to ensure pupils are properly using the phonics system. <br /><br />A study conducted by the UKLA analysed teachers' opinions of the test at 494 primary schools in England. <br /><br />Many schools said the results of the check, which is used as an indicator of a child's reading skills, "did not reflect children's reading abilities as there is much more to reading than decoding". <br /><br />Only around one in six of those questioned said that all of their pupils who were fluent readers achieved the required level to pass the phonics check, the study found. Almost three-quarters said that one or more of their good readers failed to meet the expected standard to pass. <br /><br />UKLA's study found that teachers felt there were "far too many nonsense words". "These confused more fluent readers, who had been taught to read for meaning, and therefore tried hard to make sense of the 'alien words' they read," it said. <br /><br />The study warned that the check focuses on decoding words without their meanings, which "goes against everything the children have been taught". <br /><br />One teacher told researchers: "The test took longer for some able readers who read for meaning. I felt that words very close to real words were unfair - e.g. 'strom'." And another said: "Almost all children, regardless of ability said 'storm"'. <br /><br />A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "The phonics check is based on an internationally proven method to improve children's reading. "Too many children are not reaching the expected levels of reading whilst at a young age, do not catch up, and then struggle in secondary school and beyond. "The pilot last year found that the test only takes a few minutes to complete, and that many children enjoyed it. <br /><br />"Ensuring all children master the ability to decode and sound out new words is essential if they are to become confident readers. The phonics check will ensure that no child slips through the net still struggling with this basic skill." <br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9681475/Compulsory-reading-test-should-be-scrapped.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>1 in 5 boys at British primary schools have no male teachers while some could go through their entire education without one</b><br /><br />Nearly one in five boys is being taught in a primary school without a single male teacher on the staff.<br /><br />Official statistics compiled for the first time reveal how 360,485 boys aged four to 11 are attending schools which have only women teachers.<br /><br />Of these, 61,060 are eligible for free school meals because of low household income.<br /><br />The disclosure prompted claims that too many boys are having little or no contact with an adult male before they reach secondary school.<br /><br />And since the number of male teachers is also low in many secondary schools, some could go through an entire education without being taught by a male teacher.<br /><br />With women increasingly taking on the role of caretaker, in some schools 'there will be no male on the premises', according to experts.<br /><br />The figures, which were placed in the House of Commons library, will add to fears that misbehaviour among disaffected boys is partly driven by a lack of male authority figures.<br />Lack of role models: Some boys could even go through their entire schooling including secondary without having a male teacher<br /><br />Lack of role models: Some boys could even go through their entire schooling including secondary without having a male teacher<br /><br />The data shows that 18 per cent of two million primary age boys in England are being taught in schools with no qualified male teacher on the staff.<br /><br />But in some areas, particularly the south east and east of the country, the figure is significantly higher.<br /><br />The Department for Education said campaigns to boost the number of male teachers in primary schools were beginning to bear fruit.<br /><br />Officials said the number of accepted male applicants onto primary training courses was up 50 per cent in three years.<br /><br />They said a more balanced workforce would better reflect society at large and help children to engage confidently with both sexes.<br />But they insisted the aim was not to achieve statistical equality but to recruit 'the best possible teachers'.<br /><br />John Howson, a teacher recruitment expert and visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University, said that in some schools, all staff including the caretaker will be women, 'so there will be no male on the premises'<br /><br />With men in secondary schools were over-represented in leadership roles, 'it is perfectly possible for boys to go through their education without a single classroom teacher who is male.'<br /><br />'The changing nature of households is such that there are significant numbers of children who, even though they may spend a lot of their childhood in households with more standard relationships, will go through periods of time where there is no male role model around,' he added.<br /><br />'School is the only other institution in society nowadays where they spend any additional amount of time.'<br /><br />Some boys may grow up with a 'distorted' view of society, he warned.<br /><br />'If you never get a chance to interact with one gender, then you are not getting a rounded education,' he said.<br /><br />'We talk about female role models - why can't we have male role models in schools?'<br /><br />He warned that past paedophile scandals have tended to have a knock-on effect on recruitment to teaching.<br /><br />While education has been largely immune from the current furore which began with revelations about Jimmy Savile, there is a risk some may be put off, he warned.<br /><br />'We have to make teaching an equal opportunities career which is attractive to both men and women,' he said.<br /><br />A spokesman for the Department for Education said: 'We want more men to consider primary teaching. Applications from men have already risen, with 50% more male primary trainees in 2011/2012.<br /><br />'We're encouraging men to apply for training places by holding events where they can speak to teaching experts and other trainees. Up to 1,000 high quality male graduates will take part this year in a new school experience programme which will boost numbers further.'<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2234250/1-5-boys-primaries-male-teachers-entire-education-one.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-83939776416482019672012-11-17T04:36:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.370-08:00<br /><br /><b>British regulator to 'root out' failing councils in new standards drive</b><br /><br /><i>(Most State schools in Britain are still run by local authorities)</i><br /><br /> Education inspectors are to launch a fresh crackdown on failing councils and chains of academy schools amid growing fears over a postcode lottery in standards.<br /><br /> Ofsted is drafting in a new wave of regional directors in January as part of a major drive to “iron out” chronic underperformance in some towns and cities. Under the plans, inspectors will identify local authorities with a persistently poor record of running schools. <br /><br /> The watchdog will also focus on chains of independent academies – run by third party sponsors with complete freedom from council control – amid fears their performance may be going unchecked. <br /><br /> Institutions with the lowest standards will be shopped to Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, who has the power to intervene if problems persist. <br /><br /> Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector, said the English education system would continue to lag behind rivals in other countries until “the big regional variations are ironed out”. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he said: “There are regional differences that need to be addressed if we are going to move towards a world-class system. “With this regional structure, we will hold local authorities, academy chains and diocesan authorities and governance in general to account.” <br /><br /> The comments came as new figures exposed the vast gulf in standards between England’s 152 local authorities. <br /><br /> Data published following a Parliamentary question shows that in some areas fewer than one-in-five children currently leave school with decent GCSEs in the core “English Baccalaureate” subjects – English, maths, science, languages and history or geography. <br /><br /> Last year, just 3.2 per cent of pupils gained A*-C grades in Knowsley, Merseyside, while as few as 4.9 per cent hit the target in nearby Halton. Standards were as low as 4.7 per cent in Sandwell in the West Midlands and 4.9 per cent in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham. <br /><br /> In a further 28 council areas, fewer than one-in-10 pupils gained good grades in the core subjects, it emerged. <br /><br /> Nationally, 15.4 per cent of teenagers hit the target, rising to around a third in the best-performing areas such as Buckinghamshire and the London boroughs of Barnet, Kingston-upon-Thames and Sutton. <br /><br /> Chris Skidmore, the Conservative MP for Kingswood, and a member of the Commons education select committee, who obtained the data, said: “These figures demonstrate that there are local authorities failing some of the most disadvantaged pupils in achieving what is becoming the minimum standard for a school education. “Every pupil, regardless of where they grow up, should be given the opportunity to succeed, and it is clear that this is not happening.” <br /><br /> From January, Ofsted will draft in eight regional directors covering the North East, North West, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, South East, London and the South West. <br /><br /> Each one – reporting directly to Sir Michael – will lead a team of inspectors tasked with rooting out councils, large-scale chains of academies or faith groups suspected of failing to properly support schools. <br /><br /> Although Ofsted does not routinely inspect these institutions, Sir Michael insisted that area-wide problems would be reported to the Education Secretary who can then order the watchdog to carry out a full probe. <br /><br /> Sir Michael will raise further concerns over regional variations in education standards in his first Ofsted annual report, to be published later this month. <br /><br /> Speaking to the Telegraph, he said: “We need to look behind what’s happening in individual institutions to see whether there is an issue with governance… Is the governance at the local authority good enough? Is the governance by academy chains good enough? <br /><br /> “If we identify particular issues in a local area, I think it is important that we talk to the Secretary of State about it.” <br /><br /> A Department for Education spokesman said: “Sir Michael is right – standards in some local authorities are simply not good enough. We are working with them to turn round poor performance in their schools. <br /><br /> “We are identifying consistently weak schools and allowing experienced academy sponsors to take them over. The best way to turn round these schools is the strong external challenge and support from an academy sponsor. <br /><br /> "Academies have already turned around hundreds of struggling secondary schools across the country and are improving their results at twice the national average. <br /><br /> “As with maintained schools, if academies do not make the progress we expect, we take further action. This may result in a change to the sponsorship arrangements."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9683285/Ofsted-to-root-out-failing-councils-in-new-standards-drive.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Test case could dictate admissions policy in British faith schools</b><br /><br />New faith schools could be forced to admit pupils from non-religious backgrounds if a judicial review currently being heard in the High Court is successful. <br /><br />Campaigners have brought a legal challenge against Richmond Council, claiming that in approving two new Catholic schools it had broken the law and discriminated against non-Catholic children. <br /><br />The British Humanist Association (BHA) and a group of local activists, including parents, argue that all new state schools in the London borough should have religiously inclusive admissions policies. <br /><br />They say they want to halt the “back-door” spread of new religious state schools in England. <br /><br />If successful, it could mean that traditional faith schools that cater only for believers, could no longer be opened by a local authority without first seeking proposals from those wishing to establish an academy. <br /><br />A faith academy would be required to reserve at least 50 per cent of places for non-religious pupils if oversubscribed. <br /><br />The BHA is fighting to overturn the council’s decision to offer a new £8.4 million site to the Catholic Diocese of Westminster to be used for one primary school and one secondary, which are due to open next September. <br /><br />It says that the council breached a new law introduced earlier this year which states that if a local authority believes a new school is needed, it must seek proposals from groups wanting to set up free schools or academies. <br /><br />If there are no suitable proposals, local authorities can the open up the competition to include other types of schools. <br /><br />However, the Department of Education insists that it is possible to open new faith schools outside of such competitive arrangements. Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, has personally intervened in the case to back the council. <br /><br />The council said that 67 per cent of parents and residents who responded to a consultation on its plans were in favour of them. There is no Catholic secondary school in the area and the Church insists it is responding to local demand. <br /><br />Cllr Lord True, leader of Richmond Council, has accused the BHA and Richmond Inclusive Schools Campaign (RISC) of using local children as “play thing in their ideological campaign to stop church schools”. <br /><br />But Andrew Copson, chief executive of the BHA, said the case reflected "a disturbing national pattern", in which religious groups were being given preferential treatment by local councils through "back-door proposals". <br /><br />He said outside the High Court: "Victory here would hopefully set a precedent and level the playing field on which proposals to establish schools are treated equally, with the same level of scrutiny, whether religious or not. <br /><br />Voluntary aided faith schools can select pupils solely on the basis of their faith. In Richmond, the new primary school plans to allocate two thirds of its places to Catholics while at the secondary, all places will be selected based on religion. <br /><br />The two-day judicial review, which represents the first time the new law has been tested, is due to end on Friday. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/9681719/Test-case-could-dictate-admissions-policy-in-faith-schools.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Australia: Principals say teachers forced to do risk assessments for things like painting and drawing. Children too frightened to "have a go"</b><br /><br />PRINCIPALS say children are becoming too frightened "to have a go at things" as teachers are forced to do risk assessments for activities including painting and drawing.<br /><br />Principals say common sense has been abandoned in "the litigious age", with society's risk aversion starting to have a visible impact on children.<br /><br />They warn risk-taking is "absolutely crucial to learning and development", with some students visibly frightened of making mistakes.<br /><br />Tiggy [tag], handstands and running on bitumen have all been banned in some schoolyards over the past few years.<br /><br />State schools now keep a Curriculum Activity Register recording all approved high and extreme-risk activities and some medium ones.<br /><br />In one of the 134 Curriculum Activity Risk Assessments (CARA), painting and drawing is considered as dangerous as ice skating.<br /><br />Teachers are told the use of toxic material in painting and drawing activities including glues, pigments and solvents require them to document controls or complete a curriculum activity risk assessment.<br /><br />"Consider obtaining parental/carer permission," teachers are told.<br /><br />It comes after the Queensland Association of State School Principals (QASSP) warned a senate inquiry "risk management is no longer left to good old 'common sense'."<br /><br />QASSP president Hilary Backus said workplace, health and safety issues now gobbled up budgets and time, but there was no turning back from the CARA requirements because of fears of being sued.<br /><br />She said while people once walked around uneven pavers or underneath branches, they were now pointing them out and expecting principals to deal with them immediately.<br /><br />She said helicopter parenting and a desire to protect children was hurting learning. "We are starting to see children actually frightened to have a go at things and frightened of making mistakes - it does hinder the learning process," she said.<br /><br />Queensland Secondary Principals' Association president Norm Fuller said people were now looking for someone to blame when accidents occurred.<br /><br />"In this day and age the (CARA) forms are necessary," Mr Fuller said. "I believe that we have gone past the area of common sense and we are now seeing a trend of relying more on legal interpretation of risks . . . these days everything must be written down and signed."<br /><br />Education Queensland assistant director-general Marg Pethiyagoda said parents expected their children would be safe at school.<br /><br />"The department is working to streamline the curriculum activity risk assessment process to reduce the administrative burden on schools while still ensuring schools are safe places for students to engage in a range of learning activities," she said. She said painting involving toxic materials such as glues could result in students being exposed to dangerous fumes, but general art classes in primary school would use non-toxic materials and were considered low risk.<br /><br />Queensland Teachers' Union president Kevin Bates said the register and CARA guidelines were in line with community expectations and brought schools in line with the private sector.<br /><br />He said people might decry any suggestion a game like tiggy could be dangerous but children could be seriously hurt.<br /><br />Queensland Council of Parents and Citizens' Associations president Margaret Leary said she was worried children were being "bubble-wrapped", but CARA was a result of "the litigious nature of society these days".<br /><br />Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said the top priority for all schools should be student safety, which is why CARA guidelines existed. He encouraged staff to take "a commonsense approach" to decisions on playground safety.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/principals-say-teachers-forced-to-do-risk-assessments-for-things-like-painting-and-drawing-children-too-frightened-to-have-a-go/story-e6freoof-1226518484111">SOURCE</a><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-58098203770379408912012-11-15T04:56:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.378-08:00<br /><br /><b>Skip College</b><br /><br />Interviewing various bouncers, bartenders, pedicab drivers and other low-skilled workers along Bourbon St. in New Orleans, Peter Schiff ound almost everyone had an expensive college degree. And not meaningless ones, either. He found people with advanced degrees in neuroscience, robotics, radiology, mechanical engineering, engineering, to name but a few.<br /><br />"President Obama promotes the myth that everyone must go to college," says Peter. "That if you don't go, your life will be ruined -- that you will end up waiting tables, or trapped in some other mundane occupation. The truth is, even with a college degree, you may still end up waiting tables, you'll just begin your 'career' four or five years later, tens of thousands of dollars in debt."<br /><br />Watch the hilarious, thought-provoking video below:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dz7boAzeV7s" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><a href="http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/peterschiff/2012/11/14/skip_college">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>British education bureaucracy to be slashed</b><br /> <br /><i>Slowly</i><br /><br />Education Secretary Michael Gove wants to have halved his department's running costs by 2015-16. Michael Gove will shed 1,000 jobs from the Department for Education as he tries to set an example to the rest of Whitehall.<br /><br />The Education Secretary has pledged to do 'more with less' by halving the £580million running costs of his department by 2016. He won the approval of Cabinet colleagues to conduct a radical 'zero base' review of his department, as though it were being set up from scratch.<br /><br />But his plans have drawn the ire of unions, who warned they were balloting members on the reforms.<br /><br />Mr Gove said poor performers will be 'speedily managed out' of their jobs and higher standards will be expected of those remaining.<br /><br />Many back-office roles will also go as management consultants warned their costs were too high. Work that is not a ministerial priority is also likely to stop.<br /><br />Children's services are likely to be hit, with resources diverted to supporting academies and free schools – which will account for one in four schools by 2015.<br /><br />Staff will also be forced out of their expensive Westminster headquarters, which include a 'contemplation suite' and a massage room, to a cheaper building. Real estate costs for the DfE have soared to £40million – £6million of which is spent on vacant buildings.<br /><br />Unions criticised the job cuts as an 'ideological attack on the civil service as a whole' and accused Mr Gove of 'playing politics' with people's livelihoods. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: 'Michael Gove appears to want to run his department as some kind of nightmarish Right-wing experiment, playing politics with people's livelihoods and putting at risk the very important services DfE civil servants provide to schools, teachers and the public. 'Staff in the DfE will not sit back and allow their jobs and the vital work they do supporting the education and development of our children to be used as some kind of ideological testing ground.'<br /><br />A review document drawn up by the department's permanent secretary, Chris Wormald, said: 'While there is no formal headcount target, this is likely to mean that by 2015 the department will have fewer than 3,000 posts, around 1,000 fewer than we have now.'<br /><br />Mr Wormald added: 'We will be smaller and will operate from fewer sites. We will focus on our duties to the taxpayer with renewed vigour, investing where we need to but always remembering that every pound we spend on ourselves must be justified to the citizens who pay for us.'<br /><br />Cost-cutting will mean leaving the ministry's HQ in Great Smith Street in Westminster<br /><br />Most Whitehall departments have been asked to save a third of their costs by Chancellor George Osborne as part of the austerity measures to reduce the country's deficit. But Mr Gove's target was to cut administrative costs by 42 per cent by 2015, which he has extended to a goal of 50 per cent by 2016.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2232804/Gove-moves-sack-1-000-civil-servants-Minister-aims-halve-departments-running-costs.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Queensland private schools announce fee hikes of up to 7 per cent for 2013</b><br /><br /><i>Fees at Eton are approx. $48,000 p.a. at current exchange rates. But that includes full board, which is not discussed below. Considering the standard at Eton, one imagines that food and accomodation accounts for around $20,000 of that. So Australian private schools are well funded, considering that they get substantial Federal money as well</i><br /><br />ELITE private schools have announced fee hikes of up to 7 per cent for next year, with one charging parents $19,880 for annual tuition.<br /><br />Brisbane Girls Grammar School (BGGS) has posted the most expensive "all inclusive" tuition fee so far of $19,880, just above the 2012 tuition fee for Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) for Year 8 to 12 students.<br /><br />In a letter to parents, BGGS board of trustees chairwoman Elizabeth Jameson said the 6.4 per cent fee rise reflected "the lowest percentage increase in many years and the school's concerted effort to constantly contain the impact on our families".<br /><br />"Brisbane Girls Grammar remains one of the few independent schools which does not impose additional levies on top of our tuition fees," the letter states.<br /><br />Brisbane Boys' College (BBC), Clayfield College and Somerville House have posted the biggest fee percentage increases so far of about 7 per cent each.<br /><br />BBC is charging $17,920 for annual tuition in Years 7 to 12 next year while Somerville House is charging $17,776.<br /><br />Extra levies and other school costs mean BBC Year 12 parents will pay more than $20,000 next year for the cost of education.<br /><br />BGS parents are expected to pay more than $20,000 for tuition in senior year next year - the first time in Queensland a tuition fee would have risen above that mark.<br /><br />The all boys' school, which is also the state's most consistent top performer in OP rankings and NAPLAN, charged Queensland's top 2012 tuition fee of $19,635. Parents of Year 8 to 11 pupils also paid $1005 for a tablet PC levy.<br /><br />Independent Schools Queensland executive director David Robertson said fee increases generally reflected the rising cost of education. Education costs have gone up 6.1 per cent over the past year according to Australian Bureau of Statistics Consumer Price Index figures.<br /><br />"Around 70 per cent of a school's expenditure generally goes to teachers' salaries," Mr Robertson said.<br /><br />"Education costs include increases in salaries, capital costs for new buildings and maintenance programs plus implementation of the Australian curriculum."<br /><br />Somerville House principal Flo Kearney said fees needed to go up "because of the increasing cost of delivering a quality education", including recruiting and retaining the best teachers.<br /><br />"There are things that are out of our control as well such as significant increases in the cost of insurance and also meeting growing costs of compliance," she said.<br /><br />Cairns-based Trinity Anglican School principal Christopher Daunt Watney said they tried to keep their costs to a minimum.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/price-of-private-school-education-soaring/story-e6freoof-1226516940163">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-2106959161633654032012-11-14T04:37:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.383-08:00<br /><br /><br /><b>Higher Education: Why Government Should Cut the Cord</b><br /><br />Bryan Caplan<br /><br />I'm currently in the 36th grade. After high school graduation, I spent four years at UC Berkeley to get my bachelor's degree, and four years at Princeton to get my Ph.D. In 1997, George Mason hired me as a professor - and I'm still here. I have a dream job for life: GMU essentially pays me to do whatever I want, and I never have to retire. But while higher education has been very good for me, it has been a lousy deal for society. <br /><br />Taxpayers heavily subsidize higher education - about $500 billion dollars per year. What does our society get in exchange? Conventional wisdom says that these billions lead to a massive increase in what economists call "human capital." The nation's colleges teach promising young people the skills they need to contribute to the modern economy, enriching us all. If you actually pay attention to the subjects that most students study, however, this story is does not fit the facts.<br /><br />Think about the classes you're taking right now. How many are teaching you skills you're ever likely to use on the job? There are very few jobs that use history, literature, psychology, social science, foreign languages, and the like. Think about your major: Does it even pretend to be vocational? There may be a few engineers in the audience, but most of us study subjects that simply aren't very practical. And if you talk to engineers, even they spend a lot of time proving theorems - a skill you rarely use outside of academia.<br /><br />I'm not saying that college teaches zero real-world skills. My claim, rather, is that at least half of what colleges teach is not useful in the real world. And while many professors insist that their subjects are more useful than they seem on the surface, this is wishful thinking. If you actually measure learning, students usually learn little, quickly forget most of what they learn, and fail to apply what they still know even when their education is actually relevant. <br /><br />If all this is true, why is going to college so lucrative? Because completing a degree - even a useless degree - signals to employers that you're smart, hard-working, and conformist. Most people never finish college. If you do finish, you show the labor market that you've got the right stuff - and many doors open.<br /><br />If you're not convinced, let me point out that the best education in the world is already free. If you want to learn at Princeton, just go there and start attending classes. No one will stop you. Professors will be flattered by your attendance. At the end of four years, you'll have a great education but no diploma. Interested? Just take I-95 North and turn right at Philadelphia.<br /><br />Key point: Since college is, to a large extent, jumping through hoops to show off, government subsidies are counter-productive. When education gets cheaper, you just have to jump through more hoops to convince employers that you're in the top third of the distribution. Subsidizing college so we can all get better jobs is like urging us to stand up at a concert so we can all see better. In technical terms, education has at least one big negative externality. <br /><br />Steve is probably going to give you a long list of positive externalities of education. I'm skeptical of most of them; in fact, he often misapplies the concept. But suppose Steve's totally right. All he's shown is that education has some positive externalities that at least partly offset the negative externalities of signaling. To make an economic case for government support, however, Steve would need to show that the net externality of education - all his positives minus all my signaling waste - is positive. I'm not asking for precision down to the penny; I'd gladly settle for some ballpark numbers.<br /><br />Isn't there more to college than just the economic benefits? What about transforming students into enlightened human beings who love ideas and savor culture? Many economists scoff at such notions, but I don't. I'm a huge fan of ideas and culture. But the harsh reality is the most college students find ideas and culture boring - and professors rarely change their minds. In any case, the Internet now provides free unlimited intellectual enrichment for everyone. Spending half a trillion dollars a year to force feed ideas and culture to students who won't consume them for free is just silly.<br /><br />What about students who genuinely want to acquire useful skills or broaden their horizons? Government spending on their education is certainly less wasteful than usual. Even there, though, there's no reason why - given the labor market's rewards for education - students couldn't pay for their education with unsubsidized student loans. If the extra cost deters a lot of students from going, that tells us something: Though students rarely say it out loud, many silently realize that the full cost of a college degree exceeds all the expected benefits put together.<br /><br />One last question: Even if a free market in education is efficient, is it fair? I say it is. Suppose your parents had the money to pay for your college, but refused to do so. Would it be fair to legally force them to cough up the money? Probably not: You're an adult and it's their money. I say we should extend taxpayers the same courtesy. If your parents don't owe you an education, neither do millions of total strangers. <br /><br /><a href="http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2012/11/higher_educatio_3.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Tough exams and learning by rote are the keys to success, says British education boss</b><br /><br />Learning facts by rote should be a central part of the school experience, the education secretary, Michael Gove, will argue on Wednesday in a speech which praises traditional exams to the extent of arguing they helped spur the US civil rights struggle.<br /><br />In the address, titled In Praise of Tests, Gove describes the ideological underpinning to his planned shakeup of GCSEs and A-levels, a philosophy which will further delight educational traditionalists but is likely to prompt criticisms that he is seeking a return to the teaching styles of the 1940s and 50s.<br /><br />Competitive, difficult exams for which pupils must prepare by memorising large amounts of facts and concepts will promote motivation, solidify knowledge and guarantee standards, Gove is to tell the Independent Academies Association, a trade body for academy schools.<br /><br />"Exams matter because motivation matters," Gove will say, according to extracts of the speech provided by his department.<br /><br />"Humans are hard-wired to seek out challenges. And our self-belief grows as we clear challenges we once thought beyond us. "If we know tests are rigorous, and they require application to pass, then the experience of clearing a hurdle we once considered too high spurs us on to further endeavours and deeper learning."<br /><br />Gove professes himself a great fan of Daniel Willingham, a US cognitive psychologist who has sought to use scientific research to show pupils learn best through the use of memory and routine, arguments outlined in a book, Why Don't Students Like School?, also popular with free schools guru Toby Young.<br /><br />Gove argues that "memorisation is a necessary precondition of understanding". He says: "Only when facts and concepts are committed securely to the working memory, so that it is no effort to recall them and no effort is required to work things out from first principles, do we really have a secure hold on knowledge.<br /><br />"Memorising scales, or times tables, or verse, so that we can play, recall or recite automatically gives us this mental equipment to perform more advanced functions and display greater creativity.<br /><br />"And the best way to build memory, as Willingham explains, is by the investment of thought and effort – such as the thought and effort we require for exam preparation and testing."<br /><br />Such exams must be "proper tests", marked externally and with results ranked in league tables, rather than teacher assessment, Gove he argues.<br /><br />While saying he is "a huge fan" of teacher assessment Gove argues that external tests are more fair, saying evidence shows some ethnic minority children can be under-marked by their own teachers.<br /><br />He goes on: "With external testing there is no opportunity for such bias – the soft bigotry of low expectations – and tests show ethnic minority students performing better.<br /><br />"So external tests are not only a way of levelling the playing field for children of all backgrounds they are a solvent of prejudice."<br /><br />More <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/nov/14/michael-gove-backs-learning-by-rote">here</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Eton: what is it about the school that makes it such a breeding ground for leadership?</b><br /><br />What exactly is the source of its pupils' legendary charm and confidence, their almost as legendary slipperiness? In his book, Fraser interviews the late Anthony Sampson, the famous investigator of Britain's elites. "I'd meet Etonians everywhere I went," says Sampson, not one himself. "I've never understood why they were so good at networking and politics." Fraser speculates: "The Etonian mystique often seems a matter of mirrors, a collusion between those [non-Etonians] hungry for [Eton] notoriety and Etonians who are only too happy to supply it." One afternoon last week, I emailed the school to ask if I could visit. Within less than two hours, Little emailed back and offered to meet the next day.<br /><br />Like many British centres of power, Eton owes some of its influence to geography. It was founded in 1440 on the orders of Henry VI, frequently in residence with his court nearby at Windsor Castle. Nowadays, the school emphasises its closeness to London, the great global money hub, a dozen miles to the east. "About a third of our boys have London addresses," says Little, leaving open the possibility that they also have others. For the tenth who live abroad – the proportion "has grown a little" since he became head in 2002 – Heathrow airport is even closer. Jets intermittently moan loud and low over the school's spikes and towers.<br /><br />But otherwise, for much of the long school day, there is an uncanny hush. As you approach the college, there is no grand announcement of Eton's existence, just small, hand-painted signs, white lettering on black, indicating that an increasing number of the courtyards, alleyways and driveways branching off the High Street are private property. From the open windows of neat classrooms, some late medieval, some Victorian, some Edwardian, some with expensive glass-and-steel modern additions, little of the usual hubbub of secondary school life emerges. Pupils and teachers alike sit upright in the black-and-white uniform, which is somehow both uptight and flamboyant – some might say like Etonians themselves. The uniform was standardised in the 19th century and must be worn for all lessons, AKA "divs" or "schools" in Eton's elaborate private language.<br /><br />When the lesson ends, the spotless pavements are suddenly flooded with pupils. Some are tall and languid, some are chubby and scurrying, some are black or Asian, most are white. Everyone carries old-fashioned ring-binder files, and no one texts or makes a phone call. But some of the boys greet each other with hugs, or bursts of transatlantic up-talking, or say "like" with a long "i", London-style – for a minute or two, many seem reasonably modern and normal. Then everyone rushes off to the next lesson. "It is possible to be bored at Eton," says the school website, "but it takes a bit of effort!"<br /><br />"In many ways it is a conservative institution, with lots of tiny rules," says someone who was a pupil from 2002 to 2007. The ambiguous outside status of Eton often makes old boys reluctant to declare themselves. "But Eton is probably more liberal, more permissive than its reputation. There are amazing cultural facilities, to do art and theatre for example. There were so many opportunities, it seemed churlish to focus on how annoying it was to have to wear a gown in the heat of summer." Last month, the History of Art Society, one of dozens of such pupil-run bodies, held a typical extracurricular event, a talk on 20th-century modernism. It was given by the BBC's arts editor, Will Gompertz.<br /><br />Some boys are so well-connected when they first arrive at the school, they already have a certain swagger. In focusing on a single institution, Eton's critics are sometimes avoiding the more uncomfortable truth that the roots of Britain's elites go wider and deeper. But for less overwhelmingly privileged boys, says theex-pupil, Eton can be life-changing: "It's just expected that you will drink from the cup of opportunity. So you become used to being able to do whatever you put your hand to. Or at the least, you learn not to seem fazed by opportunities in the wider world."<br /><br />Little himself was a pupil from 1967 to 1972, "the first male in my family to be educated past the age of 14". His study is baronial and high-ceilinged, with a window austerely open to the cold evening, but he is less forbidding than you might expect, with a quiet, calm, middle-class voice, like a senior doctor. "Dad worked at Heathrow, security for British Airways," he says. One of the school's main aims, he continues, is to admit a broader mix. But how can it, given the fees, which have raced ahead of earnings and inflation in recent decades? "It's a huge amount of money," he admits – the appearance of candour is one of Little's tactics when he talks to the outside world. "Sometimes I think, short of robbing a bank, what d'you do?"<br /><br />Currently, by giving out scholarships on academic and musical merit, and bursaries according to "financial need", Eton subsidises the fees of about 20% of its pupils. "Forty-five boys pay nothing at all," says Little. "Our stated aim is 25% on reduced fees, of whom 70 pay nothing." What is the timescale? "Quite deliberately non-specific. But I'll be disappointed if we have not achieved it in 10 years." Not exactly a social revolution. "A long-term goal" is for Eton to become "needs-blind": to admit any boy, regardless of ability to pay, who makes it through the school's selection procedure of an interview, a "reasoning test", and the standard private-school Common Entrance exam. Whether Eton would then become a genuinely inclusive place is open to doubt: one of its selection criteria is an applicant's suitability for boarding, and many people connected with Eton would surely resist its metamorphosis into a meritocracy. Hierarchy is in Eton's bones.<br /><br />Either way, Little says, the school does not have nearly enough money to become "needs-blind" yet. According to its latest accounts, Eton has an investment portfolio worth £200m. The school looks enviously on the wealth of private American universities: Harvard, the richest, has an endowment of more than £20bn. Eton seems unlikely to return soon to its core purpose as decreed by Henry VI: the education of poor scholars.<br /><br />Little says the school teaches pupils "how to juggle time, how to work hard", and how to present themselves in public: "One thing I say to them when they leave is, if you choose to behave the way a tabloid would expect … you deserve everything you get." He downplays Eton slang as "a quirk and an oddity. A lot of words have fallen out of use."<br /><br />I wonder if he would say quite the same to a Daily Telegraph journalist. The classic Etonian skills – Cameron has them – have long included adjusting your message to your audience, defusing the issue of privilege with self-deprecation, and bending to the prevailing social and political winds, but only so far. "Do institutions in England change totally while seeming not to, or do they do the opposite?" asks Fraser. "I think the latter. And Eton has changed far less than Oxbridge."<br /><br />Does he think a school can ever be too powerful? For once, his affability gives way to something fiercer: "I'm unashamed that we're aiming for excellence. We want … people who get on with things. The fact that people who come from here will stand in public life – for me, that is a cause for celebration." If Eton is too influential, he suggests, other schools should try harder. Fraser has another explanation for the success of Old Etonians: "At moments in their lives," he writes, "they are mysteriously available for each other." Subtle networking, a sense of mission, an elite that does not think too hard about its material advantages – Eton's is a very British formula for dominance.<br /><br />It can be a high-pressure place. For all the Old Etonians who have considered the rest of life an anti-climax, there have been others damaged by the school: by its relentless timetable, by its crueller rituals, such as the "rips" torn by teachers in bad schoolwork, and by Eton's strange combination of worldliness and otherworldliness. Compared to most other boarding schools, Eton seems more eccentric and intense, its mental legacy more lingering. "Eton never left me," writes Fraser. Little says: "I've come across a fair number of casualties who were here [with me] in the 60s." Another more recent ex-pupil describes Eton as "a millstone round my neck every day".<br /><br />More <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/nov/13/eton-old-boys-network-flourishes">HERE</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-30892423202637837112012-11-13T23:48:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.390-08:00<br /><br /><b>Evidence Tampering U</b><br /><br /> Mike Adams <br /><br />For years, I've been writing about the issue of censorship on our nation's campuses. But I have given far too little emphasis to due process violations within the so-called campus judiciary. Today, that all comes to an end. This will be the beginning of a series of columns highlighting the worst colleges in America when it comes to due process violations. I will reveal the name of this week's winner after explaining why this university is being ushered into the due process Hall of Shame.<br /><br />In 2005, a professor was brought up on charges of quid pro quo sexual harassment. Specifically, he was accused of giving a student an A in exchange for dancing with the professor in a sexually provocative way. There was only one problem with the charge: it wasn't true.<br /><br />One set of university documents (the transcripts) revealed no A was given. The university convicted the professor anyway even after it was clear that another set of documents (the official harassment accusations) had been doctored in order to sustain the charge.<br /><br />In 2009, our present inductees disciplined a fraternity for waving a fraternity flag that had a portion of the confederate flag imbedded within it. Incidentally, they waved it at another southern fraternity that also had a fraternity flag with a portion of a confederate flag imbedded within it. The all-white fraternity waved it at the other all-white fraternity at a university intramural game at which no nonwhites were present. So a white university official charged them with violating the campus hate speech code.<br /><br />I wrote about the incident and the university soon realized the campus speech code (as applied) was illegal. So, rather than dropping the charges, they doctored university documents in order to remove any evidence that the charges against the fraternity were related to the speech code. They then inserted new allegations and convicted them under those. The fraternity was then punished with suspension from intramural sports competition for "taunting" rather than "hate speech" as originally charged.<br /><br />In 2011, a professor was accused of sexual harassment and sought out legal counsel to defend him. During cross-examination by his attorney, the female accuser claimed not to have made two statements included in the official charges. In other words, the university helped the accuser by padding the charges without even bothering to tell her.<br /><br />The accused was eventually dismissed from the university. Those tampering with the evidence were never identified and disciplined.<br /><br />In 2012, police responded to an off campus alcohol-related incident involving a campus social organization. The police left shortly after arriving and no charges or arrests were even contemplated by police. Nonetheless, officers of the student organization were brought in to the Dean's Office for interrogation. Since they were being asked about behaviors that were minor violations of the criminal law, they asked to have legal counsel present. Their request was denied.<br /><br />Recently, I had a chance to hear the tape recorded interrogation of the student officers. University officials repeatedly denied their requests for counsel and asked them to turn off the tape recorder. By the end of the investigation, the university had prepared three different reports on the incident. The facts in report #3 bore no resemblance to the facts in report #1. Each time the university realized its charges were incorrect they simply constructed a new version of events. Decent people would have dropped the charges once they realized they were wrong. But this is not the way things are done at Evidence Tampering U. The charges are still pending and the fate of the student organization is still hanging in the air.<br /><br />Again in 2012, a professor appealed a sexual harassment charge (anyone seeing a pattern here?) and was exonerated on charges of inappropriately touching a student. Finally, there is some good news at Evidence Tampering U, right? Wrong. I'm not finished.<br /><br />During the appeal of the conviction for inappropriate touching the university inserted a new charge of "inappropriate communication." The university convicted the professor of that in partial retaliation for his appeal on the charge of inappropriate touching. No chance of winning an appeal at Evidence Tampering U. These people are good. They rig appeals by adding new charges each step of the way. They base their judiciary rules on Franz Kafka novels.<br /><br />This is all very important because the way universities administer justice affects the way students view justice. At Evidence Tampering U., justice is not a process. It is a result. The ends justify the means. It is the same mentality that justifies stealing elections. And it is not the way we educate young people. It is the way that a constitutional republic eventually turns into a banana republic.<br /><br />Unfortunately, it is the way things are done at The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, our inaugural inductees into the Due Process Hall of Shame. Their liberal administrators make providing a liberal education damned near impossible. It may seem ironic. But that’s what the evidence reveals.<br /><br />In the next installment, we will learn about the role the Obama Department of Education has played in the erosion of campus due process. Students aren’t biting the hand that feeds them. They just re-elected the hand that is slapping them.<br /><br /><a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2012/11/12/evidence_tampering_u/page/full/">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>The £300 bespoke classroom chairs for the £80m British school dubbed 'socialist Eton' with a roof terrace and panoramic views of London</b><br /><br />With panoramic views of the capital from a roof terrace, bespoke chairs and glass walls, this £80million six-storey building resembles that of a plush city hotel. But this is, in fact, Britain's most expensive comprehensive school - set to open next week in a leafy area of Kensington, west London, for 1,480 lucky pupils.<br /><br />Holland Park School, dubbed the 'socialist Eton', has unisex lavatories where no main door will be fitted to deter bullying, a glass-clad open-plan library and an exotic 25-metre basement swimming pool.<br /><br />The new futuristic building for the school, once attended by the actress Anjelica Huston, has a glass roof and glass-walled classrooms, with an energy-saving array of fins and mesh to spare pupils the glare of the sun.<br /><br />Pupils will sit down on £300 bespoke chairs created by one of Britain's leading furniture designers, Russell Pinch - though the school paid far less for the chairs with its large order. Teachers will have their own version of Pinch's 'Holland Park Chair', with arms - retailing at £400.<br /><br />They will also enjoy the services of waiters bringing them tea and coffee in their common room.<br /><br />Modernist features of the building include wash troughs, and an atrium stretching the length of the building.<br /><br />The school is about to leave council control to become an academy. It is part of a multibillion-pound building programme that has seen lavish state schools spring up around the country.<br /><br />The schools have been designed by architects such as Richard Rogers and Norman Foster, renowned for their high-tech, modern designs, often featuring soaring glass atriums.<br /><br />State schools built under Labour typically cost £21m-£50m and the lavish scale of Holland Park has caused friction among local groups at a time of cuts in services. Union representatives have asked why a new academy planned for north Kensington, one of the poorest parts of the borough, has a budget of £28m.<br /><br />But Elizabeth Campbell, the council's cabinet member for education, told the Sunday Times she was proud of Holland Park. She said: 'We set out to build the best school in Britain and we have ended up with the best school in western Europe.'<br /><br />She argued that the building had cost the taxpayer nothing, adding: 'We raised £105m by selling off part of the site to housing developers and built a six-storey school instead.'<br /><br />The school dubbed the 'socialist Eton' because it once attracted members of the Labour elite who lived locally but did not want to compromise their principles by using private education.<br /><br />The school now has Tory ministers in its catchment area, including George Osborne, who lives a short walk away.<br /><br />A few weeks ago, according to the Sunday Times, a Holland Park parent reported that her daughter had seen Gove and his wife Sarah looking round with their nine-year-old daughter.<br /><br />Headteacher Colin Hall said earlier the school was a reward for pupils and teachers who over the past decade had transformed the comprehensive and put it in the top 5% of state schools for improved GCSE results. He said: 'Students will be coming to something a bit unconventional and a little bit grand.<br /><br />'Some don’t come from privileged backgrounds — we want them to have a sense of aspiration and see this building as aspirational.'<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2231308/Holland-Park-School--80m-school-built-featuring-bespoke-300-classroom-chairs-glass-walls-roof-terrace.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Australian students get right to sue training colleges</b><br /><br /><i>This could lead to damaging litigation by dim students. </i><br /><br />DISGRUNTLED students will be able to sue their training colleges for shoddy education under new laws to be introduced in Victoria.<br /><br />The state government hopes the new rules will prevent dodgy training providers from delivering substandard education. The rules will apply to students whose vocational training was subsidised partly or fully by the state government.<br /><br />An explanatory memorandum of the legislation, seen by The Age, said students could seek compensation for a college's "failure to deliver training". The state government contracts training providers to deliver courses to students.<br /><br />An Education Department spokesman said students would soon have the right to enforce terms of that contract.<br /><br />"This is designed to provide greater protection for students if there is a breach of contract between the government and vocational training provider," he said.<br /><br />But he said contracts would vary between providers.<br /><br />Earlier this year the national training regulator rejected a training college's registration after finding it had failed to meet quality standards.<br /><br />More than 1200 students were enrolled at the college, which offered a wide range of courses from aged care, childcare and transport and logistics. The students were forced to find other colleges to complete their courses.<br /><br />The Australian Education Union's TAFE vice-president, Greg Barclay, said the new laws were a "good move" but the government needed to ensure the contracts were fair to students.<br /><br />The Victorian TAFE Association's education policy consultant, Nita Schultz, said the greater capacity to seek compensation would "fill a gap" in students' rights as consumers. "It's got to give students more confidence," she said.<br /><br />Ms Schultz said students might also be entitled to sue their training college if it closed their course before they could complete it.<br /><br />The new laws are part of legislation recently introduced to the Victorian Parliament about how universities and TAFEs are governed.<br /><br />Some of the new legislation is highly contentious, including the removal of the requirement that university councils and TAFE boards must include students and staff.<br /><br />More than 220 academics have signed an open letter protesting against this change.<br /><br />Melbourne University professor and author Raimond Gaita and La Trobe politics Professor Dennis Altman are among the high-profile academics who have lent their names to the "defence of university autonomy and academic freedom". The letter calls on the state government to abandon the bill.<br /><br />"Universities are not businesses selling education and research products. They are some of our oldest public institutions and their autonomy is crucial to a properly functioning democracy and vibrant civil society," the letter said.<br /><br />But Higher Education Minister Peter Hall said there was nothing to stop universities appointing students and staff to their councils if they had the necessary skills.<br /><br />He said the government was introducing the changes after extensive discussions with chancellors and vice-chancellors from Victoria's universities.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/tertiary-education/students-get-right-to-sue-training-colleges-20121112-298ee.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-61628455190959980582012-11-12T04:48:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.397-08:00<br /><b>University Pres. Scolds Students for Inviting Ann Coulter to Speak</b><br /><br /><i>A lesson in how to make threats subtly. Quite literally Jesuitical</i><br /><br />American universities are often criticized for their left-leaning biases, but the president of Fordham University in New York appeared to take it a step further when he singled out the young Republicans on campus.<br /><br />The group “College Republicans” had invited well-known author and columnist Ann Coulter to speak, and President Joseph M. McShane expressed his thoughts in a university-wide email, according to Young America’s Foundation (YAF).<br /><br />It should be noted that Coulter’s appearance was to be paid for by the school’s student activity fees, but the president still made it seem as though the school deserved tremendous praise for allowing free speech by a conservative firebrand. In the end, though, Coulter’s invitation was still rescinded, the university’s website says.<br /><br />Here is part of the November 9th email, via the YAF:<br /><blockquote> …Student groups are allowed, and encouraged, to invite speakers who represent diverse, and sometimes unpopular, points of view, in keeping with the canons of academic freedom. Accordingly, the University will not block the College Republicans from hosting their speaker of choice on campus.<br /><br />To say that I am disappointed with the judgment and maturity of the College Republicans, however, would be a tremendous understatement. There are many people who can speak to the conservative point of view with integrity and conviction, but Ms. Coulter is not among them. Her rhetoric is often hateful and needlessly provocative-more heat than light-and her message is aimed squarely at the darker side of our nature.</blockquote><br />McShane then references a number of racist incidents that occurred on campus, before concluding:<br /><blockquote> Still, to prohibit Ms. Coulter from speaking at Fordham would be to do greater violence to the academy, and to the Jesuit tradition of fearless and robust engagement. Preventing Ms. Coulter from speaking would counter one wrong with another. The old saw goes that the answer to bad speech is more speech. This is especially true at a university, and I fully expect our students, faculty, alumni, parents, and staff to voice their opposition, civilly and respectfully, and forcefully.<br /><br />The College Republicans have unwittingly provided Fordham with a test of its character: do we abandon our ideals in the face of repugnant speech and seek to stifle Ms. Coulter’s (and the student organizers’) opinions, or do we use her appearance as an opportunity to prove that our ideas are better and our faith in the academy-and one another-stronger? We have chosen the latter course, confident in our community, and in the power of decency and reason to overcome hatred and prejudice.</blockquote><br />When the College Republicans rescinded their invitation to Coulter, saying they didn’t “vet” her properly, McShane said the university had passed its challenge “with flying colors.” Here is part of his follow-up letter, via The Observer:<br /><blockquote> Allow me to give credit where it is due: the leadership of the College Republicans acted quickly, took responsibility for their decisions, and expressed their regrets sincerely and eloquently. Most gratifying, I believe, is that they framed their decision in light of Fordham’s mission and values. There can be no finer testament to the value of a Fordham education and the caliber of our students.<br /><br />Yesterday I wrote that the College Republicans provided Fordham with a test of its character. They, the University community, and our extended Fordham family passed the test with flying colors, engaging in impassioned but overwhelmingly civil debate on politics, academic freedom, and freedom of speech.<br /><br />We can all be proud of Fordham today, and I am proud to serve you.</blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/university-president-scolds-students-for-inviting-ann-coulter-to-speak-disappointed-would-be-tremendous-understatement/">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>British universities paying £10,000 to sign up bright students</b><br /><br />Bright students are being offered financial incentives worth up to £10,000 to study at "lower-ranked" universities amid a scramble to fill undergraduate places, the Telegraph has learnt.<br /><br />Dozens of institutions outside the academic elite are making lucrative offers to applicants with the best A-level grades, irrespective of their household income, it emerged.<br /><br />The awards - for students starting degrees in 2013 - normally include substantial discounts on tuition fees or cash contributions towards living costs.<br /><br />Some universities are offering applicants guaranteed places in halls of residence and even free laptops or membership of sports clubs.<br /><br />Institutions offering deals include Aston, Bournemouth, Brunel, Coventry, De Montfort, Edge Hill, Essex, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicester, Northumbria, Roehampton, the Royal Agricultural College, Salford, Surrey and Wolverhampton.<br /><br />City University London is offering awards of between £3,000 and £9,000 over three years depending on students' A-level grades and chosen undergraduate course.<br /><br />Newman University College in Birmingham said it was offering £10,000 for all students who achieve three B grades or better in their A-levels.<br /><br />Newcastle University's school of electrical and electronic engineering offers scholarships of up to £2,000-a-year plus a laptop, while Surrey University promises a £3,000 cash award alongside free sports club membership to students with straight As.<br /><br />In most cases, these scholarships are not means-tested but depend on students naming particular universities as their "firm choice" on UCAS application forms.<br /><br />The disclosure appears to underline the lengths universities are being forced to go to in an attempt to fill places following a backlash over the near tripling of tuition fees to a maximum of £9,000-a-year.<br /><br />Earlier this month, England's Higher Education Funding Council found that university finances were under pressure after an "unexpected fall" in admissions rates.<br /><br />Overall numbers were an average of 2.1 per cent lower than universities' own forecasts, it emerged. Some 57,000 fewer undergraduates started courses across the country this year.<br /><br />In a report, the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies said "lower-ranked" universities were now increasingly likely to use cash incentives to attract students.<br /><br />"Support for high-achieving students has become more generous across all types of institutions, particularly lower-ranked ones," it said. "This may be at least partly a response to the new admissions system... It may result in high-achieving students being attracted to lower-ranked universities by the promise of more financial support in the short-term."<br /><br />Previously, the number of students recruited by each university was subject to strict Government caps.<br /><br />But the Coalition has partially lifted controls to allow institutions to take unlimited numbers of students with the best A-level grades. In 2012, they could recruit more undergraduates with AAB grades, while next year the measures extend to those with at least ABB.<br /><br />The move has triggered intense competition to sign up these students to prevent them being tempted to rival universities.<br /><br />Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, said high-achieving students were "in demand by universities and there are a wide variety of scholarships and other financial inducements being offered to them."<br /><br />"Universities have offered merit-based scholarships for many years, so the concept is not new," she said, adding that UUK was currently undertaking research into the impact of bursary and scholarship packages on university application trends.<br /><br />But Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said cash for bright students may come at the expense of means-tested support for the poorest.<br /><br />"Some universities are now pulling out all the stops to secure students with the highest grades," she added.<br /><br />"Students considering university next year should be attracted to the courses that best suit their talents, not by financial incentives."<br /><br />But Deborah Streatfield, a London-based careers adviser, doubted that scholarships acted as a significant draw, adding that applicants "intensively study league tables of university rankings and subject ranking and never look at the financial incentives on offer".<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9670355/Universities-paying-10000-to-sign-up-bright-students.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Weak British primaries to become academies (charters)</b><br /><br />The Government will improve the 400 weakest primary schools by turning them into academies, the Prime Minister said yesterday.<br /><br />David Cameron said that by the end of next year he wanted them to be paired with sponsors to turn them into academies as part of the Coalition's efforts to improve education in the poorest performing schools.<br /><br />"The driving mission for this Government is to build an aspiration nation, where we unlock and unleash the promise in all our people," he said. "A first-class education system is absolutely central to that vision.<br /><br />"We have seen some excellent progress with our reforms, including turning 200 of the worst-performing primary schools into sponsored academies.<br /><br />"We have seen how academies, with their freedom to innovate, inspire and raise standards are fuelling aspirations. So now we want to go further, faster, with 400 more underperforming primary schools paired up with a sponsor and either open or well on their way to becoming an academy by the end of next year.''<br /><br />At the last general election, there were 203 academies but they were all secondary schools. There are now 2,456 academies, and a further 823 in the pipeline. Of the new academies, 333 were formerly failing primary or secondary schools.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9670407/Weak-primaries-to-become-academies.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-55250096501997589962012-11-11T04:49:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.402-08:00<br /><br /><b>Uneducated People Share Simplistic Graphic About Education, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney</b><br /><br />You may have seen this graphic floating around the internet. I have no clue where it comes from, but wouldn't recommend visiting whatever "happyplace.com" is, which has been watermarked on this version:<br /><br /><img height="300" src="http://media.townhall.com/townhall/blog/educatedstates.jpg" width="600" /> <br /><br />Hah! Those dumb conservatives, they all vote for Mitt Romney. And they're dumb. Well, now that we've all confirmed our elitist preconceived biases about conservatives, it's off to the wine bar to celebrate eh?<br /><br />Not so fast. Pretty much every exit poll shows very little correlation between education and electoral outcomes. Here are the graphics that accompany CNN's exit polling on education.<br /><br /><img src="http://media.townhall.com/townhall/blog/byeducation2.png" /><br /><br />There is only one category here that correlates with level of education: postgraduates. President Obama won those who didn't attend high school, those who didn't attend college, and postgraduates. <br /><br />Here's a news flash: Obama won the election, so he won slightly larger percentages of everyone. In fact, as education level increases, tendency to vote for President Obama decreases until you get to the postgraduate level. This is largely unsurprising when you consider that one of President Obama's major supporter groups - teachers' unions - consists almost entirely of members who have some sort of postgraduate education.<br /><br />This sort of infographic is the kind of lazy attempt at snarky humor that actively misinforms people. And it's embarrassing to draw conclusions here - there is nearly a zero level of correlation between formal education and electoral choice. <br /><br /><a href="http://townhall.com/tipsheet/kevinglass/2012/11/09/uneducated_people_share_simplistic_graphic_about_education_barack_obama_and_mitt_romney">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><i>Note for statisticians: This is a very good example of why "ecological" correlations (correlations among grouped data) have to be treated with caution</i><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>British tuition fees hike 'may have benefited poorer students'</b><br /><br />The gap in university participation between rich and poor students has narrowed since the introduction of higher tuition fees in England in 2006/07, according to a new report.<br /><br />Students from poorer backgrounds may have benefited from the introduction of higher university tuition fees in England, according to a new study published today.<br /><br />The gap in higher education participation between those from wealthy and deprived backgrounds has narrowed rapidly since the 2006-07 student finance regime changes, which saw the tuition fees cap rise from £1,000 to £3,000 per annum.<br /><br />According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report, this could be because the new fee regime was more generous to poorer students and hit those from richer backgrounds relatively harder.<br /><br />"Contrary to the beliefs of many, the new HE [higher education] finance regime introduced in 2006-07 was actually significantly more progressive than the system it replaced," the report says.<br /><br />It adds: "We cannot say for sure that this change in [university participation] arose as a consequence of the new HE finance regime, but it was coincident with it and we cannot explain it using the other characteristics that we observe in our data."<br /><br />Only 18 per cent of state school students from the most deprived backgrounds attended higher education in 2009-10, compared with 55 per cent of those from the least deprived backgrounds - a gap of 37 percentage points.<br /><br />But according to the report that gap had fallen from 40 percentage points just five years earlier, due mainly to a sharp increase in the number of pupils from deprived backgrounds applying for university.<br /><br />The gap has in fact been diminishing throughout the last decade, but the process 'accelerated somewhat' after the tuition fees cap was increased in 2006-07, according to the report.<br /><br />Claire Crawford, the author of the report, said: "This experience in 2006-07 provides some hope that the drop in university applications observed this year - following the most recent increase in tuition fees - may not herald the start of a longer term fall in participation rates."<br /><br />However, NUS president Liam Burns said: "Top-up fees were in marked contrast from the current government's decision to increase the cap on tuition fees to £9,000 which, far from providing additional income, was used as a spurious justification by ministers to remove almost all public funding from universities and to substitute it with debt loaded onto the shoulders of individuals."<br /><br />Students starting university this September faced another tuition fees hike, with the cap now set at £9,000 per year.<br /><br />The IFS report cites studies concluding that poorer students became better off under the 2006-07 fees regime than its predecessor because the fees are means tested, and because student loans are only payable above a certain earnings threshold after graduation and can eventually be written off.<br /><br />Bursaries and grants are also available to university students based on household income.<br /><br />But the studies point out that poor students will only benefit if they fully understand the implications of the regime and aren't 'debt averse'.<br /><br />The report also notes that increased university participation among poorer students has been partly driven by a 'catch up' in attainment earlier on in the education system.<br /><br />The proportion of young people with at least 2 A-levels also rose more quickly among poorer students over the last decade, for instance.<br /><br /> A separate report also published by the IFS today criticises the new National Scholarship Programme - introduced this year to replace previous bursaries for disadvantaged students - for being too complex.<br /><br />The report also criticises the variation in bursaries available from different universities under the new regime. It found Russell Group universities offering more generous financial support than lower-ranked institutions.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9661600/Tuition-fees-hike-may-have-benefited-poorer-students.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Shock, horror! Speaker at Australian Catholic college fails to honour politically correct custom</b><br /><br /><i>He paid a tribute to the real founders of a college instead of the imaginary Aboriginal founders. He said nothing at all about Aborigines but saying nothing was to insult them!<br /><br />Non-Australians will find this hard to follow but in Leftist and particularly academic Australian circles, big meetings such as graduation ceremonies begin these days by acknowledging the fact that Aboriginal tribes used to live on the land concerned. The pretence is that the meeting is held only with permission of the "traditional owners" of the land -- which is of course complete garbage. They have no title to it at law at all</i><br /><br />A leading Sydney barrister and senior counsel at the trouble-plagued St John's College has sparked outrage after mocking the Aboriginal community at an official dinner at the University of Sydney.<br /><br />Jeffrey Phillips, SC, stood in the college's 150-year-old Great Hall and, in front of more than 250 staff, students and guests, paid tribute to the "traditional custodians of this place" whom he identified as being the "Benedictines who came from the great English nation".<br /><br />The comment was made in the presence of several indigenous students, one of whom has lodged a formal complaint and, according to senior staff, remains "deeply traumatised".<br /><br />Mark Spinks, a respected member of Sydney's Aboriginal community and chairman of the Aboriginal men's group Babana, said: "How disgusting, how disgraceful, how disrespectful are those comments. I am outraged and I am disturbed. For that to have been said at the university, in a room full of students, I am almost speechless."<br /><br />Last night, the University of Sydney's vice-chancellor, Michael Spence, condemned Mr Phillips' remarks. He said: "The university is very proud of the fact that it stands on land where indigenous peoples have been teaching and learning for many thousands of years before us and we acknowledge this publicly whenever we can."<br /><br />Mr Phillips graduated from the college more than three decades ago but today he is back and, on occasions, reliving the good old days. The students appointed him as patron of the student club in 2009 and he is always a phone call away. He drinks and sings with them at formal dinners. He invites a select group to long lunches and "networking" events in the city, including a recent cigar and whisky appreciation night. He helps to find work for the law students of the college and hosts an essay competition each year, with a prize of $500.<br /><br />Yesterday, Mr Phillips said his comments had been taken out of context, adding that he had sent the upset student a letter.<br /><br />"It is a great pity that my speech was misinterpreted by one student," he said in a statement. "The speech was not intended, nor delivered in any way to disrespect or mock indigenous people. On the contrary, the speech had an important message of forgiveness and tolerance. <br /><br />Neither the rector, Mr Bongers, nor anyone else present at the speech complained. In fact, the Rector personally thanked me warmly for my speech. Whilst I apologised to the student, as she had been offended, it is important, especially in an environment of vigorous debate, such as a university, that simple misunderstandings by one student not be blown out of proportion."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/st-johns-patron-in-racial-outrage-20121110-294wy.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-64818731119468705962012-11-10T04:37:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.408-08:00<br /><br /><b>Teachers 'failing to champion excellence', Australian academic warns</b><br /><br /><i>Speaking in Britain</i><br /><br />School standards are being damaged by a "conspiracy of silence" among teachers who refuse to champion excellence, a leading academic has warned.<br /><br />Pupils may be missing out on the very best results because of a "great equalisation" at the heart of the teaching profession that fails to mark out and reward top-performing staff, it was claimed.<br /><br />John Hattie, professor of education at Melbourne University, suggested that too many teachers were reluctant to value expertise for fear of denigrating struggling colleagues.<br /><br />He insisted that the "tyranny of the closed door" was a major problem as it prevented teachers sharing their best ideas and lessons with their colleagues.<br /><br />A rigorous focus on teacher improvement is the hallmark of top education systems around the world but a reluctance to adopt a similar system in the UK risks undermining standards, Prof Hattie suggested.<br /><br />He warned that the impact that schools can have on pupils "will barely change" until drastic reforms are made.<br /><br />The comments come amid continuing concerns the variable quality of lessons in schools.<br /><br />In its annual report last year, Ofsted warned that teaching was not good enough in more than four-in-10 English schools, with "dull" lessons fuelling bad behaviour in the classroom.<br /><br />Ministers have now introduced new rules making it easier for heads to sack consistently struggling teachers. The Government is also considering introducing a new system of performance-related pay to reward the very best staff.<br /><br />Prof Hattie, an expert in the evaluation of teaching standards, said there was a "great equalisation in the profession that does not welcome excellence and a conspiracy of silence to even talk among each other about the impact of their teaching".<br /><br />Speaking ahead of a presentation to the London Festival of Education on November 17, he said too many teachers failed to properly observe their colleagues at work.<br /><br />"The greatest difference between one school and another is the quality of teaching," he said.<br /><br />"Yet in spite of this there is a conspiracy of silence, with teachers unwilling to talk to their colleagues about the impact of their teaching.<br /><br />"Teachers, like politicians, prefer to talk about the curriculum, children, assessments and the structural parts of schooling such as the state of the school building.<br /><br />"Until this situation is properly acknowledged, it just isn't possible to truly change the impact a teacher, a school, even an entire education system, can have on its pupils."<br /><br />The academic, author of the book "Visible Learning", said the UK education system was not sufficiently geared towards teacher improvement, adding that the profession failed to sufficiently "rejoice" at evidence of improvement being made.<br /><br />"Teachers too often live in their private worlds with teaching often done in front of classes not visible to colleagues," he said.<br /><br />"And our studies show that the most high impact and passionate teachers are not always the most social in the staffroom."<br /><br />Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, insisted that teachers constantly "strived for excellence" but were hampered by a lack of on-the-job training and attacks from politicians.<br /><br />"Teachers find their efforts to improve the quality of their teaching stymied by the low priority given to continuing professional development," she said.<br /><br />"And teachers' morale is at rock bottom - damaged by wave upon wave of denigration by Michael Gove [the Education Secretary] and his acolytes.<br /><br />"If the situation is to improve, teachers must become partners in the drive to improve education performance. After all, it is teachers who will make the difference - not politicians."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9661936/Teachers-failing-to-champion-excellence-academic-warns.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Universities 'grossly distorted' by Government reforms</b><br /><br />The higher education system is being "grossly distorted" by Government reforms to universities, a powerful coalition of academics and peers has warned.<br /><br />Academic research and student teaching has been undermined by the sheer scale of "excessive, inefficient and hugely wasteful" regulations imposed on institutions, it was claimed.<br /><br />The newly-established Council for the Defence of British Universities, which is being backed by 65 key figures, including Lord Bragg, Alan Bennett, Sir Simon Jenkins and Lord Rees, warned that the "very purpose" of a degree was under threat.<br /><br />Students are increasingly being seen as "consumers" who are encouraged to invest in an undergraduate course to boost their earning prospects instead of developing their "intellectual and critical capacities to the full", the group suggested.<br /><br />Particular criticism was levelled at the Coalition's decision to axe all direct state funding for arts, languages and humanities courses while continuing to subsidise science, technology, engineering and maths.<br /><br />Sir Keith Thomas, the Oxford University historian and former president of the British Academy, said the move will have "unfortunate effects" and could lead to a decline in the study of subjects such as Chinese, Russian, German and French.<br /><br />The group - which will be officially launched next week - will campaign for the abolition of existing Government quangos set up to fund higher education in favour of fully independent grant-making bodies designed to act as "buffers between the universities and the politicians".<br /><br />Writing in Times Higher Education magazine, Sir Keith, a member of the council, criticised the "repugnant" treatment of universities by successive governments.<br /><br />He said it was correct that safeguards should be placed on the spending of public money, but added: "The degree of audit and accountability now demanded is excessive, inefficient and hugely wasteful of time and resources.<br /><br />"More fundamentally, the very purpose of the university is grossly distorted by the attempt to create a market in higher education.<br /><br />"Students are regarded as `consumers' and encouraged to invest in the degree course they think most likely to enhance their earning prospects.<br /><br />"Academics are seen as 'producers', whose research is expected to focus on topics of commercial value and whose 'output' is measured against a single scale and graded like sacks of wheat.<br /><br />"The universities themselves are encouraged to teach and research not what they think is intrinsically worthwhile but what is likely to be financially most profitable."<br /><br />In recent years, the system for funding university research has been overhauled, with institutions being scored through a complex mechanism based on quality and impact. Universities also must hit new admissions targets designed to create a more socially-diverse student body and institutions are subjected to additional audits by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.<br /><br />Sir Keith said that the "central values of the university" - to develop students' intellectual and critical capacities - were being "sidelined or forgotten".<br /><br />Also writing in the Times Higher, Lord Rees, emeritus professor of cosmology and astrophysics at Cambridge University, said academics' morale was being eroded, even at world-leading institutions.<br /><br />"I am lucky to have spent many years in one in the University of Cambridge. But even there, morale is falling," he said.<br /><br />"Coffee-time conversations are less about ideas and more about grants, the research excellence framework, job security and suchlike. Prospects of sustaining excellence will plummet if such concerns prey unduly on the minds of even the best young academics."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9664233/Universities-grossly-distorted-by-Government-reforms.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>British father attacks daughter's school after she was told to remove poppy band as it breached health and safety rules</b><br /><br />A man whose grandfather was a Second World War soldier has hit out at his daughter's school after she was banned from wearing her poppy wristband because of health and safety fears.<br /><br />Maggy Lane, 13, was ordered to remove the Poppy Appeal band - a symbol of remembrance sold by the Royal British Legion - by teachers at Shepshed High School in Leicestershire.<br /><br />The teenager was told the wristband was forbidden because it breached the school's uniform code and it was feared the rubber bangle could get caught on something during a lesson.<br /><br />The schoolgirl's father Myles Lane, 39, questioned why the rubber bands were banned because of the potential safety risk when students are allowed to wear poppies secured to their uniform by a pin.<br /><br />'I feel quite passionate about it,' said Mr Lane, who added that his grandfather Arthur Witherbed, who died last year at the age of 90, was part of the Royal Leicester Regiment which fought in Norway in 1940.<br /><br />'I have always drummed into my daughter the importance of Poppy Day and she had bought the band out of her own money.<br /><br />'They told me it was a health and safety risk, but they are okay to wear a poppy with a pin on it.<br /><br />'I can appreciate the school has health and safety issues with bracelets but I think they should be able to make an allowance with a poppy band,' said Mr Lane, a draughtsman.<br /><br />'Perhaps they could ask students to remove them in potentially hazardous situations like for P.E. and in cookery lessons, then let them wear the bands at other times.'<br /><br />Mr Lane, from Shepshed, said Remembrance Day held extra significance for his family since his grandfather's death last year. When the Germans invaded Norway in 1940 Mr Witherbed escaped by walking to neighbouring Sweden. From there he made his way back to England, and he was stationed with the military police at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire.<br /><br />Adrian Stephenson, joint head teacher at the school, said: 'We don’t allow children to wear wrist bands at school. It is as simple as that. 'We have to stick to the uniform code,' he said. 'When governors put the dress code together, health and safety is part of the issue of wearing jewellery.<br /><br />'It is important to stress we want the children to understand all about remembrance and it is a central part of what we do, but at the same time, if you want to run a good school you have a set of rules and you have to stick to them,' Mr Stephenson added.<br /><br />His co-head Stewart Goacher said the wristband was forbidden under the same rules that prevent pupils from wearing bracelets. Mr Goacher added that the school sells lapel poppies, holds an annual remembrance assembly and supports the charity Help for Heroes.<br /><br />David Hobday, chair of the Loughborough British Legion, said: 'In theory, I am upset because it is a promotional time particularly for us, but if it is school policy and they have been asked to take them off then that is the school’s prerogative.'<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2230098/Father-attacks-daughters-school-told-remove-poppy-band-breached-health-safety-rules.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-82068865271208267972012-11-08T04:53:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.482-08:00<br /><br /><b>Indiana GOP firm despite education coup</b><br /><br />Top Republican officials, including the current and future governor, argued vehemently Wednesday that their education reform mandate is intact despite the defeat of Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett.<br /><br />“The consensus and the momentum for reform and change in Indiana is rock solid,” Gov. Mitch Daniels said. “Every other factor that matters is aligned in this state in the direction of progress and change and reform, of teacher accountability, of more choices for families, more ability for school leadership to lead.”<br /><br />Gov.-elect Mike Pence said his election on an agenda of education change, as well as the House’s picking up a supermajority of members, points to Hoosiers supporting continued progress in the area. “We have a strong affirmation on the progress of education reform in this state,” he said, noting he hopes to work with Democrats in a bipartisan fashion next year.<br /><br />But the new superintendent of public instruction, career teacher Glenda Ritz, takes issue with the Republicans’ assessment of the election. “(Bennett’s defeat) was a direct message on the education policies of the last four years. It was a referendum going forward,” she said.<br /><br />Ritz and others noted that she received more votes than even Pence – 1.3 million in all – and said the Republican leadership of the state can’t ignore her role in the process.<br /><br />Senate Democratic Leader Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, said any reasonable person can see that ousting the superintendent of public instruction is a direct comment on recent changes.<br /><br />Bennett, 51, clashed with teachers around the state when pushing a pile of reforms, including taxpayer-financed vouchers for private school, more charter schools, reduction in power to collectively bargain for teachers and tying teacher pay to student scores.<br /><br />The Indiana Department of Education also took over several failing schools and loosened teacher licensing requirements to allow more professionals in the classroom.<br /><br />Ritz said Bennett had a 10-1 fundraising edge over her, including loads of help from national education advocacy groups, but her grassroots effort prevailed in the end.<br /><br />Only GOP House Speaker Brian Bosma said clearly that Bennett’s loss was about him – not his policies.<br /><br />He first noted that many of the education changes were pushed by the legislature – not Bennett – and that House Republicans were largely re-elected while picking up nine seats in all.<br /><br />“This is not an indictment in any way of reforms,” Bosma said. “Some of the education reform controversy deals with the tone and presentation of the reforms and how it’s explained. Occasionally the discussion moved into arenas that teachers found offensive.”<br /><br />Daniels even raised the prospect of making the position appointed by the governor – something he ran on in 2004 but never actively put on his legislative agenda during his eight-year term. Pence said he has not formed an opinion on that matter.<br /><br />“Oh, isn’t that something?” said Nate Schnellenberger, president of the Indiana State Teachers Association. “The election didn’t work out the way they wanted, so they’ll change the rules. Can you imagine the backlash of undoing an election? That would be asinine.”<br /><br />Schnellenberger said he hoped Republicans would see the defeat as a chance to take a step back and consider that they might not be right all the time.<br /><br />Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, is at least willing to listen. “The voters are sending a message,” he said. “I’ll be very attentive to what seemed to drive her to victory.”<br /><br />Kruse believes Bennett’s tendency to move forward without consulting educators offended people. “It was an anti-Tony Bennett vote more than a pro-Glenda Ritz vote,” Kruse said.<br /><br />But he acknowledged working closely with Ritz on various bills in 2011 and said he looks forward to maintaining that positive relationship.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20121108/NEWS07/311089929/1002/LOCAL">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>The young British children who do worse educationally also do worse physically</b><br /><br /><i>The "explanation" offered for the findings is hardly an explanation at all. The findings are however well explained by IQ being one aspect of general biological fitness</i><br /><br />Tens of thousands of children are being held back at school because their sedentary lifestyles have left them lacking basic physical skills. A study of four and five-year-olds shows nearly a third struggle with tasks such as balancing on one leg and crawling.<br /><br />Researchers say children increasingly spend their early years sitting in front of screens and being ferried around in prams and car seats, with fewer opportunities to roll, climb, crawl and enjoy rough-and-tumble play.<br /><br />The study found those who struggle with basic physical exercises are significantly more likely to fall behind academically.<br /><br />Sixty children in reception classes at a school in the West Midlands were given 14 short tests, including asking them to balance on one leg for three seconds and crawl a short distance.<br /><br />The study found 30 per cent of pupils showed signs of physical immaturity and a further 42 per cent some signs of delays in development.<br /><br />Some children even appeared not to have lost primitive baby reflexes, such as their arms and head extending when their head moves to the side.<br /><br />The study, carried out by former primary headmaster Pete Griffin in conjunction with the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology in Chester, found that of pupils in the bottom half of the group for physical maturity, 77 per cent were in the lowest two groups for academic ability.<br /><br />Mr Griffin said: ‘The main issue is that children don’t have the same kind of physical challenge and upbringing they might have had 40 or 50 years ago.’ ‘Children are strapped into travel systems and are not physically picked up as much. ‘I don’t see family members throwing their babies up into the air as much. We do less of that.’ <br /><br />Babies also spend less time on the floor learning to roll and crawl, he said. ‘There’s less opportunity to climb, to roll, to jump.’ In these safety-conscious times, parents will stop their children walking along a wall in case they fall, he added.<br /><br />The rise of screen-based entertainment was likely to be having a ‘dramatic effect’, both because it led to sedentary lifestyles and stunted concentration. ‘There’s less creativity involved in playing on the screen or watching TV,’ he said.<br /><br />‘TV comes in very small bites so children are not used to concentrating for long periods, video games move from one stimulus to another very rapidly.’<br /><br />This was likely to have an effect on children’s ability to concentrate in the classroom, he warned.<br /><br />Mr Griffin added that the pressures of today’s exam-focused schooling meant that children with immature physical skills were less likely to catch up. ‘There is less of a place for a late developer in the education system,’ he said.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2229567/The-children-held-school-lazy-lifestyles-mean-t-stand-leg.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Is it still worth going to university? Earning power of a degree in Britain falls 22% in a decade</b><br /><br />The higher salary that graduates traditionally gain from having a university degree has been slashed by a fifth during the past decade.<br /><br />A study has found that the rise in numbers attending university and increased competition for jobs has drastically driven down the earning power enjoyed by previous generations of graduates.<br /><br />Researchers from Warwick University followed 17,000 students from 2006 to their graduation into one of the worst recessions in history, and compared it to graduates who finished their studies in 1999.<br /><br />The recent graduates are, on average, earning 22 per cent less than those who started at university a decade earlier.<br /><br />They are also struggling to find jobs that justify the debts they have built up in getting their degrees, with four in ten failing to get work that requires their qualifications, while one in ten have spent at least six months on the dole.<br /><br />The researchers concluded that a degree continues to deliver a 'significant earnings advantage', although the size of it varies widely according to the subject studied.<br /><br />Medicine and law graduates suffer the least, losing about 16 per cent and 9 per cent respectively, while arts graduates saw the sharpest slump in earning power, losing 32.9 per cent.<br /><br />Students who began their studies in 2006 were the first to pay tuition fees of £3,000-a-year and emerged from university owing a record amount. Almost half reported debts of £20,000 or more. Despite this, the researchers found that 96 per cent of graduates would do a degree again if they had the chance.<br /><br />They also concluded that a degree continues to deliver a 'significant earnings advantage', although the size of it varies widely according to the subject studied.<br /><br />While medicine and dentistry graduates were earning on average £32,447, those who studied the creative arts and design were bringing in just £18,514.<br /><br />While the average decline in earnings since 2003 was estimated at 21.9 per cent - about two per cent a year - the slump for arts graduates was 32.9 per cent.<br /><br />For medicine and related subjects, it was 16 per cent. Law held up particularly well, with graduates in this subject seeing an earnings decline of just nine per cent.<br /><br />With a further hike in tuition fees to a maximum of £9,000-a-year, the study concludes that the boom in the numbers going to university seen in recent decades is over. It claims the number of graduates will now plateau at 250,000 per year.<br /><br />The 'Futuretrack' research, conducted by Warwick University with funding from the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, followed 17,000 students from the time they applied for courses in 2006 to their graduation into one of the worst recessions in history and experiences on the job market.<br /><br />The researchers had previously carried out research among graduates who finished their studies in 1999. 'Compared with the experiences of graduates some ten years earlier, Futuretrack graduates faced a tough labour market,' the report said.<br /><br />'The greater number of graduates seeking employment, coupled with harsh economic conditions, have combined to create higher levels of graduate unemployment, a higher proportion of graduates in non-graduate employment and a lower rate of progression for graduates than was the situation ten years earlier.'<br /><br />The Government has claimed that a degree can add more than £200,000 to a male graduate's salary over a lifetime compared with those who decided against university. But the research found the claim 'does not reflect the evidence revealed here'.<br /><br />It said the 'relative earnings advantage associated with a degree appears to have been declining slowly over the past decade, possibly by as much as two per cent per annum relative to average earnings in the economy'.<br /><br />The report went on to warn that the decline in the earnings premium was not simply due to the recession, and was unlikely to bounce back up as the economy improves.<br /><br />In further findings, students who got involved in teams, societies and clubs at university were more likely to have landed good jobs. The researchers found that employers are increasingly looking at extra-curricular activities when seeking to differentiate between a field brandishing mainly 2.1s.<br /><br />Graduates with first-class degrees and those who attended high-ranking universities were also better off.<br /><br />One of the most 'disturbing' findings, the researchers, said was that the pay gap between men and women was showing no sign of narrowing. Men earn about £2,000 more per year on average.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2229587/Is-worth-going-university-Earning-power-degree-falls-22-decade.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-44017218263156762542012-11-07T04:41:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.555-08:00<br /><br /><br /><b>More tax revenue for schools in California</b><br /><br /><i>There is of course zero guarantee that all or any of the money raised will actually go to schools. Tax revenue is fungible</i><br /><br />Overcoming decades of anti-tax sentiment in California, Gov. Jerry Brown's Proposition 30 -- billed as a tax hike to rescue the state's schools -- narrowly won Tuesday.<br /><br />"I know a lot of people had some doubts and some questions: Can you really go to the people and ask them to vote for a tax?" Brown told supporters as the measure inched into the "yes" column just after 11 p.m. "Here we are ... We have a vote of the people, I think the only state in the country that says let's raise our taxes, for our kids for our schools, and for our California dream."<br /><br />With most precincts reporting, results showed the Bay Area, Los Angeles and coastal areas supporting the measure while inland and rural areas were rejecting it.<br /><br />Brown made Proposition 30 the hallmark of his administration, spending the year trying to convince voters that California schools have reached a breaking point and need taxpayers to come to the rescue. It will raise $6 billion annually for education and the state budget by increasing the sales tax by a quarter-cent for four years and raising income taxes on the wealthy by up to 3 percent for seven years.<br /><br />"It sold itself," he said at a victory party in Sacramento. "The core reason it brought people together was a belief in schools and universities and the capacity of government to make wise investments that benefit all of us."<br /><br />The governor has repeatedly promised that rejecting Proposition 30 would have meant $6 billion in fresh cuts to schools starting Jan. 1 -- threatening to shorten the K-12 school year and raise tuition at public universities again.<br /><br />Kevin Thompson, a teacher in Union School District in San Jose, who took time off from teaching to campaign for the measure. "The early returns look really good," he said earlier Tuesday night. "I think the message is out, that this is the way we're going to invest in our students and our schools."<br /><br />Meanwhile, wealthy attorney Molly Munger's Proposition 38, a competing tax-for-schools measure, trailed badly, as expected, despite Munger providing most of the money for the $48 million campaign. Proposition 38 sought to raise $10 billion, mostly for K-12 schools, by raising the income tax on the wealthy and middle class, who bristled at the idea of hiking their own taxes by hundreds of dollars a year.<br /><br />"Win or lose, Molly Munger put public education back on the front burner, where it belongs, during this election cycle," said Nathan Ballard, a spokesman for Yes on 38.<br /><br />However, a third tax measure, Proposition 39, passed as expected, closing a loophole that allowed big multistate businesses to pay fewer state taxes. The result could add $1 billion a year in new revenues to the state. Bay Area hedge fund manager Tom Steyer bankrolled nearly the entire $39 million campaign for Proposition 39, which voters approved overwhelmingly.<br /><br />But deep into the night Tuesday and Wednesday morning, all eyes were on Proposition 30.<br /><br />Supporters led by teachers, other employee unions, Democratic politicians and even some businesses waged a $40 million campaign. Brown personally campaigned around the state in recent weeks and has staked his political reputation on the measure as his top priority during his current term.<br /><br />Principal Amy Caroza estimated that Coliseum College Prep Academy in Oakland would have lost $200,000 if Proposition 30 failed and said she didn't know how the school would offset that loss.<br /><br />Voters have spent the last two decades rejecting one tax hike after another, and many voters either didn't believe Brown that the cuts would happen or thought the state should make due with the money it has. They also continue to be skeptical of state government and think new projects like the $69 billion high-speed rail line are a waste when the state needs more for schools and public safety.<br /><br />In addition to anti-tax groups and conservatives, Munger briefly launched attack ads on Proposition 30 last month while a group with ties to the Koch brothers donated millions of dollars to defeat the measure.<br /><br />"We are grateful for all the hard work from thousands of small business owners, taxpayers and many groups from around the state in helping us communicate our 'no on 30' messages to voters," the No on 30 campaign said in a statement. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/california-budget/ci_21945748/fate-gov-browns-prop-30-is-unclear">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b> Education reform law turned back in SD</b><br /><br />Voters overwhelmingly rejected Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s education reform law, which sought to overhaul the way South Dakota public schools evaluate and reward their teachers.<br /><br />Daugaard promised to hand out $15 million per year, giving $2,500 to all competent math and science teachers, college scholarships for those who take hard-to-fill teaching jobs, and bonuses for teachers who rate as the best in their district or take on leadership roles.<br /><br />But half of every teacher’s rating was to be based on test scores or other quantifiable measures of student achievement, a major point of contention for the teachers union. The law also would have phased out job protections for veteran teachers.<br /><br />When the law passed the Legislature by a single vote, the South Dakota Education Association organized a petition drive to put it on the ballot. About 68 percent of voters rejected it Tuesday.<br /><br />“I think (voters) listened to the teachers,” SDEA President Sandy Arseneault said.<br /><br />The vote-no campaign had a heavy TV presence, thanks to the National Education Association, which poured $683,000 into the campaign to defeat the measure. The state chapter chipped in $15,000.<br /><br />A group backing the law reported contributions totaling $113,500, which came mostly from Sioux Falls business leaders and StudentsFirst, a national political action committee led by reform-minded Democrat Michelle Rhee.<br /><br />Valerie Schonewill, a 29-year-old librarian from Sioux Falls, initially supported the law. She thinks teachers are underpaid and liked the notion of paying bonuses while holding them accountable. But teacher friends who objected to merit pay and special treatment for math and science teachers, as well as the official vote-no argument included in ballot materials, persuaded her to vote against.<br /><br />Carol Blickstead, 58, a former public school teacher who now works as a private school librarian in Sioux Falls, voted against the law. She took offense to the possibility that schools would start paying merit-based bonuses, saying it implies many teachers aren’t doing a good job.<br /><br />More <a href="http://www.argusleader.com/article/20121107/NEWS/311070055/Education-reform-law-turned-back?odyssey=nav%7Chead&nclick_check=1">HERE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Idaho education reform laws headed for defeat</b><br /><br />Leaders of a campaign to reform Idaho schools that would have weakened unions and put laptops in the hands of the state’s high schoolers all but conceded their loss late Tuesday night as voters appeared to reject the propositions.<br /><br />“I thought it would be a little closer,” said Ken Burgess, manager for the campaign in support of the propositions that included one that awards bonuses to teachers based in part on student test scores.<br /><br />“We feel great,” said Mike Lanza, chair of the campaign to defeat the so-called Luna laws. “The public doesn’t like these laws.”<br /><br />The three propositions trailed throughout the early voting, with the closest running 12 percentage points behind with more than half of the state’s precincts reporting.<br /><br />State schools chief Tom Luna spent much of the past two years pushing his plan through the Legislature and then seeking support from Idahoans, including parents.<br /><br />Some of Idaho’s most powerful people, including Gov. Butch Otter and Frank VanderSloot, CEO of Melalueca, backed the plan. VanderSloot put $1.4 million toward supporting the so-called Luna laws. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has wrestled with teacher unions, put $200,000 toward bringing the three propositions to victory.<br /><br />The three education laws, passed by the Legislature in 2011 and put on the November ballot after a successful petition drive, were at the top of many Treasure Valley voters’ minds Tuesday.<br /><br />Kathie Corn, a retired teacher, expects she’ll hear from her colleagues about her vote in favor of Proposition 1, which limits bargaining rights and ends continuing contracts, or tenure.<br /><br />“My friends are going to be mad when I say it, but that’s OK,” said Corn, 68, who taught in Idaho for 25 years. “There were too many teachers who shouldn’t be working forever and nothing was done.”<br /><br />But Corn voted no on Prop 3, the laptop and online mandate for high school, reflecting the split ballots cast by many Idahoans on Luna’s Students Come First laws. Proposition 3 drew the most no votes of any of the measures.<br /><br />Danton Killian, 52, a Meridian welder, voted no on Props 1 and 3 and yes on 2. He’s concerned about a $180 million, 8-year laptop contract with Hewlett-Packard and about machines becoming obsolete.<br /><br />“It’s a little early to be making rules about what you can do with technology,” he said.<br /><br />Stacey Van Kirk, 41, of Eagle, opposed all three proposition. She didn’t like Proposition 2, which hands out bonuses to teachers based in part on how students perform on achievement tests.<br /><br />“I do not think teachers should be (incentivized) by teaching to the test. I think they already do that so much and I think kids are already losing,” she said.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/11/07/2337158/idaho-education-reform-laws-headed.html#storylink=cpy">SOURCE</a> <br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-26705347265059813472012-11-06T22:13:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.628-08:00<br /><br /><b>British drama teacher facing dismissal after she is convicted of hitting pupil, 13, with folder for talking in class</b><br /><br />A drama teacher could be sacked after being convicted for smacking a 13-year-old boy in the head with a folder because he was talking in class. Vanessa Greening, 49, lost her temper with the child as he watched other pupils perform at a high school in Tipton, in the West Midlands.<br /><br />A court heard Greening flipped and slammed the folder she was holding into the schoolboy's head after hearing someone speak during the performance.<br /><br />Greening from Bearwood, Birmingham, was sentenced to a six-month community order at Sandwell Magistrates Court on Friday last week after being found guilty of common assault.<br /><br />The young victim, who was sat next to his teacher at Alexandra High School, had admitted speaking when he shouldn't, but claimed when Greening lashed out with the binder he hadn't said a word.<br /><br />She was hauled before magistrates after parents of the pupil complained to teachers who then contacted the police.<br /><br />Greening, who turned up to court clutching a folder, now faces the sack following a career in the classroom spanning 30 years.<br /><br />Prosecuting, Kelly Crowe said: 'Whilst they were watching the group do the piece of work, someone spoke, and the defendant who had a folder in her hand slammed it once to his head.'<br /><br />The court heard the boy was shocked but uninjured and later told police 'it didn't hurt'.<br /><br />JPs were also told Greening, who had pleaded not guilty, had been previously reprimanded for her conduct.<br /><br />Defending Laura Culley said she didn't accept that the incident happened 'intentionally or otherwise.'<br /><br />Following the case, headteacher Ian Binnie did not confirm whether Greening would lose her job or not.<br /><br />Headteacher Ian Binnie said in a statement: 'The school reported the allegations made to the police and worked closely with them during their investigation. 'I am aware of the verdict but I am unable to comment further at the moment as the school's disciplinary procedures are underway.'<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2228017/Drama-teacher-facing-sack-convicted-hitting-pupil-13-folder-talking-class.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>British teachers off school for "training" are caught at wedding: Head accused of lying in letter to parents</b><br /><br />When father-of-two Kamal Hussain received a letter from school saying classes would be ending early for staff development, he duly arranged for his children to have the afternoon off.<br /><br />But he became suspicious when he spotted three teachers in smart clothing driving past him when they were meant to be at school for the ‘inset’ (which stands for ‘in-service training’) afternoon.<br /><br />Calling in at the deserted school, he was told by a cleaner that the head and teachers had gone to a colleague’s wedding. A furious Mr Hussain then drove to the wedding venue and confronted the head, who he says was sitting with 23 of her staff.<br /><br />Mr Hussain yesterday lambasted head Gillian Pursey, for sending a ‘blatant lie’ in an official letter to parents. He said: ‘I was just so angry and furious. I teach my children not to lie – what sort of example does that set? ‘I’ve lost my trust and confidence in them and I’m going to look to move my children elsewhere.’<br /><br />He called for an inquiry into the matter, saying pupils had lost hundreds of hours of teaching between them.<br /><br />Mrs Pursey, 51, head of St Hilda’s Primary School, Oldham, sent a letter saying classes would end at 2pm on Tuesday, October 30, instead of 3.30pm, for ‘staff development’. Teachers are entitled up to five days at school without pupils present so they can carry out administrative tasks or training.<br /><br />However, Mr Hussain, 35, who had recently been refused time off for his own children to attend a family wedding, found Mrs Pursey and up to 23 of her staff sitting down for a meal at a colleague’s wedding. When he confronted Mrs Pursey at her table, she claimed the teachers had been given time off to ‘do research’, adding she had the governors’ permission.<br /><br />Mr Hussain added: ‘But to my understanding the governors don’t have the real authority to put in jeopardy the education of 500 pupils.’<br /><br />Last night Mrs Pursey said: ‘Staff were given that hour and a half of staff development time to research things for the school’s golden jubilee celebrations. ‘They could do that research on or off site, and whenever they liked. Some decided to do it straight away, and others decided to do it after the wedding. ‘It was all agreed with the school governors and is all above board.’<br /><br />An Oldham Council spokesman said: ‘This is an interim management issue for the school and no action will be taken.’<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2228748/Teachers-school-training-caught-wedding-Head-accused-lying-letter-parents.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Disruptive under-fives 'blacklisted by British schools' who are also judging parents by their jobs</b><br /><br /><i>If schools were allowed effective discipline options, they wouldn't need to do this</i><br /><br />HEAD teachers are screening out unwanted pupils by trawling nurseries for disruptive children and blacklisting them, it was claimed yesterday. They are also accused of judging parents on their jobs and trying to dissuade those in lowlier roles from making an application.<br /><br />A primary head lifted the lid on ploys he claims some fellow schools are using to weed out poorly-behaved or low-achieving pupils. Nigel Utton said one headmistress checks nurseries for disruptive pupils and puts their names on Post-It notes in her office. She then tries to ensure they don’t get places by giving their parents ‘a bad view’ of the school.<br /><br />He claimed a second head told a lorry driver that sending his son to the school would be similar to forcing him to work as a brain surgeon.<br /><br />According to Mr Utton, head of Bromstone Primary, Broadstairs, Kent, the vast majority of schools, both primary and secondary, are using subtle techniques to engineer their intakes.<br /><br />He called on Ofsted and the Government to crack down on the practices and reward schools which do well with a broad intake of pupils.<br /><br />His remarks received support from Children’s Commissioner Maggie Atkinson, who is conducting an inquiry into ways that schools illegally ‘exclude’ pupils by asking them to leave without formally suspending or expelling them. She condemned schools which ‘pull up the drawbridge’ and ‘let children fail’.<br /><br />Speaking at a seminar in central London staged by Westminster Education Forum, Mr Utton warned that pressure on schools to maintain test results was driving some to use dubious methods to keep out pupils considered disruptive or difficult.<br /><br />‘This is what some of my colleagues do across the country,’ he said. ‘Basically they don’t let them in. And there are different ways of not letting them in.<br /><br />‘One head teacher I know of puts Post-It notes on her wall. ‘She goes round the nurseries finding out which are the disruptive children and puts their names up on her wall, and those children don’t get into her school.’ This head’s school had been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, he said.<br /><br />The school must abide by national rules on fair admissions so the head tries to stop them applying in the first place.<br /><br />Mr Utton, who said his own school took pupils with a range of needs and abilities, claimed that another common ruse was to ‘alienate’ parents at open days or show-rounds. ‘When a parent comes and looks round your school, you are rude to them so they don’t go to your school, they go to the school down the road.’<br /><br />Some heads attempted to ‘signpost’ families to other local schools, claiming they would be more suitable for their children.<br /><br />A further strategy was to ‘denigrate’ parents according to their jobs. ‘A parent was sent to me, a lorry driver. He was told by the head teacher of an outstanding school, “your child coming to our school would be an equivalent of asking you to be a brain surgeon”,’ he said. ‘This is a real example from this year. The kid came to my school.’<br /><br />He added: ‘Once the children are in, if they are kids you don’t like, there are ways of getting rid of them.’<br /><br />He also hit out at the trend for children with behavioural problems to be ‘drugged’ with Ritalin.<br /><br />Rosi Jordon, deputy head of Chessbrook, a unit for expelled pupils in Hertfordshire, said schools felt under pressure to ‘get shot’ of some children ‘at all costs’ to boost their league table positions.<br /><br />She told the seminar that schools were increasingly aware that pupils who fail to meet exam benchmarks can knock ‘half a per cent’ of the school’s overall score.<br /><br />‘I know of one head teacher who will say, “Leave your personal problems at the school gate. When you are in here, you are doing your work, and I do not want to know anything of what happens personally with you”,’ she said. ‘”You can only be here if you are performing for us, and if you’re not - go”.’<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2229016/Disruptive-fives-blacklisted-schools-judging-parents-jobs.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-26582700767313297992012-11-05T04:52:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.637-08:00<br /><br /><b>Preschool is no substitute for parents</b><br /><br />In naming preschool a legislative priority, GOP leaders may make Indiana the first state to ground such a program in private initiative. There’s talk of preschool vouchers, for example, rather than the usual state preschools, which function like a space-time-money vacuum.<br /><br />As a mother of two small children, a relatively new Hoosier, and someone who reads stacks of education studies for work, I’d like to sketch why state preschool has largely failed so far.<br /><br />Anyone interested in surveying early childhood research would do well to start with E.D. Hirsch, a prominent former University of Virginia professor and bestselling author. His work demonstrates that people build new knowledge on old knowledge. Knowledge sticks to itself, like a spider’s web. This means what and how much children learn in their earliest days is crucial to constructing a sort of upside-down pyramid of knowledge that increases as they age.<br /><br />“There is strong evidence that increasing the general knowledge and vocabulary of a child before age six is the single highest correlate with later success,” Hirsch writes.<br /><br />This means a child’s most influential teachers are his parents, as our ancestors knew without studies. They also knew another truth we don’t like to acknowledge: Some parents are better than others. Some weave their children the first few rounds of mental spider web with habits such as speaking frequently with their children, reading books aloud, practicing numbers and names, and taking the kids to places that expand their knowledge, such as the zoo, grandpa’s farm, the library, and parks.<br /><br />These are all normal behaviors for many families (they are also largely free, so not restricted to rich people). But these habits are foreign to some, and consequently their children are deprived.<br /><br />Observers of this deficit suggest government can solve the problem. Kids can’t count to ten by age five? Put ‘em in school at age three.<br /><br />This is similar to the classic answer to the question about what holds up the turtle that the ancient myth says the Earth rests on: It’s turtles all the way down. When children prove unready for preschool at age three because of home deprivation, then what? Decide when a woman gets pregnant whether she will be a fit mother and, if not, have government agents waiting in the delivery room?<br /><br />The reality is that mass preschool programs don’t work. Most studies claiming fabulous effects from government early childhood programs are extrapolations from three test programs of decades ago. No statewide preschool to date approximates these intensive programs, which included expensive amenities such as health care, parent training, and home visits, costing upwards of $65,000 per child, and unlike typical half-day preschool they were full-day and even full-year interventions.<br /><br />No state preschool does that much substitute parenting, or could, so it’s not surprising they haven’t yielded smarter kids. Oklahoma, for example, has the highest percentage of state preschool students in the nation, but students statewide have had declining average test scores since the program began.<br /><br />States’ experience with preschool largely exemplifies what doesn’t work. Research and common sense show us why: Even 40 hours of remediation a week doesn’t change the child’s other 58 waking hours.<br /><br />Instead of attempting the impossible--displacing parenting--a rational and fitting early childhood initiative would aim to cultivate it. This is the crux of the early childhood deficit Republican lawmakers must target. They could start by acknowledging it.<br /><br /><a href="http://heartland.org/editorial/2012/11/01/preschool-no-substitute-parents">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Sick Vid: ‘Big Bird’ Punches ‘Romney’ in Face… During School Performance</b><br /><br />Ever since Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said he would cut funding to PBS and Sesame Street if elected, the left has championed Big Bird as a way to verbally attack him. Now, video uploaded to YouTube by the Texas Sports Center takes it a step further, showing Mitt Romney being punched in the face by the iconic character during a school halftime performance.<br /><br />According to the Texas Sports Center, the the Beaumont Central High School marching band decided to have a political “dance-off” instead of a more traditional show, and the director began by asking whether everyone is going to vote on Tuesday.<br /><br />After “Obama,” identified as the athletic youth in the white shirt, dances and does a back flip, the beloved Sesame Street character taps a young man wearing a Mitt Romney mask on the shoulder.<br /><br />“Wait a minute, I got somebody for you, Mr. Romney!” the announcer calls. “Mr. Big Bird is in the house! Big Bird!”<br /><br />“Romney” then moves out of the screen while Big Bird does a brief dance, but when he comes back Big Bird decks him in the jaw, sending him straight to the ground.<br /><br />Though the political bias is pretty clear based on the captured video, the Texas Sports Center adds that Romney also did a dance of his own.<br /><br />“Tasteless inappropriate influence of and use of high school students,” one commenter concluded, while another said it was “beyond the bounds of decent taste.”<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/vid-shows-big-bird-punching-romney-look-alike-in-the-face-during-school-performance/">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Former Australian PM wants jobs quota for Asian speakers</b><br /><br /><i>Since there are about a million Australians who speak an Asian language as their home language (out of 22 million Australians) this is a bit idiotic</i><br /><br />Former prime minister Kevin Rudd says the business community should set aside a quota of jobs for Australian students who can speak an Asian language.<br /><br />Mr Rudd has praised the Federal Government's white paper on Asia, which outlines how Australia can deepen its engagement with the region.<br /><br />The white paper calls for more students to be taught at least one of four Asian languages - Mandarin, Japanese, Hindi and Indonesian - in every school in Australia.<br /><br />Mr Rudd told Sky News that businesses also need to provide incentives for students. "They need to know there's a career path for them," he said.<br /><br />"So if the 100 businesses which make up the Business Council of Australia were simply to say each of us will provide 10 graduate jobs for first class Chinese speakers, Japanese speakers or whatever, each year, that's 1,000 jobs on the Australian market.<br /><br />"Kids will respond to that and they will master these languages and become as they were, the army of the future in our economic engagement with the neighbourhood."<br /><br />He says the roadmap to 2025 set out in the white paper is comprehensive and a "wake-up call" to Australia.<br /><br />"It draws together the various arms of what both government, corporates and others in Australia are doing in their engagement with Asia and charts a framework for the future," he said. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-04/rudd-on-business-quotas-for-asian-speakers/4352012">SOURCE</a> <br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-90056662833944672502012-11-04T04:39:00.000-08:002012-11-19T05:47:45.710-08:00<br /><br /><b>The Old School Bully</b><br /><br /><i>Comments and toon below by conservative Australian cartoonist <a href="http://zegsyd.blogspot.com/">ZEG</a>. He is referring to the Federal Minister for Education, Peter Garrett, a notable Green/Left lamebrain</i><br /><br /><img src="http://i.imgur.com/nQQyV.jpg" /><br /><br />The oxygen was once again sucked out of the room this morning when I saw & heard the Hon. Minister for "SHORT MEMORIES" smugly telling us that he along with the ALP & Facebook will be taking on the cyber bullies and combating this insidious threat to us all !!!!<br /><br />How will Garrett turn around an issue that was nowhere near as endemic as it now is? ....... He is telling the kids to dob in the bullies. My God, what are they smoking at his office, this is the best that they can do?<br /><br />Of course the issue with children being cruel to each other will probably NEVER go away, it is definitely a part of human development. The problem that exists now and didn't when I was a kid is that parents are almost scared to discipline their children, rather than face the wrath of D.O.C.S or worse, the Police.<br /><br />Teachers, well forget it, their hands have been tied ever since Garrett's do-gooder crowd managed to remove corporal punishment from schools back in the early 80's and even earlier when Comrade Whitlam disbanded the public school cadet corps. This was an establishment where all were made to realise that they were equally weak and strong and that there is no "i" in team. Now everybody has to be a winner and no one is ever wrong, just go along with the consensus of the left.<br /><br />The PC crowd always tell govt that it is not the child that is at fault but rather society in general is to blame. To a point they are right because of the desensitising masses being bombarded with sex and violence on a daily basis on all communication media along with the fact that the rights of the child to freely express itself in any manner it deems fit, always outweighs the rights of the parent/guardian to raise the child in a manner that they deem correct.<br /><br />So now we are stuck with a generation of children who not only have no issue with cruelty to each other without consequence but they can do it easily and anonymously via mobile phones and the internet.<br /><br />Yep , the social engineering has failed and now those who caused it to happen are trying to tell us that they have the answer....... talk about whistling past the cemetery!!!<br /><br />Nothing in this plan by Garrett discusses what to do with the bullies, how to reform them and how to find out what made them so anti social in the first place. Bloody reactionary policy released by some very reactionary and desperate politicians.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Japanese teaching methods heading to the UK as British pupils look to play catch up</b><br /><br />Japanese children can perform mathematical calculations far in advance of their British counterparts just by mastering the abacus, new research has found.<br /><br />School children as young as five are able to add up five numbers, each running into billions or trillions, in just half a minute - and some Japanese teenagers can add so quickly that scientists are at a loss to explain their skill.<br /><br />Now British experts, including former Countdown star Carol Vorderman, are saying schools in this country could develop similar techniques to boost Britain’s ‘disgacefully’ low levels of numeracy.<br /><br />In Japan, use of the abacus - parallel rods each strung with five beads - is taught to all six years olds, and it is widely used in China and other countries in the East which regularly head world numeracy league tables.<br /><br />Millions of Japanese children also attend the country’s 20,000 after-school clubs, where they learn to add, subtract, multiply and divide much faster than they could with traditional pen and paper - and advanced users can compete with calculators.<br /><br />The head of the Academy, Chie Takayanagi, said that whereas people could resort to calculators nowadays, using an abacus sharpened their concentration and memory.<br /><br />In Japan, the best abacus users can enter competitions and some children do not even need to finger their beads as they can picture the abacus in their heads to make mental calculations.<br /><br />Japanese teachers said that children in the West often found numbers hard to grasp because they were presented in too abstract a way, while the abacus provided a concrete picture of them.<br /><br />One said the Japanese method of counting also helped because when children came to words such as eleven, twelve and thirteen they said ‘ten one’, ‘ten two’ and ‘ten three’, which was far more meaningful.<br /><br />They also learned their times tables like nursery rhymes, and sang them to tunes they remembered into their adult lives.<br /><br />Ms Vorderman, who was known on the Channel 4 Countdown show for her fast calculations and who has written numerous books on maths, said numeracy in Britain was ‘disgraceful’ partly because schools under-emphasised the visual elements of teaching maths.<br /><br />She said scientific tests carried out in China using a brain scanner showed those who had been schooled in the West just used the computational side of their brains while those from the East used the visual parts as well,<br />She said she had learned maths using cuisenaire rods, a Western version of the abacus. ‘That’s how I learnt very very quickly,’ she said.<br /><br />‘From the age of three I was doing what a lot of six year olds were doing. But everything was simple because it was visual. ‘Schools are trying to do it with words now, and giving word problems to very young children is completely pointless. ‘I don’t use an abacus but I wish I did. All aspects of the visual should be encouraged, and the abacus is one.’<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2227411/Great-Britain-aims-improve-numeracy-using-Japanese-techniques.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>American school Staffing Growing Significantly Faster Than Enrollment</b><br /><br />A new report by the Friedman Foundation shows hiring of administrative and support staff in government schools has grown seven times faster than student enrollment over the last several decades. The group found: <br /><br />“America’s K-12 public education system has experienced tremendous historical growth in employment, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. Between fiscal year (FY) 1950 and FY 2009, the number of K-12 public school students in the United States increased by 96 percent while the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) school employees grew 386 percent. Public schools grew staffing at a rate four times faster than the increase in students over that time period. Of those personnel, teachers’ numbers increased 252 percent while administrators and other staff experienced growth of 702 percent, more than seven times the increase in students.”<br /><br />Report author Benjamin Scafidi also noted, “Compared to other nations’ schools, U.S. public schools devote significantly higher fractions of their operating budgets to non-teaching personnel—and lower portions to teachers.”<br /><br />Unsustainable jobs programs promoted by the federal government have contributed to the problem and politicians have been more interested in job statistics in government schools than actually evaluating what those individuals were accomplishing.<br /><br />Regardless, Friedman’s analysis shows once again that government schools have a spending problem, not a funding problem.<br /><br />U.S. News and World Report attempted to obtain comment from the National Education Association, which represents a large chunk of non-instructional employees. The union declined. The magazine noted that the NEA website states, “Support professionals are woefully underpaid, often barely able to afford to live in the communities where they serve.”<br /><br />Translation: quit your inconvenient analysis and keep the jobs money flowing.<br /><br /><a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/kyleolson/2012/10/29/school_staffing_growing_significantly_faster_than_enrollment_friedman_foundation_finds">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-37196774949591861122012-11-03T05:49:00.000-07:002012-11-19T05:47:45.784-08:00<br /><br /><b>Georgia Teacher Makes Student Deliver Campaign Signs During Class Time</b><br /><br />Among the many education-related ballot proposals this election is Amendment 1 in Georgia. The proposed constitutional amendment would reauthorize an independent board to approve charter schools. Currently, school districts are able to regulate charters, thereby limiting their competition.<br /><br />EAGnews.org reported on some of the dirty tactics being employed by the education establishment:<br /><br />In some areas, school employees are reportedly using taxpayer funds and work time to campaign against Amendment 1, possibly violating state law.<br /><br />“I had a lady come to me … who substitute teaches who said when she walked in to teach the GAE was serving donuts and telling teachers to vote no and to tell their students to vote no,” [Georgia Americans for Prosperity director Virginia] Galloway said.<br /><br />Opponents also “had an hour-long training session at the Georgia School Boards Association, which is a taxpayer funded training session … on how to defeat the amendment,” she said.<br /><br />Reports involving students are even more troubling.<br /><br />Kelly Cadman, vice president of school services for the Georgia Charter Schools Association, said public school teachers have recruited students to deliver campaign signs opposing Amendment 1 during class time.<br /><br />“A teacher at Brighten (charter school) called me tonight to let me know that her son, who is in the IB program at the local high school, was sent on an errand … by one of his teachers,” Cadman wrote in a recent email to fellow education reformers. “The errand (during his language arts class time) was to deliver several Vote No yard signs to other teachers.<br /><br />“He didn’t find out what the signs were about (didn’t know what Amendment 1 was) until he got to the last teacher and she told him – the kid was aghast, as he knows this impacts his mom,” Cadman wrote. “Obviously, his mom (the charter school teacher) is furious.”<br /><br />Can you imagine the hell a Tea Party-minded teacher would catch if she did a similar thing? But union-minded teachers don’t give it a second thought, and schools ignore the bald-faced politicking activist teachers engage in on a routine basis.<br /><br /><a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/kyleolson/2012/11/02/georgia_teacher_makes_student_deliver_campaign_signs_during_class_time">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>An alternative 'facts' curriculum for Britain: Younger pupils ‘must focus on names, dates and places, not vague themes’</b><br /><br />Children would go back to learning about landmark events and the great figures of history under an alternative national curriculum drawn up by campaigners.<br /><br />In a move away from vague themes and topics, pupils would concentrate on names, dates, places and scientific concepts as well as classic art, music and literature.<br /><br />The lessons, spelled out in a series of primers from the think-tank Civitas, are designed to put knowledge back at the heart of teaching and complement a curriculum expected to be launched by Michael Gove early next year.<br /><br />A draft of the Education Secretary’s plan requires pupils to study a narrative of British history including key figures such as Winston Churchill, and in geography, show an understanding of the countries of the world.<br /><br />The primers created by Civitas are designed to fit into Mr Gove’s framework and stretch primary age children.<br /><br />While rejecting rote learning, the think-tank says a ‘significant body of enduring knowledge and skills’ should ‘form the foundation of a strong curriculum’.<br /><br />David Green of Civitas said he wanted to help reverse a trend that has seen children taught broad topics such as ‘the seashore’. ‘You could count ships in maths,’ he said. ‘But there’s a limit to how far you can deploy the seashore effectively as a theme for all those lessons.’<br /><br />He said low expectations of youngsters – especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds – had been a ‘terrible weakness’ in education for a generation.<br /><br />He said the new curriculum would end the narrowing of education driven by a ‘corrupted’ regime of ‘teaching to the test’ – drilling to pass primary school tests.<br /><br />Civitas has published two books in its series, covering what children in years one and two at primary school need to know. The next four are in development.<br /><br />As well as a guide for teachers, the books are aimed at parents and grandparents to help them deepen children’s knowledge.<br /><br />Schools, including the proposed West London Primary Free School, backed by journalist Toby Young, have expressed an interest in using the series of books.<br /><br />However, the Civitas syllabus is likely to meet resistance from some teachers who claim that the rise of the internet and search engines such as Google are rendering the need to teach knowledge in schools increasingly obsolete.<br /><br />The books are based on the ideas of E.D. Hirsch, an influential American educationalist who says the key duty of schooling is to give children access to the common knowledge that draws their society together. His theory is that the more knowledge a person has, the more sticks – like a snowball.<br /><br />Mr Gove and former schools minister Nick Gibb, the architect of the Government’s curriculum review, have spoken of their admiration for Mr Hirsch’s work.<br /><br />Under the Civitas scheme, pupils will leave primary school having studied a broad range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, songs, music, great works of art and speeches by key historical figures.<br /><br />In geography, children would begin by identifying the countries of the UK on a map and build up to in-depth studies of the continents.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2224617/The-facts-curriculum-Younger-pupils-focus-names-dates-places-vague-themes.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Australian mother outraged over hugging ban: Letter to paper</b><br /><br /><i>(Stupid Fascist school Principal: If something is a problem, don't deal with it. Ban it!)</i><br /><br />Heidi Rome <br /><br />I am writing this to you as a concerned parent. <br /><br />My daughter is in year six and is in the Academic Class of Excellence. She is a well-mannered, bright and caring person who her teacher thinks highly of her and she would never do anything to hurt another person.<br /><br /> Last Friday she received detention from the principal, the reason she received this was because she gave her classmate (female) a friendly hug goodbye after the end of day bell had gone. <br /><br />I have since spoke to the school and the principal and apparently there is a rule at the school that the students are not allowed to hug one another. <br /><br />I have never heard of this before and I read nearly all of the schools newsletters. <br /><br />I asked why such a harsh punishment and her reply was because she had only just spoken to the whole school about this issue two hours previously so she was taking a stance on the matter. Well I think this is way over the top to punish a child for a friendly hug.<br /><br /> My concern is the harsh punishment and the fact kids are no longer able to be kids and hug one another. Her reasoning for this rule that was bought in was to stop boyfriend / girlfriend hugging (some parents had complained about it) and the students that were running across the schoolyard and slamming into one another. <br /><br />So everyone suffers now because of a few silly children, I asked her why not teach those children appropriate behavior instead of banning hugs altogether. <br /><br />What is that teaching the children instead, that hugs are inappropriate and wrong? <br /><br />I have also asked the question have they spoken to a child physiologist regarding the effect on giving the impression to the students that they must not hug your friends? <br /><br />The answer was no, but I can if I want too. Also siblings are not allowed to hug each other, so how can you explain to a five year old that they cant hug their older brother or sister.<br /><br /> According to theorist regarding child development this is a natural development of children and I certainly don't want my children not to be able to hug friends or family. <br /><br />I have spoken to a number of parents from this school and teachers from other schools and they completely agree me and are outraged about this rule. <br /><br />Research has also shown that in this day and age where communication is ruled by technology children need to have more affection and be encouraged to have human empathy. <br /><br />Schools should be a comforting place for kids and be all warm and fuzzy as for some children it may be the only bit they get.<br /><br />I hope this matter can be bought to the attention of other parents out there and something done about it as I do not want my younger primary aged children being bought up in a society that says hugs between friends and siblings are inappropriate at school and also the school is not going to change this rule.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bunburymail.com.au/story/524581/bunbury-mother-outraged-over-hugging-ban/?cs=285">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-18300895206573936062012-11-01T05:43:00.000-07:002012-11-19T05:47:45.865-08:00<br /><br /><b>The OFA Exception to Political Speech</b><br /><br />Mike Adams<br /><br />Two Fridays ago, I was busy preparing for a campus debate and finishing the final edits on my next book. It was a busy day and I simply did not have time to deal with a totalitarian college administrator posing as a genuine liberal. But these people never rest. So when the phone rang I should not have been surprised. And I knew I had a responsibility to help the distressed student, despite my busier than usual schedule.<br /><br />The controversy in this case was pretty simple. The UNCW College Republicans (CRs) were hosting a political event. They put up posters on campus and all around Wilmington trying to draw people to the event. Then, one of the CR officers went to Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) to place political fliers on bulletin boards inside some of their publicly funded educational buildings.<br /><br />Members of the taxpaying public should not have to ask for permission to put up political fliers on public campus bulletin boards. But the CR officer asked anyway. When she did, the CFCC administrator denied the request with this sweeping statement: CFCC does not allow political posters or fliers anywhere on campus.<br /><br />I was proud of the CR officer for demanding that the administrator show her a copy of the policy that allows administrators to ban all printed political speech on a publicly funded college campus. I was unsurprised to hear that the administrator failed to produce evidence of the nonexistent policy. Nor was I surprised when she redirected the CR officer to two different administrators who were not present in their offices during the middle of the morning.<br /><br />After being redirected to the two empty offices, the CR officer called me to explain the situation and seek my advice. I sent her back to the CFCC campus with her iPhone to complete a very simple research project: I asked her to take a walk across campus and take pictures of every single political poster she saw.<br /><br />The results of our little study will not surprise you. Obama For America (OFA) posters were hanging in plain sight all across campus. So I called the administrator who had banned the Republican posters from the CFCC campus. When she picked up the phone, I said "Hi. My name is Mike Adams. I've called to ask some questions about one of your policies that restricts political speech on campus." Her reaction suggested that she may have heard of me before.<br /><br />I did not get very far into my First Amendment lecture before that administrator transferred me to another office. The reception I got there was markedly more professional. I explained the illegality of a policy banning all printed political speech. I explained that it was irrelevant because the policy actually does not exist because the administrator simply made it up. Then, I arranged a time for the student to come back to seek approval with two things in her hand: 1. A stack of political posters advertising a Republican event. 2. An iPhone loaded with pictures of OFA posters hanging all over the CFCC campus.<br /><br />By the end of the day, the posters were hanging on the campus. I went back to preparing for my debate and working on my book edits. When I finished those tasks I sat down to catch up on my column chronicles of the campus free speech wars. I wrote this specific column in order to illustrate the followings points:<br /><br />1. Campus censorship, which began in the elite private schools and spread to the state universities has now reached our community college campuses.<br /><>2. All of these institutions are populated with armies of administrators who are, at best, indifferent to First Amendment principles.<br /><br />3. Increasingly, many campus administrators, including those at small community colleges, are openly hostile toward the First Amendment.<br /><br />4. Hostile administrators often invent campus policies in an effort to shut down the marketplace of ideas.<br /><br />5. The goal of hostile administrators is to completely remove any semblance of conservative thought from the marketplace of ideas. Their goal is total domination of the ideological marketplace.<br /><br />6. Administrators rely upon a combination of student apathy and student ignorance in their efforts to reduce intellectual diversity on campus.<br /><br />7. When questioned by others in positions of authority, these administrators generally refuse to answer questions and try to pass responsibility on to other administrators.<br /><br />8. When initially confronted, those other administrators claim ignorance of the facts concerning alleged constitutional violations.<br /><br />9. When confronted again with explicit evidence and implicit threats of litigation, campus administrators often capitulate.<br /><br />10. Even small free speech victories require substantial effort due to the size of the college administration and the ambiguity of its organizational structure.<br /><br />There really is little wonder why some administrators at CFCC sought to keep OFA posters as the sole examples of political speech on campus. It really isn't political speech. It's just the way things ought to be. The OFA movement protects the administrative bureaucracy. The administrative bureaucracy protects the OFA movement. That is how these things move. Forward.<br /><br />These days, the purpose of speech at government schools is to grow the government. It isn't about the students. It hasn't been that way since the 1960s.<br /><br /><a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2012/10/31/the_ofa_exception_to_political_speech/page/full/">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Be wary when politicians promise the money’s going to education</b><br /><br />Politicians, public employee unions and other supporters of big government have learned a simple lesson over the past thirty years — people don’t want to pay higher taxes to fund additional government services, except for police, fire or education.<br /><br />Because of this understanding, every bad idea seems to be wrapped in a blanket that it will increase education funding with the millions of dollars of advertisements behind this claim to trick the people into approving something they ordinarily wouldn’t.<br /><br />In California, where they have virtually ceded representative government for government by initiative and referendum, Proposition 30 is another of these tax increase schemes that boldly promises to raise money exclusively for education.<br /><br />This California example is important to taxpayers nationally, because the tactics being used to promote a massive tax increase are the same that voters face whether they live in Arkansas, Maryland or anywhere else in the nation.<br /><br />Should California voters pass Proposition 30, the sales tax would increase from 7.25 percent to 7.5 percent for four years, and income taxes will increase significantly for golden stater’s who earn more than $250,000 a year.<br /><br />Using the tried and true formula for tricking voters, Proposition 30 promises that all the increased monies raised will go toward education spending.<br /><br />Yet, as Jon Coupal, president of the Los Angeles-based Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association warns, “If you thought Proposition 30 was for schools, think again.”<br /><br />The actual ballot title of Proposition 30 which reads, “Temporary Taxes to Fund Education, Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding,” should be enough to tip off any voters who are sentient that perhaps the education funding line is nothing more than a political sales pitch.<br /><br />If the money is all for education then how does it guarantee local public safety funding? It cannot.<br /><br />Here is how the bait and switch works. The initiative, referenda or constitutional amendment promises to use monies raised exclusively for education funding. What the proponents don’t tell you is that by designating funds directly for education, it allows the state legislature and governor to move funds that currently go to fund education to meet other “needs.”<br /><br />This means that in virtually every case, the net spending for the designated good cause, actually does not go up, but is just funded through other means allowing the politicians to fund other pet projects.<br /><br />Not simply a California phenomenon, Professor Bradley R. Gitz of Lyon College in Arkansas found in a study released earlier this year that dedicated taxes, “drives up overall government spending and tax burdens.”<br /><br />Dr. Gitz examined the recent history of such “dedicated” tax increases over time in the state of Arkansas, with the goal of providing a basis for assessing their advantages and disadvantages, he finds that once established, dedicated taxes become unusually suspect to manipulation by legislators. These manipulations include extending the sunsetting date of the study as well “repurposing” the tax and putting the money into other funds rather than keeping the original promise.<br /><br />The study argues that these dedicated taxes have become “more attractive over time to elected officials because 1) they can be easily sold to the public; 2) they remove the need to make the kinds of difficult ‘trade-offs’ in funding decisions required by the use of general revenue; 3) their costs can be more effectively concealed from taxpayers; and 4) they can be easily increased, extended or ‘re-purposed’ to fund other government programs.”<br /><br />Gitz cites work by George R. Crowley and Adam Hoffer, whose research suggests that dedicated revenues are “largely ineffective for increasing expenditures toward which they are tied” but more effective “at increasing total government size,” by masking increases in total government spending.<br /><br />Whether voters are considering a “temporary” tax increase to fund education in California or a vote on a constitutional amendment (Measure 7 on the ballot in November) that allows the building of a new casino in Maryland, when the sales pitch is that the proposal will dedicate money to education or any other worthy cause, voters should look three times before approving it.<br /><br />History shows that the sleight of hand artists in the state capitol have a trick up their sleeves, and it almost never means that those who support smaller government win.<br /><br /><a href="http://netrightdaily.com/2012/10/be-wary-when-politicians-promise-the-moneys-going-to-education/">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>UK academic union faces claims of ‘institutional anti-Semitism’</b><br /><br /><i>Severe anti-Israel bias ‘makes Jews feel uncomfortable and unwelcome,’ lecturer charges in landmark tribunal</i><br /><br />The UK’s trade union for academics, the University and College Union, is “institutionally anti-Semitic,” a London employment tribunal heard Monday.<br /><br />The claim was made on the opening day of a potentially landmark case, which partially revolves around UCU’s resolutions concerning an academic boycott of Israel.<br /><br />The claimant, freelance mathematics lecturer Ronnie Fraser, is alleging that the union harassed him by creating a hostile environment for him as a Jew, which “derives from a culture and attitude which is informed by contemporary anti-Zionism. <br /><br />Complaints about anti-Semitism are met with either bald denials or accusations that the complainant is attempting to stifle legitimate debate. As a result of the role which the State of Israel plays in contemporary Jewish identity, the hostile environment necessarily has an adverse impact on Jewish members of the union, making them feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.”<br /><br />He says that this contravenes the 2010 Equality Act, which prevents discrimination on grounds of race or religion.<br /><br />Unusually for an employment tribunal, the case will take four weeks to be heard. Over 30 witnesses for the claimant include the Booker Prize winning novelist Howard Jacobson — who has submitted a witness statement but will not be cross-examined — as well as Jewish community officials and numerous academics, both Jewish and non-Jewish. The seven witnesses for the respondent are all UCU officials.<br /><br />Two of the three witnesses who testified during the opening session Monday discussed UCU’s decision to allow the international relations spokesperson for the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Bongani Masuku, to speak at a UK conference promoting boycott and divestment of Israel in December 2009. Just two days earlier, the South African Human Rights Commission had publicized its finding that Masuku was guilty of hate speech against the Jewish community of South Africa. <br /><br />The statements, which were made at a student rally at the University of Witwatersrand the previous March, included threats to South African families with children in the IDF, as well as a promise to make the lives of Zionists in South Africa “hell.”<br /><br />Wendy Kahn, national director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, a representative body, argued that UCU leaders were informed of the ruling the day after it was made public (and the day before the conference) and had ample time to ensure Masuku did not have a platform in the UK. She rejected the suggestion by UCU’s lawyer, Antony White QC, that since Masuku had announced his intention to make further representations to the SAHRC, there was at the time “the possibility of a range of views about what Masuku had done”.<br /><br />“That range of views was brought to the Human Rights Commission, they had a finding that was communicated to the Union and to the people who had invited over Masuku,” she said.<br /><br />She was repeatedly questioned about when criticism of Israel crosses the line into anti-Semitism and whether comparisons between Israel and apartheid South Africa were anti-Semitic.<br /><br />“Whether Israel is or is not an apartheid state is academic discourse; it’s often discussed in the South African media,” she said. “When comments are made, ‘I came to the conclusion that Jews are arrogant’ or ‘Jews control the US’ — these comments are unacceptable, that’s when you go to the Human Rights Commission. When Jews are talked about as having blood dripping from their hands, that they should leave the country — that’s when you go to the Human Rights Commission.”<br /><br />Political debate is “valid, to be admired,” Kahn later added. However, she said, “I have a problem with using the Israeli situation as an excuse for hate speech and making comments on fellow South Africans. Some of the comments drew on classic and modern anti-Semitic discourse.”<br /><br />A second witness, retired University of Oxford biochemistry professor Michael Yudkin, had helped draft a motion in his local UCU branch disassociating members from “Masuku’s repugnant views,” which was passed 14:1. In May 2010, he proposed the motion at the UCU Annual Congress, but lost by “an overwhelming majority”. Yudkin subsequently resigned his UCU membership.<br /><br />By the time Masuku was invited to the London conference, Yudkin stated, “it was a matter of public record that he had made remarks at a public meeting several months earlier that were, to put it no more strongly, prima facie anti-Semitic. The most cursory search of Google in October or November 2009 would have revealed both that such remarks had been made by Masuku, and also that there had been official complaints about them. The fact that UCU nonetheless invited Masuku to the conference in London suggests either that the union was reckless in failing to scrutinise the background of its invitees or that it knew of Masuku’s anti-Semitic remarks and didn’t consider them a reason for rescinding the invitation.”<br /><br />His motion, Yudkin said, “centered on the expression of anti-Semitic views by someone who had been invited by the union to the UK. It recited incontrovertible facts and it invited the union to dissociate itself from remarks that had been found by an authoritative body (the South African Human Rights Commission) to amount to hate speech. That the union was unwilling to do so indicates, in my opinion, that it regards the expression of anti-Semitic views as acceptable.”<br /><br />When White suggested that some UCU members felt it was inappropriate to support the motion as COSATU had said it was going to make further representations on Masuku’s behalf and legal proceedings were still ongoing, Yudkin responded, “I’m struck by the overwhelming opposition to the motion, 10:1 [against]. I don’t think these niceties about whether COSATU supported the appeal can be used as an excuse for that degree of opposition — all the motion asked [members] to do was to disassociate themselves from Masuku’s racist remarks, and that they refused to do. The context was the last several years of anti-Israel resolutions. All added together made it clear that the union was run by those committed to disregarding the feelings of its Jewish members and thinking that the kind of behaviour in which it was indulging did not need an explanation. It was institutional antisemitism.”<br /><br />Told that several of the speakers opposing the motion were Jewish, Yudkin responded, “The fact that they are Jews by birth or upbringing is not a sufficient reason to think people may not be guilty of disregarding what is important to the majority of Jews.”<br /><br />The panel of three judges, led by AM Snelson, will spend Tuesday listening to audio recordings of the UCU debates on an Israel boycott and the claimant, Ronnie Fraser, will take the stand on Wednesday.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-academic-union-to-face-claims-of-institutional-anti-semitism/">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-82785549592224883382012-10-31T05:48:00.000-07:002012-11-19T05:47:45.939-08:00<br /><br /><b>Prominent Union Apologist Sniffs Out Absurd School Reform ‘Re-segregation’ Motives</b><br /><br /><i>Her book "The Language Police" (2003) was a good critique of political correctness in school textbooks but she seems to be good at criticism only, with little to offer by way of genuine alternative ideas for the problems of America's schools. Her latest wisdom could not be more tired: “Our problem is poverty, not our schools.” She is unusual in drifting Leftward in her later years. One wonders if the Lesbian relationship of her latter years has anything to do with that</i><br /><br />Defending the educational status quo has become a lucrative business for Diane Ravitch. For one speech alone, she received an $8,869 honorarium from the Michigan Education Association, according to union financial documents.<br /><br />String a few of those together each year and she’s well on her way to Randi Weingarten territory among the elite so-called “one percent.”<br /><br />So as states continue to pass and implement sweeping educational reforms rooted in choice and competition, Ravitch has been traveling around the country defending teachers unions and government schools and collecting her loot.<br /><br />But it appears she’s becoming a bit unhinged in the process.<br /><br />Ravitch, who is 74, is now accusing those who want to create more school choice programs – which put parents and students in the driver’s seat – of really being motivated by a desire to re-segregate America.<br /><br />That’s right. According to Ravitch and her allies, anyone who things American students deserve a few more educational options are really closet racists.<br /><br />She writes this insulting nonsense in a blog titled, “The Real Goal of Reformers: Re-segregation?”<br /><br />“Anthony Cody has a stunning article this week about what is happening in Louisiana. The expansion of vouchers and charters will facilitate the re-segregation of the schools, he predicts.<br /><br />“The freight train of reform (aka privatization) is running full blast in that unfortunate state. Arne Duncan will be there any day now to congratulate Governor Jindal on the progress made in ‘reforming’ the schools.<br /><br />“And lots of thanks to the Gates Foundation, the Broad Foundation, the Walton Foundation, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Netflix founder Reed Hastings, and Teach for America for turning the clock back to 1950 and calling it ‘reform.’”<br /><br />Ravitch either has a growing case of desperation or advanced senility, and neither one is good, except for groups like the MEA that pay big money to get her to say whatever they want to hear.<br /><br /><a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/kyleolson/2012/10/30/prominent_union_apologist_sniffs_out_school_reform_resegregation_motives">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Teachers 'to blame' for lack of ambition among pupils -- says British Liberal politician</b><br /><br /><i>There's some truth in that but liberal restrictions on school discipline are a prior factor</i><br /><br />Teachers are encouraging many children to believe that top exam grades, places at elite universities and professional careers are all beyond them, an education minister has said.<br /><br />David Laws attacked the “depressingly low expectations” that he said are holding back children in many parts of the country and preventing them from getting ahead in life.<br /><br />Even in relatively affluent parts of the country, schools and careers advisers are failing to encourage children to “reach for the stars,” instead pushing them to settle for middling exam results and careers with “medium-ranked” local employers, he said.<br /><br />Mr Laws’s remarks to The Daily Telegraph are his first comments on education policy since his return to the Government in last month’s reshuffle.<br /><br />“Teachers, colleges, careers advisers have a role and a responsibility to aim for the stars and to encourage people to believe they can reach the top in education and employment,” Mr Laws said. “That’s not happening as much as it should do at the moment.”<br /><br />Mr Laws, a Liberal Democrat and close ally of Nick Clegg, has ministerial posts at the Department for Education and the Cabinet Office and holds the right to attend Cabinet meetings.<br /><br />The Lib Dems are pushing measures to increase social mobility, making it easier for people to get ahead regardless of their background.<br /><br />Alan Milburn, the Coalition’s social mobility adviser, last week criticised policies such as the scrapping of the education maintenance allowance that was paid to pupils from low-income homes.<br /><br />Mr Laws, a Cambridge University graduate, said that social mobility was not simply a question of wealth, arguing that even children from comfortable backgrounds are being held back by low expectations and a lack of ambition.<br /><br />The minister, a former City banker who represents Yeovil in Somerset, said many children are effectively being taught that high-flying careers are not possible for them.<br /><br />“Even in my own constituency, Yeovil, which would not be regarded as one of the deprivation blackspots of the country, most young people would regard going into investment banking as almost leaving the country, because it’s a different world,” he said.<br /><br />“They will often be encouraged to think it is beyond them.”<br /><br />In many parts of the country outside London, the minister suggested, children without family connections believe that careers such as banking, law and journalism are closed.<br /><br />Instead of aiming high, “there are too many young people who think that the two or three big employers in their local town are the limit of their aspiration”.<br /><br />Low career expectations can lead children to get lower exam grades than they could achieve, he suggested. “If your expectation in a school is that you only need a modest set of qualifications because that’s all you need to work for the local employer, which you think is the best job you could do, that’s a huge cap not just on social mobility, it is a cap on achievement in examinations,” he said.<br /><br />“If you think it is really important to get three A*s to get into Cambridge and the City, you will be much more motivated than if you think you just need three Cs to go into the local medium-ranked employer.”<br /><br />As well as telling teachers and schools to raise children’s expectations, Mr Laws said that employers from “more privileged” industries should also do more to encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.<br /><br />Mr Milburn last week produced figures showing that the 20 per cent of teenagers from privileged backgrounds are seven times more likely to get into top universities than the poorest 40 per cent.<br /><br />Some campaigners want universities to change their entry policies to admit poor children with lower grades than their better-off counterparts. That is rejected by many Conservative MPs, who say that ministers should focus more on improving the performance of the state schools attended by poorer children.<br /><br />Mr Laws suggested that some teachers in state schools are still discouraging pupils from targeting places at Oxbridge and other top-ranked universities.<br /><br />“I still find, talking to youngsters across the country, the same depressing low expectations I found when I went to university in the 1980s,” he added.<br /><br />“The students you met, who were often the first students from their school who had been to Oxbridge, said they were often encouraged by teachers and others to think that Oxford or Cambridge were not the places for them and they should think of somewhere more modest.”<br /><br />Mr Laws last week returned to his former employer, JP Morgan, which is donating £1.1 million to Achieve Together, a charity that helps state schools attract and retain highly qualified teachers.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9634695/Teachers-to-blame-for-lack-of-ambition-among-pupils.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Stupid Leftist government in Australia wants to pressure more High School students to study Asian languages</b><br /><br /><i>There is a reason why so many high school students drop out of Asian languages - they're just too hard. And anyone who knew anything about the matter would have told PM Gillard that -- if she had asked</i><br /><br />Language learners of Australia, let's be honest: we are not going to become a nation of Mandarin speakers overnight as Prime Minister Gillard would like us to be.<br /><br />As for her Asian white paper and its lofty goals for language studies and Australian high-schoolers, I wonder if we are thinking this through enough?<br /><br />We're making a mistake if we think we can coerce high school children into learning Asian languages because, frankly, they are difficult for children with an untrained Anglo ear.<br /><br />As Michael Maniska, the principal of Sydney's International Grammar School, told Lateline on Monday night, when you start learning a European language you can expect to have to invest 600 to 700 hours before you attain the basic level of proficiency. To attain that same level of proficiency in Mandarin or Japanese you have to invest 2100 to 2200 hours, according to the US Foreign Service Institute.<br /><br />This is where the latest white paper on a cultural and economic interchange with Asia falls flat.<br /><br />Anyone who has tried to learn a foreign language in their teens or later, no matter how enthusiastic they are, knows how hard it is to learn it "cold". That is, without exposure as a preschooler.<br /><br />For anyone over the age of 12, the intonations, grammar, sentence structures and colloquialisms of another language seem like an Everest to master. That's why you see older people maintaining accents even if they've emigrated in their teens.<br /><br />This learning hurdle is as true for high school students as it is for business people who are told by their bosses to buy a few language tapes (or search the internet) to learn some of the lingo for that overseas posting.<br /><br />In the past, for English speakers, it's been relatively easy to learn a foreign language. European languages such as French (the dominant diplomatic pidgin), Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and German, shared the same Roman alphabet and many words. Those wanting to learn Greek or Russian had greater hardships, as the alphabets were different, though there were a few strands of familiarity that still crept through, both in alphabets and in word usage.<br /><br />But Chinese and Japanese both use different alphabets and very subtle juxtaposition of symbols to create nuances in their written languages. This subtlety also extends to the tonal nature of their pronunciation and vocabulary, where it's much easier to make mistakes than in the European languages. That is why high school students drop out of Asian languages - if offered - at a high rate. They're just too hard. It is rare that an 18-year-old without an Asian background will sit the HSC in an Asian language.<br /><br />I'm bilingual - German and English - and they're the only languages that remain imprinted on my mind.<br /><br />In young adulthood I learnt three other languages. Two, French and Spanish, proved easy for pronunciation but difficult for grammar. Both dropped away without any use.<br /><br />There were two real killers learning as a teenager: grammar and pronunciation. For grammar, you had to get your head around German sentences like: "Ich bin zu den Laeden gestern gegangen." (I have to the shops yesterday went.) For the Romance languages, you have elaborate subjunctives.<br /><br />Although translation devices will never replace a competent, on-the-ground teacher who acts as a translator and mentor, there are both good and bad ones at the touch of a mouse or an app. You just have to choose the right one.<br /><br />So is it realistic to make Asian language learning a priority for our schools? The sentiment's fine; it's just very impractical. Besides, we have a great pool of people in Australia who already speak so many Asian languages due to our diversity. Just hop on a western Sydney train line and you'll hear them speaking their native tongue.<br /><br />Business people who travel from Shanghai to Singapore, or from Tokyo to Taipei will tell you time and again that unless you're on the pointy end of trade, people in Asia won't want you to practise your dodgy local language skills on them: they want to practise their YouTube versions of English on you.<br /><br />You're there to talk business or science or education, so stick to what you're good at, unless you have the magic ear.<br /><br />A vision for an exchange between Australia and Asia is laudable. Where curiosity and a greater cross-cultural understanding thrives, the economy will automatically follow. Pushing it with stumbling Mandarin-speakers is just an artificial construct.<br /><br />Spending billions on languages and scrambling to find the teachers isn't the answer for Australia. Spending billions on better, egalitarian education, and fostering research beyond digging holes in the ground, is.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/lost-in-translation--why-gillards-plan-wont-work-20121030-28hs3.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-65195727942641721502012-10-30T06:03:00.000-07:002012-11-19T05:47:46.012-08:00<br /><b>Cops ‘Disgusted’ After NYU Asks Students to Plot a ‘Hypothetical’ Terrorist Attack</b><br /><br />Police and parents are outraged after prestigious New York University reportedly asked students to “hypothetically” plot a terrorist attack for a course on transnational terrorism. Just weeks after the most recent large-scale terrorist attack was thwarted in New York City, many are saying it is a slap in the face to those who have risked and given their lives to defend the country from extremists.<br /><br />Noting that many of the world’s most notorious terrorists, from Anwar al-Awlaki to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, spent formative years in American universities, the New York Post writes:<br /><blockquote>For the assignment, [Professor Marie-Helen Maras] — who has a Ph.D. from Oxford and is also an associate professor at SUNY Farmingdale — instructs her pupils to consider all aspects of the attack.<br /><br /> “In your paper, you must describe your hypothetical attack and what will happen in the aftermath of the attack,” Maras wrote in the syllabus obtained by The Post.<br /><br /> They must factor in the methods of execution, sources of funding, number of operatives needed and the target government’s reaction, according to the paper’s outline.<br /><br /> At the same time, students must realistically stay within their chosen terror group’s “goals, capabilities, tactical profile, targeting pattern and operational area,” the syllabus states.<br /><br /> Given the detail required — and possibly concerned that the how-to terror manuals could land in the wrong hands — Maras warns that each page of a student’s paper must bear the disclaimer: “This is a hypothetical scenario for a university course on transnational terrorism.”<br /><br /> When told of the term paper, one ranking police officer who lost coworkers on 9/11 called it “the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” </blockquote><br />The New York Post source added that he is “disgusted,” and that the course “flies in the face of the 11 years of hard work the NYPD has done in tracking down terrorists to the far reaches of the globe to make sure they never strike again.”<br /><br />“What is this, we have our students do the work for the terrorists?” he asked.<br /><br />Twitter users appear to be similarly shocked. “Seriously, who approved this lesson plan?” one wrote. Another sarcastically commented: “Brilliant idea, NYU!”<br /><br />The NYPD has not officially released a statement, however, and the professor is standing by her course.<br /><br />“The exercise is meant to prepare students for the field, to prepare them for careers in intelligence, policing, counterterrorism,” she remarked. “This is a grad-level assignment for a grad-level course.”<br /><br />She also seemed perturbed that those offended by the exercise went to the press, instead of approaching her directly. “Why didn’t the police call me if they have concerns?” she asked.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/cops-disgusted-after-nyu-asks-students-to-plot-a-hypothetical-terrorist-attack/">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Aspiring British teachers will have to complete tougher English and maths tests BEFORE they start training</b><br /><br />Tests for trainee teachers will be radically toughened up to boost the calibre of staff entering schools. A review ordered by Education Secretary Michael Gove found that existing English and maths tests taken by applicants are too easy, with many questions pitched merely at the level of grade D at GCSE.<br /><br />Changes to make the tests tougher will include a ban on using calculators in the maths test and a new writing exercise in English to assess vocabulary.<br /><br />All applicants for teacher training will be required to sit the tests, which will be raised to standards equivalent to grade B at GCSE within three years.<br /><br />Trainees will also have to sit a new reasoning test designed to assess their powers of logic and deduction. Verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning will be examined.<br /><br />Good marks in the tests may be linked to higher bursaries under proposals being considered by ministers. Top graduates currently qualify for training incentives of up to £20,000.<br /><br />Reports from Ofsted inspectors suggest some staff have a poor grasp of their subjects, leading to gaps in children’s knowledge. Yet 98 per cent of teacher trainees pass the current selection tests.<br /><br />About one in five need to resit at least once in order to pass.<br /><br />The review panel led by Sally Coates, principal of Burlington Danes Academy in West London, found some questions ‘are not sufficiently demanding, appearing to be in some cases below the level of GCSE grade C’.<br /><br />In maths, the emphasis was on ‘simple’ calculations. In English, assessment of key skills was excluded.<br /><br />Passing the numeracy test has been a requirement of Qualified Teacher Status since 2000, and literacy the following year.<br /><br />Until last month, trainees only sat the tests towards the end of their courses. The new changes will be phased in from next September, with the reasoning test introduced from 2014.<br /><br />Candidates will be limited to two resits. If they fail three times, they will be barred from applying for teacher training for two years.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223368/Teachers-blame-childrens-lack-ambition-claims-education-minister-David-Laws.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Uncool, but grammar should rule the schools</b><br /><br /><i>Comment from Australia</i><br /><br />The nation's English teachers must be rubbing their hands with glee regarding the recent debate about the definition of feminism, sexism and (gasp) misogyny. It has made consulting the dictionary kinda cool. Even the head of the Macquarie says it's livened things up a little in the office, with the editors busy musing about the evolution of the terms and how to update the newest edition.<br /><br />I just hope this newfound interest in our language extends into a nationwide clean up day to remedy our discourse from glaring grammatical blunders. Before I go on, I must declare that as a Gen Xer, we were blighted from the beginning.<br /><br />Apparently, in the 1970s, our baby boomer teachers thought "to heck with bras and virginity before marriage, and while we're at it, this grammar palaver is really uncool, man. Let the words be free, unshackled from conventional rules." Right on dude. What seven-year-old wants to have their story about Uncle Bob's sheep that got away on the weekend sullied with worries about past participles and the like?<br /><br />So we traipsed through the hallowed halls of academia, blissfully unaware of terms like dangling modifier, conjunction and adjectival clause. Sure, we learnt the basics. Capital letters. Full stops. A couple of commas ("To mark a breath for the reader") were thrown in for good measure. Probably the most remembered rule was: don't end a sentence with a word like of. Oops. That last one is a fragment, which you'd only know nowadays, because it ends up with red underline on your word processor.<br /><br />I was always regarded as "Good at English". That is, comparative to my physics marks, I was an absolute genius. But years later, I found myself at a professional writing course and the first thing we did in the compulsory editing 101 subject was to take a grammar test. "Bring it on!" I thought, fully expecting to blitz the exam.<br /><br />I scored three out of 20. Most of my classmates scored less than 50 per cent and we looked around in horror at each other. This was a selective course in graduate writing. How the heck could we be turning in that sort of result?<br /><br />"It's not your fault," our teacher said soothingly. "Grammar was taken out of the curriculum in the '70s and '80s," she said. What?! That's like saying addition was taken out of the maths curriculum.<br /><br />Later, at the pub, our shock turned to anger, then denial. "What the hell does it matter anyway?" we cried. "We've got this far. We're all 'Good at English'. Who cares if we don't know where to put commas, when it's all said and done, around a non-restrictive phrase?"<br /><br />Well, it does matter, I hate to say. Once you know what it is you didn't know, you cross the Rubicon. You're born again. And everywhere, you start to see wanton neglect of that which you now hold so precious. On a daily basis, I'm confronted with assaults to my newfound grammatical piety.<br /><br />First, there seems to be an apostrophe for every occasion. As a writer for hire, I'm often called in to add a spit and polish to corporate copy. The number of times I see an apostrophe plopped in the wrong context is extraordinary. It's KPIs, not KPI's.<br /><br />A legitimate use of the apostrophe is for a possessive noun, or in easy speak: if the thing you're writing about owns the thing you're referring to, you bang an apostrophe in before the 's'. The book's title. The King's Speech. Tick. The meeting is in five minute's. Wrong. "The biscuit's are here for everyone". Observed in a corporate kitchen, this induces a ghastly shudder as one reaches for the last remaining Kingston.<br /><br />So, I offer one more tip for those for whom grammar was just a word added to the name of an expensive school. I'm on a personal mission to eradicate the chronic misuse of "amount", where "number" is the apt and grammatically correct choice.<br /><br />The rule is: If you can count it, don't use "amount". Television journalists are the worst offenders. "The amount of people here today is absolutely unbelievable." Uh-uh. People can be counted, therefore it should be: "The number of people here today…" The amount of hyperbole in sports reporting? Yeah, that's OK.<br /><br />I welcome debate about the meaning of our political verbiage. While we're at it, let's start a campaign to help grammar get its groove on like it's 1975.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/uncool-but-grammar-should-rule-the-schools-20121029-28fkd.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-34406444487945202202012-10-29T05:41:00.000-07:002012-11-19T05:47:46.086-08:00<br /><br /><b>Drama teachers fired for allowing British junior High School students to perform play in front of parents depicting rape, oral sex and child abuse</b><br /><br />Two drama teachers were sacked for allowing GCSE students perform in a play involving depictions of rape, oral sex and child abuse within a family in front of their parents and classmates.<br /><br />The play - which even featured a pupil acting out the role of a father sexually abusing his daughter - shocked teachers, upset parents and left children sobbing and vomiting in distress.<br /><br />Complaints were made and the two unnamed teachers, who were supervising the 15 and 16-year-olds who wrote and acted in the play, were sacked by the school for gross misconduct.<br /><br />They are now pursuing unfair dismissal claims - but the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled this week that a previous decision in their favour was ‘perverse’ and that their cases must be re-heard.<br /><br />The teachers taught drama at an unidentified school. One was head of the department - and they were responsible for supervising GCSE students in writing, rehearsal, production and performance.<br /><br />The ‘age-inappropriate’ material included graphic descriptions of sex, rape, oral sex between father and daughter, child abuse between parents and children, and group sex within a family, EAT judge Lady Smith said.<br /><br />A showcase of the work was held in front of friends and relatives, but the department head failed to warn those invited of the potentially disturbing nature of the production.<br /><br />Even the headteacher of the school was not told about the content and was unaware of what the students had been involved in until after the showcase, Lady Smith said.<br /><br />‘The principal complaint came from a parent who described not only her own distress, but the distress of others, including a girl who was sobbing after the performance and a boy and one of the actors who were vomiting as a result of their distress,’ she said.<br /><br />The local county council’s safeguarding manager for education was called in to view a DVD of the performance and said he was shocked and concerned that the students had been allowed to engage in such sexualised behaviour.<br /><br />Some of the children were acting out roles of abusers or victims and he said he found the material ‘offensive, disturbing and potentially abusive’ of the young people involved.<br /><br />He described it as a ‘crude portrayal of abusive acts’ and said it might not be known for some time what effect being involved in such a production might have had on the students.<br /><br />In disciplinary proceedings, the teachers both put forward statements from others who had watched or been involved in the production and who described their experiences as positive.<br /><br />Following their dismissal, both teachers took their case to an employment tribunal and succeeded in claims for unfair dismissal. It said that there was ‘no cogent evidence’ of a risk of, or actual, harm to the children involved.<br /><br />'Matters need to be looked at afresh with the correct questions being addressed under reference to all relevant facts and circumstances'<br /><br />The school’s governing body and county council had failed to interview a representative sample of those who took part or watched the showcase to compare and contrast with the opinions of the safeguarding manager, who had ‘no experience of drama’, the tribunal said.<br /><br />But, overturning the decision as ‘perverse’, Lady Smith said the tribunal was wrong because the safeguarding manager had shown he had professional experience of role play in abuse scenarios and had spoken of the potential effects on participants.<br /><br />Lady Smith said the fact that participants and viewers of the performance were not interviewed was an ‘irrelevant factor’ for the tribunal to have taken into consideration.<br /><br />The tribunal members had also failed to take account of some relevant matters and failed to apply the proper test in coming to their decision on the teachers’ claims.<br /><br />Sending the cases back for a new employment tribunal hearing, she continued: ‘Matters need to be looked at afresh with the correct questions being addressed under reference to all relevant facts and circumstances.’<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223389/Drama-teachers-sacked-allowing-GCSE-students-perform-play-depicting-rape-oral-sex-child-abuse.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>What the devil? Plastic Halloween tridents and broomsticks banned from British school party 'for safety reasons'</b><br /><br />Halloween party organisers banned children from bringing sharp plastic props, including toy broomsticks and scythes, to a fancy dress celebration amid fears that they could hurt themselves.<br /><br />Youngsters aged five and under were banned from bringing pointed objects to the 'spooky disco' at a primary school in Treuddyn, North Wales.<br /><br />The ban was in spite of posters publicising the event telling parents that under fours could not attend without an adult.<br /><br />Community leaders put the ban in place in fear that the youngsters might injure themselves if they brought pointed costume accessories along.<br /><br />Local mother Jo Turley told The Sun: 'Please leave our kids alone and let them be kids. So long as they are supervised, where is the harm?'<br /><br />The party, which was held yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) was held at the Treuddyn Schools Campus which is home to both Ysgol Parc y Llan Primary School and Ysgol Terrig Primary School, but organised by a local playgroup.<br /><br />Flintshire councillor Carolyn Thomas who helped organise the event said: 'The children are very young and we just didn't want them running around with any pointy things. 'It was to save them hurting themselves or getting upset if they lose the articles.'<br /><br />But a spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said that the ban was unnecessary. He said: 'The ban on Halloween toys seems over the top, especially as the organisers of the party have also made arrangements for supervision of the children. The key thing for the children is to enjoy themselves. It's not going to be much of a party otherwise.'<br /><br />News of the ban comes as it was revealed that a staggering two thirds of British children do not understand why they celebrate Halloween.<br /><br />More than ten per cent of youngsters also believe the annual horror-fest is a day to mark the last witch being burned in the London.<br /><br />But Halloween is becoming as popular a date to celebrate among UK children as their American counterparts with 45 per cent of those surveyed by Snazaroo face paints due to attend themed parties this year.<br /><br />It seems our youngsters are also particularly persistent when it comes to trick or treating with nearly one in five knocking on as many as 30 doors in their neighbourhood.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2222900/What-devil-Plastic-Halloween-tridents-broomsticks-banned-school-party-safety-reasons.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Australia: Private schools not just for wealthy according to figures by independent report</b><br /><br />ABOUT half of Queensland's richest families sent their children to state schools last year instead of the private sector, a report released today shows.<br /><br />The report also found independent schools had a slightly higher percentage of children from the state's poorest families in its student population than the Catholic sector.<br /><br />Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) executive director David Robertson said figures in ISQ's "Research Report: Income Levels of Families with Students in Queensland Schools" - compiled using 2011 Australian census data - busted a myth that its sector only served the wealthy.<br /><br />He said the figures also raised the question of whether the children of high-income state school parents, who could afford to pay more for education, should receive less money under the new school funding model. The ISQ report states 48 per cent of families earning more than $2260 per week - or $117,520 a year - sent their children to a state school, compared to 28 per cent to Catholic schools and 24 per cent to Independents.<br /><br />"Of those students from families with incomes in the highest decile ($3278 per week), 39.7 per cent attended government schools, 30.1 per cent attended Catholic schools and 30.3 per cent attended independent schools," the report stated.<br /><br />"This pattern of the Government catering for more of the highest-income families than either independent or Catholic schools was replicated at both primary and secondary levels."<br /><br />The one exception was in secondary for the highest wage bracket of more than $3278 per week - $170,456 plus a year - with the independent sector schooling 37.5 per cent of those children, compared to 32.5 per cent in the state sector.<br /><br />At the other end of the income bracket the report found "19.6 per cent of students attending independent schools were from families that earnt less than $1,108 per week, compared to 18.1 per cent for Catholic school students and 36.0 per cent of government school students".<br /><br />Mr Robertson said there had been significant growth in independent schools catering for disadvantaged families and they would be able to cater for more if funding arrangements were more equitable.<br /><br />"It would be a surprise to many that close to 10 per cent of students from families with a weekly income of less than $488 per week attended independent schools," he said.<br /><br />Mr Robertson urged the Government to closely examine the data "which clearly dispels some public myths" before deciding on the nature of its school funding reform.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/private-schools-not-just-for-wealthy-according-to-figures-by-independent-report/story-e6freoof-1226504924319">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-72651247492476099052012-10-28T05:46:00.000-07:002012-11-19T05:47:46.158-08:00<br /><br /><b> Ben Carson on America's Education Challenge</b><br /><br />In the midst of the third presidential debate in Florida, which was supposedly about foreign policy, President Barack Obama interjected a few words about American education.<br /><br />The rationale was not unreasonable. A better-educated America will be a better-performing and more internationally competitive America.<br /><br />"Let's talk about what we need to compete. ... Let's take an example that we know is going to make a difference in the 21st century and that's our education policy," he said.<br /><br />Unfortunately, as is so often the case with politicians, what we hear sounds so logical, so compelling. If only it had anything to do with reality.<br /><br />According to the fractured political logic on education, which is not much different from what we hear regarding most areas of public policy, the reason we have failure is we're not doing enough of what already isn't working.<br /><br />In the case of education, we're spending a lot of money and not getting results. So the problem must be, in the brilliant political take on matters, we're just not spending enough money.<br /><br />"I now want to hire more teachers, especially in math and science, because we know that we've fallen behind when it comes to math and science," Obama said. "And those teachers can make a difference."<br /><br />But, Mr. President, what information do you have that leads you to conclude that more teachers can make a difference?<br /><br />According to information recently published by Face the Facts USA, a nonpartisan project of the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, over the last decade the federal government spent $293 billion and states spent a combined $5.5 trillion -- money targeted to improving academic performance -- with no discernable change in reading and math scores. "A quarter of high school seniors don't meet basic reading standards and a third fall below basic math proficiency," Face the Facts USA reports.<br /><br />Throwing money at education may make those who get the money better off, but there is little, if any, evidence that it makes any difference at all in improving academic performance.<br /><br />Recently, I sat down and interviewed one of my heroes: Dr. Ben Carson, director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital.<br /><br />Outside of his work, Carson's passion is education. As someone who grew up in a Detroit ghetto, whose mother was a domestic who could not read, he has some idea what it means to start with nothing and achieve the American dream.<br /><br />But listening to Carson -- whose latest book is titled "America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great" -- you get a much different take on what is wrong with education and our nation today than what we hear from politicians.<br /><br />Carson says, "We were a 'can do' nation and now we're a 'what can you do for me' nation."<br /><br />He talks about the two biggest influences when he was a boy: a demanding and caring mother and his church.<br /><br />According to Carson, "we're being crucified by political correctness -- that any lifestyle is equivalent to any other lifestyle."<br /><br />Through the Carson Scholars Fund, he provides $1,000 college scholarships to kids "who excel academically and are dedicated to serving their communities." He also builds reading rooms -- there are now 77 at schools in 11 states -- designed to provoke kids to want to read.<br /><br />After a half-hour interview with Carson (see www.CureAmerica.us), here's my takeaway: Education is about family, meaning, personal responsibility, standards of right and wrong, and appreciating the uniqueness of every child.<br /><br />Without these fundamentals, truckloads of taxpayer money will accomplish nothing. Which is why the trillions being spent are poured into a black hole.<br /><br />I would add that, given the realities of today's public schools -- defined by the political correctness that Carson says is crucifying us -- there is no hope of meeting his standards for education without giving parents freedom to choose where to send their kid to school.<br /><br /><a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/starparker/2012/10/26/star_parker_ben_carson_on_americas_education_challenge/page/full/">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>When did the education system decide that literacy and numeracy don’t matter?</b><br /><br /><i>British Education Secretary Michael Gove should not be vilified for trying to turn round 'bog-standard' state schools</i><br /><br />If I were to join the current fashion, begun this week by Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, of writing a letter to my teachers, it occurred to me that it would be neither an apology for bad behaviour (I was horribly well-behaved) nor a catalogue of the school’s defects (in the style of the TV presenter Fiona Phillips, who turned up to her old school’s relaunch and lambasted both her own behaviour as well as the quality of the education on offer there.<br /><br />Any message I wrote to the three teachers who stand out in my mind would be embarrassingly close to a love letter. Best avoid an epistolary form, then.<br /><br />Miss Campbell taught me maths nearly continuously through secondary school. The light that comes on in my head at the link between algebraic formulae to be “solved”, and the geometrical interpretation of which those formulae are capable: all that is her doing. Everything in my professional life – the non-Telegraph bit of it – is down to the groundwork she taught me.<br /><br />Mrs Houston taught me English for only one year, but her influence may well have affected my life even more deeply than the discovery of that facility with numbers. Through gentle but relentless critique of our compositions, she showed us that writing is an exercise at which it is possible to improve, a discipline with its own rules (but unlike mathematical ones, those rules should sometimes be broken).<br /><br />The fact that when I’m not being a statistician, I’m writing for The Daily Telegraph (and my columns often worry, imprecisely, about Iris Murdoch and her novels): that started with Mrs Houston’s golden year.<br /><br />But neither of them could have taught me anything, had Miss McKnight not come first. The teaching of the final year of a primary school is a special responsibility: it is the last chance to perfect anything missing, to prepare the children (I was 10) for secondary education. Miss McKnight used methods of which I doubt the NUT would approve: our ranking in the classroom was determined on a weekly basis, according to our performance in the tests of grammar and mental arithmetic which she insisted her class (huge, by today’s standards) perform.<br /><br />Easy to dismiss such exercises as pointless: who needs to do mental arithmetic, when the iPhone’s got a calculator? What’s the point of being able to identify the subordinate clause in a sentence, in the age of txt spk?<br /><br />Easy to dismiss them, until you reflect on the changes in teaching and society that have occurred since Miss McKnight had to put up with me. The Department for Education has declared that the standards of the literacy and numeracy tests which new teachers are required to sit will be raised. Why? Because a fifth of trainees fail at least one test in their first sitting. (Sample literacy question: choose the correct spelling of “anxiety” from a list including “anxsiety”, “angxiety” and “anxciety”. The numeracy tests involve simple multiplications, which can be carried out with a calculator.)<br /><br />Miss McKnight wouldn’t tolerate 10- year-olds failing such tests (and would never have permitted a calculator). Yet some time between the early 1980s and now, we decided as a society that these skills didn’t matter. Education for the non-wealthy didn’t have to be rigorous: what could one expect from those schools famously described by Alastair Campbell as “bog standard”?<br /><br />Meanwhile the privileged elite continued to pay so that their children could at the very least speak and write correctly, and reason numerically. It is this apartheid which Michael Gove is trying to overturn. Like Miss McKnight, he’s focusing on the basics.<br /><br />Elaboration of cause and effect is a difficult exercise, but here’s one that I’d bet is true. One reason that so many newcomers to Britain secure jobs in service industries, ahead of indigenous applicants, is that they can speak English properly and add up in their heads.<br /><br />I used to wonder why the written skills of the young people I met were so poor compared with those of my generation: even bright graduates sometimes struggle with proper sentences. Learning about the declining standards in teacher training, I’m less surprised. I believe there’s a link between failures at these basics, and what David Laws correctly describes as the failure of ambition for life after school.<br /><br />I still have the letter Miss McKnight sent me on my graduation, nine years after leaving her school: “You are a credit to Argyle Primary,” she wrote. For once, she was wrong: I’m a credit to Miss McKnight, to Miss Campbell, and to Mrs Houston, to the vocation to which they dedicated their lives, to the education whose rigour and depth it would never have occurred to any of them to weaken, or make less aspirational because it took place in the confines of a “bog standard” state school. Ability is randomly determined: the impact of a good teacher on everything else that follows is not.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/9636063/When-did-the-education-system-decide-that-literacy-and-numeracy-dont-matter.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Asia to be core part of school education in Australia</b><br /><br /><i>Given Australia's geographical location and trade patterns this is reasonable enough -- as long as Australia's own history and and culture plus the history and culture of our major country of origin -- Britain -- is also covered. I don't see Muslims (for instance) disrespecting their own history and culture so why should we? And the Chinese and Japanese would laugh at any idea of prioritizing the cultures of other countries over their own</i><br /><br />ASIAN studies will become a core part of Australia's school curriculum under the federal government's ambitious plan to capitalise on the region's growing wealth and influence.<br /><br />The government on Sunday released its long-awaited Asian Century white paper, a policy blueprint that sets out how Australia can increase integration with Asia over the coming decade and beyond.<br /><br />The document reveals a number of targets for the nation over the 13 years to 2025, aimed at ensuring Australia fulfils its ambitions and competes effectively within Asia.<br /><br />By 2025 Australia's gross domestic product (GDP) per person will be in the world's top 10, up from 13th last year. That would lift Australia's average real national income to about $73,000 per person in 2025, compared with about $62,000 now.<br /><br />The school system will be in the top five in the world, and 10 of its universities in the world's top 100.<br /><br />The paper places a heavy emphasis on education, saying Asian studies will become a core part of the Australian school curriculum. All students will be able to study an Asian language and the priorities will be Chinese Mandarin, Hindi, Indonesian and Japanese.<br /><br />Australia's leaders will also be more Asia literate, with one-third of board members of the top 200 publicly listed companies and commonwealth bodies to have "deep experience" in and knowledge of Asia.<br /><br />The Australian economy will be more deeply integrated with Asia, with Asian trade links to be at least one third of GDP, up from one quarter today.<br /><br />Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the document lays out an ambitious plan to make sure Australia grows stronger by capitalising on the opportunities offered by the Asian Century.<br /><br />"The scale and pace of Asia's rise is staggering, and there are significant opportunities and challenges for all Australians," she said in a statement on Sunday.<br /><br />"It is not enough to rely on luck. "Our future will be determined by the choices we make and how we engage with the region we live in. We must build on our strengths and take active steps to shape our future."<br /><br />Australia should be in the top five countries for ease of doing business by 2025, the white paper says.<br /><br />Its diplomatic network should have a larger footprint across the region.<br /><br />While the white paper sets out what actions governments can take, it also calls on businesses and communities to play their part.<br /><br />New work and holiday agreements between Australia and its Asian neighbours will mean more opportunities for work and study in the region and to take up professional opportunities.<br /><br />Financial markets will be better integrated, allowing capital to flow more easily across borders.<br /><br />The government will enter into a National Productivity Compact with the states and territories, focused on regulatory and competition reform. "We want to ensure that Australia is as competitive as it can be," Finance Minister Penny Wong said in a statement.<br /><br />The compact is expected to be agreed at the next meeting of the Business Advisory Forum between business leaders, prime minister and senior ministers.<br /><br />The white paper also reinforces the need to attract skilled migrants and students from Asia.<br /><br />The government is expanding its network to support online visa lodgment, multiple entry visas and longer visa validity periods and is streaming the student visa process.<br /><br />Seven of the top 10 source countries in Australia's migration program are in the Asian region, including India, China, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam.<br /><br />Students from Asia already account for about 77 per cent of the more than 550,000 international enrolments each year.<br /><br />In agriculture, the government says Australia's primary producers can benefit from rising demand by Asia's middle classes for high quality food and farm product.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/australia-should-cash-in-on-asia-emerson/story-e6freono-1226504697483">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-27856187904806142512012-10-27T06:04:00.000-07:002012-11-19T05:47:46.232-08:00<br /><br /><br /><b>Schools think they own students</b><br /><br /><i>Granite City school suspends multiple students over Twitter comments</i><br /><br />A sexually inappropriate tweet about a teacher started it, but by the time administrators at Granite City High scoured the recent social media activity of students, at least 10 were suspended, unleashing an explosion of criticism online.<br /><br />School administrators said they had no choice but to act because students violated school rules. But an official with the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said the school district and others throughout the country are commonly going too far when it comes to monitoring Internet activity outside of school.<br /><br />“This is punishing students for what they say and what they do outside of the school. And even if what they do and what they say is inappropriate, there’s a mechanism in place already to correct kids behavior outside of school — they’re called parents,” said Illinois ACLU policy director Ed Yohnka.<br /><br />Indeed, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking activity outside of school has increasingly become an issue as schools tackle online bullying and sexting. Most schools have detailed student handbooks with sections devoted to cellphone, computer and social networking use. Most connect what happens on personal computers and cellphones outside of school with school rules and policy.<br /><br />The wave of suspensions at Granite City High started after a student wrote a demeaning comment that sexually objectified a female teacher on the social networking site Twitter.<br /><br />That led two of the student’s friends to click “retweet,” which posted the comment on their Twitter feeds, effectively broadcasting it to a wider net of followers, mostly students. A third friend clicked an icon favoring the original post — which is the equivalent of giving the comment a thumbs-up in social network speak.<br /><br />One of the students who retweeted the comment about the teacher to his followers said he didn’t give it a second thought. Now the honors student said he is worried about his chances of getting into a Division I school to play basketball.<br /><br />“I wasn’t even thinking about it. I was at home with my friends when I saw it on Twitter. I laughed and I retweeted,” said sophomore DeAndre Williams. “It’s not like we screamed it down the hallway to her and embarrassed her in front of everybody.”<br /><br />What resulted was a five-day suspension for him and his three friends.<br /><br />That led to a complaint by a parent that other inappropriate comments were being posted on the social media site involving the school. What followed was a review of Twitter by school officials that resulted in even more suspensions, said Principal Jim Greenwald.<br /><br />Not only did school officials discover two other students tweeting inappropriate comments about teachers, they found another student had said she ought to bomb the school so she wouldn’t have to go. That comment was retweeted by three of her friends, Greenwald said.<br /><br />“We don’t go out looking for individual comments on the Internet, but when it threatens or compromises a person’s sexual integrity or there are comments or threats pertaining to school safety, then that does become school business,” he said.<br /><br />Greenwald said all the students — regardless of who originally posted the comments or who later passed them on or endorsed them — violated the school handbook signed by each student. Specifically, they violated rules against posting comments that cause “school students or staff members to feel threatened or compromised” or that are “likely to cause disruption in the school,” he said.<br /><br />Greenwald further pointed to policies forbidding inappropriate language or behavior directed at school employees, even if off-campus.<br /><br />Greenwald said high school staff spent a lot of time with students at the start of the school year discussing Internet and cellphone usage as it related to school policy. He said the school recently decided to allow more use of cellphones on campus, and because of that, administrators had initiated intense discussion with students about appropriate social networking.<br /><br />Assistant Principal Skip Birdsong said students need to understand that posting things on the Internet is the equivalent of taking an advertisement out in a newspaper.<br /><br />“What’s the difference there? It’s in print. It’s the same thing,” he said.<br /><br />Yohnka, of the ACLU, said schools particularly have no right to punish students for retweeting or liking a comment. “That’s really punishing thoughts at some point,” he said.<br /><br />In cases where there’s not a direct threat to the school, Yohnka said school districts are commonly going way beyond their bounds by punishing a student for posting an inappropriate comment off school property.<br /><br />Greenwald, begged to differ. “In this day and age of Facebook and Twitter and out-of-school multimedia, this is something we have to deal with,” he said. “We have to be cognizant and aware of what is school business and what isn’t school business.”<br /><br />He said that nationwide, school policy increasingly calls for intervention if what students “post outside of the school infiltrates and creates the same type of disruption in the school.”<br /><br />Yohnka said that reasoning typically backfires on schools. “The reality is that the only thing that is causing the disruption is that now everyone is talking about these students being suspended,” he said.<br /><br />Several recent cases across the country highlight the conflict.<br /><br />In Indiana, a senior was expelled from high school after posting from home on his Twitter account and repeatedly using a swear word. Some states such as Indiana and West Virginia are proposing statewide policies prohibiting inappropriate online posts to prevent bullying or offensive speech that might be considered an interference with school functions or educational purposes.<br /><br />The disciplinary actions at Granite City High on Wednesday prompted outrage online on Twitter, with many students arguing even Friday that they were unfairly punished, and that the school stepped out of bounds by scouring Twitter. Students were marking their tweets with hashtags such as #freejustice, in honor of one of the students who was suspended.<br /><br />One student, Dylan Thevenout, 17, said he was suspended for five days on Thursday because he was interacting at school with students who had signs protesting the suspensions.<br /><br />Another student who was suspended acknowledged through Twitter on Friday that the incident had likely been a burden to the teacher. But he also tweeted: “I guess this counts as our senior prank.”<br /><br />Other people on Twitter have repeated and even elaborated on the sexually inappropriate comment that started the uproar.<br /><br />Greenwald said the four students involved with the tweet that mentioned bombing were given 10-day suspensions pending an administrative hearing. All other students involved with inappropriate tweets about teachers were given five-day suspensions. <br /><br />Greenwald said the students will likely be given pre-expulsion meetings when they return, meaning they and their parents will be put on notice that any further disciplinary problems could result in them not being allowed to return to school.<br /><br />Greenwald said the district had no choice but to view the mention of bombing the school as a possible threat, and brought in police.<br /><br />DeAndre Williams said that everyone was just joking around and that the school could have handled it differently with warnings. He said he was willing to make an apology. Even though he signed a school handbook, he said he had no idea what it truly meant about out-of-school online behavior.<br /><br />“They made us sign the handbook and there was some Internet policy, but there was nothing like this where they said they can check our stuff on Twitter,” he said “I would never expect that.”<br /><br /><a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/granite-city-school-suspends-multiple-students-over-twitter-comments/article_d8ed8235-bf4a-5a88-8c49-303364e2c542.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Pupils aged ten should learn about porn as part of the national curriculum, British teaching union claims</b><br /><br />Schoolchildren as young as ten should learn about pornography as part of the national curriculum, a teaching union said yesterday<br /><br />The National Association of Headteachers said primary school teachers needed to respond to the fact that children were now getting a large amount of their information about sex from the internet.<br /><br />They said sex education guidelines are hopelessly out of date and cannot cope with the ‘overtly sexualised world’ in which children are now growing up.<br /><br />But many family campaigners will argue that teaching children about pornography could actually make the situation worse, because children could be introduced to the concept for the first time.<br /><br />Campaigners say the easy access of porn online is harming children, and the NSPCC says they have seen an upsurge in calls from teenagers upset by what they have seen.<br /><br />However, another teaching union – the National Union of Teachers – said it was too early to start teaching children about porn at primary school.<br /><br />The Daily Mail is campaigning for an automatic block on web porn, with adults having to opt in if they want to access it.<br /><br />In an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat programme, NAHT policy adviser Sion Humphreys said teachers should hold lessons on the ‘impact of pornography’.<br /><br />‘Children are growing up in an overtly sexualised world,’ he said. ‘That includes easy access to porn and they need the skills to deal with it.<br /><br />‘We would support children being taught in an age-appropriate way about the impact of pornography as part of a statutory Personal Social Health Education programme.’<br /><br />Mr Humphreys said that lessons could start from primary school but that the material would depend on age.<br /><br />‘Evidence suggests ten isn’t too young to start lessons on pornography, but it wouldn’t be a full-on lesson but the grounding would be laid down,’ he said.<br /><br />At the moment, PSHE, which includes sex and relationships education, is not compulsory in England, unlike other parts of the UK.<br /><br />Biological facts are part of all lessons in secondary school science lessons. Beyond that parents have the right to withdraw their children from any sex education.<br /><br />The National Union of Teachers however disagreed with their union colleagues. They told the BBC that referring to issues of porn in lessons is a step too far, and that schools should only talk about it if asked by students.<br /><br />But Leonie Hodge, from the charity Family Lives, said it was vital children learned about porn. She said that at a time when 90 per cent of children own a smartphone, it is no longer relevant to talk about ‘making a baby’.<br /><br />She said: ‘Teenagers are bombarded with pornography from a young age; you can’t escape it. It’s patronising to say they can’t cope with the lesson because they can.’<br /><br />Siobhan Freegard, founder of website Netmums, said mothers frequently panic when they come across porn on a computer at home and would welcome support from schools.<br /><br />She said: ‘It can be a minefield. Many don’t know what to do or say. For example a single mother may struggle with teenage boys, a single father may not know how to approach the subject with his daughter.<br /><br />‘In very traditional households, they might not even talk about sex at all. The ideal solution is for schools and parents to work together.’<br /><br />The Department of Education would not comment on the NAHT’s suggestion, but told Newsbeat that it is up to individual schools on how they teach sex education.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2222726/Pupils-aged-learn-porn-national-curriculum-teaching-union-claims.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Australia: Testing the new teacher - the plan to lift classroom quality</b><br /><br />TEACHER graduates should be tested on literacy and numeracy skills, ability to communicate and passion for teaching before fronting a classroom, the Australian Centre for Educational Research said.<br /><br />ACER chief executive Geoff Masters said quality teaching was the key to lifting achievement levels in Australian schools, a key goal of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.<br /><br />Governments must enhance the status of teachers so the best and brightest are attracted to the profession and admission to teacher education programs is highly competitive, he said.<br /><br />"Teaching can be highly rewarding, but is also increasingly complex," Professor Masters said.<br /><br />"Teachers must keep abreast of rapidly changing technologies and provide support for a wide range of personal and social issues that students now face. Work of this kind requires highly skilled, caring individuals."<br /><br />Speaking ahead of World Teacher Day today, Prof Masters said one way governments could enhance the status of teachers was to ensure that teacher graduates met minimum national standards of literacy and numeracy, as well as the standards for teaching these skills.<br /><br />Second, make entry to teacher courses more competitive by reducing the number of teachers trained and setting higher hurdles for course admission.<br /><br />Governments should also develop research-based descriptions of effective teaching practices, provide professional learning to develop practices and recognise and reward great teaching.<br /><br />High-performing school systems also assess interpersonal and communication skills and the candidate's commitment to teaching as a career.<br /><br />The state government has released a discussion paper on improving the quality of teaching amid concerns that it is becoming an easy career choice.<br /><br />As a way of attracting quality people to the profession, responses have suggested a minimum ATAR requirement, increasing teacher wages and universities being more willing to fail unsuitable candidates.<br /><br />Education department Director-general Michele Bruniges, Board of Studies president Tom Alegounarias and Institute of Teachers chief executive Patrick Lee will make recommendations to Education Minister Adrian Piccoli early next month.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/testing-the-new-teacher-the-plan-to-lift-classroom-quality/story-e6freuy9-1226503441285">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-83448320470085789982012-10-25T05:49:00.000-07:002012-11-19T05:47:46.305-08:00<br /><br /><b>University Says “Republican War on Women” Forum is Not Partisan</b><br /><br />The University of Michigan is defending their promotion of a feminist forum that state Republicans believe was an out-right partisan event that violated the university’s tax exempt status.<br /><br />“The Republican War on Women” forum was held earlier this week and was moderated by a university employee who made political contributions to the Democratic National committee and the Obama campaign.<br /><br />The event infuriated Rachel Jankowski, the president of the University of Michigan’s College Republicans. “For a university that totes diversity and acceptance, it shows those feel good words only apply to people who espouse its shared liberal viewpoints,” she wrote. “Such hostile events have no place at a public university. Any use of taxpayer dollars to sponsor this event could be seen as participating in campaigns, which would be a violation of federal law.”<br /><br />Jankowski said the university broke the law by promoting such a partisan event. she noted that all the panelists were liberals and one wrote an article declaring she was “ashamed” by any woman who would vote for Mitt Romney.<br /><br />“As a woman, I’m also extremely offended by such events,” she wrote. “The Left claims that the GOP is undermining women, when really, it is the Left and events like this that pin women against women, gender against gender. “<br /><br />Jankowski shared her story with Celia Bigelow, the campus director for American Majority Action — and the founder of Students Against Barack Obama.<br /><br />Bigelow noted that after concerns were raised about the title of the forum, it was changed to include a question mark. “The change in the title doesn’t change the fact that it is an anti-Republican event based on the people involved,” Bigelow wrote. “For it to be a 501(c)3-acceptable event, it must have both sides represented equally.”<br /><br />But Kelly Cunningham, the director of the university’s office of public affairs, disputed that assertion. “The event description was not ideally worded and did not capture accurately the content of the program; however, the event itself does comply with the Michigan Campaign Finance Act and with IRS regulations,” she told Fox News.<br /><br />“To be clear, a ‘Republican war on women’ is not being assumed, nor was the purpose of the forum an examination of whether there is a ‘Republican war on women,’” she added.<br /><br />Cunningham stressed that the feminist forum was not partisan “nor was there any suggestion of how anyone should vote in the upcoming elections.”<br /><br />But the participants seemed to be partisan. The website Michigan Capitol Confidential reported that Professor Susan Douglas, the moderator, wrote an article about the election titled, “It’s the Stupid Republicans, Stupid.” They also reported that she gave to both the Obama campaign and the DNC.<br /><br />“It’s a campaign event and should not be done at a taxpayer-funded college,” Tina Dupont, a member of the Tea Party of West Michigan told the website. “That’s certainly a misuse of our dollars. Without having both sides represented, to me it comes across as a campaign event. I don’t appreciate my money being used like that. I don’t think there is a war on women in the Republican Party.”<br /><br /><a href="http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/university-says-republican-war-on-women-forum-is-not-partisan.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>The agony of knowing your son's being bullied - and the school is too politically correct to punish his tormentors</b><br /><br /><i>Foolish woman failed to check the school first before moving. Most middle-class British parents know to do that</i><br /><br />Each day at 3.15pm, the school gates open and hordes of boisterous children spill happily out on to the Tarmac. My son, however, is not one of them. He makes his way across the playground, shoulders hunched, head down, dragging his bag. He exudes a weariness that singles him out from his peers.<br /><br />I can see, from ten yards away, how bad his day has been. I take in the frown, the nervous gesture he makes with his hand across his brow and the way he glances warily about him. I know — my heart lurching — that he is summoning all his energy not to cry.<br /><br />‘You OK?’ I ask, as casually as I dare. He nods, desperate to hold it together until we get to the car. But I know, and he knows, that all is not ok. We’re into the fourth week at a new school and — I’m going to use a word now that I have discovered is a little like throwing a bomb into a room — he is being bullied.<br /><br />That’s right. Bullied. Not picked on, teased, or made the butt of some playground pranking. But bullied. I know it’s an emotive word — a word that is often over-used and bandied about unnecessarily (I know this because the school in question keeps telling me this repeatedly). <br /><br />But when you have a ten-year-old who was previously confident but now shakes on the school run; who loved school but now spends the majority of his evening begging to be allowed to stay at home the next day — then, excuse me, I’ll use any word I damn well please. <br /><br />Trust me, I’m not a precious mother. Nor am I one of those who feels the need to endlessly enter the school to put my maternal oar in. My approach — until now — has always been one of: ‘Get out of the car — see you in six hours.’<br /><br />When we decided to move Monty to a new school at the beginning of Year 5, just shy of his tenth birthday, I wasn’t unduly worried. <br /><br />He had been happily attending the same small, idyllic village primary since 2007. But two years ago we moved to a house ten miles away, out of the area, and since then I’ve been spending an hour in the car each day doing a 40-mile round trip to get him there and back. <br /><br />I decided to send him to the local primary at the end of our road. It’s much bigger, with a more mixed social intake. I reasoned that this was surely a good thing. I want my children to learn with children from a variety of backgrounds. It opens their eyes to the wider context that it takes all sorts to make the world go round.<br /><br />Well, that’s how I felt before. Now I snort at my naivety. Because, from bitter experience, I know that this ideal only works if those other children have a similar code of behaviour and manners — one that is reinforced by school and parents alike.<br /><br />And before you accuse me of being a judgemental snob let me put this to you. Is it acceptable to kick another child relentlessly in the small of their back during a lesson?<br /><br />Or to tip them out of their chair? Or to erase the work they have spent the last 30 minutes doing from the whiteboard? And that’s the stuff that went on when there was a teacher in the room.<br /><br />Bear in mind we are talking here about a village school in the leafy Home Counties — not an inner-city primary on special measures. So when Monty initially admitted to me, in floods of tears, what was going on, I had every faith the problem would be nipped in the bud, swiftly and effectively.<br /><br />How wrong I was. To begin with, the head teacher acknowledged there was an issue with two of the boys in that year group who were feeling ‘a little insecure’ about Monty’s arrival. I ventured that Monty was feeling a little insecure about being chased up a tree and having his trainers ripped off his feet and thrown over the hedge. <br /><br />But, hey ho, it was early days and I still felt confident that things would be dealt with.<br /><br />Monty’s first week was dreadful. I watched as he put a brave face on the business of being the new boy, while sinking further into dismay because these bullies didn’t ‘like’ him. <br /><br />I could see part of the problem was that — with three sisters — Monty is probably a bit more in touch with his feminine side than his peers. By nature, he is communicative, a little quirky, and more likely to break into song in the playground than kick a football. <br /><br />He does ballet, musical theatre and talks about his emotions, which, admittedly, might make another type of boy conclude that he’s a weirdo, or a geek — two of the names he was repeatedly called during his first week.<br /><br />All this is, of course, par for the course. My husband Keith and I explained to him that there will always be people who don’t like you and one of life’s lessons is to toughen up and deal with it. <br /><br />Then we went to the school to ask what the hell was going on. The head teacher reiterated that the situation was ‘being handled’. These two boys had behavioural issues that they were working on.<br /><br />Things got worse. In his second week, Monty was repeatedly followed into the toilets (where I suspect he was going to have a quick cry) and relentlessly pursued at every turn. <br /><br />Any mother will identify with the angst of seeing your child unhappy but having no power to deal with it. I was sorely tempted to speak to the boys’ parents but the look of horror on the head’s face when I suggested it stopped me in my tracks.<br /><br />Another of my bright ideas was to invite the bullies to tea — but this time it was the look on Monty’s face that made me realise I was clutching at straws.<br /><br />By now, we were speaking to the school every day. Or rather, they were repeating the same thing to us over and over again: ‘We have a zero-tolerance approach to bullying.’<br /><br />This was beginning to sound like point number one on some Department of Education guideline sheet for schools: ‘Buy time by telling the parents what they want to hear. Eventually they’ll believe you.’<br /><br />But I didn’t. I was fast losing faith. The school might, indeed, have zero tolerance. I have zero tolerance about crisp packets being shoved down the back of the sofa but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.<br /><br />The tricky bit is implementing a consequence. So, I put it to the head teacher: what punishment are you giving these boys for making my son’s life a misery? ‘Oh, none,’ she replied. ‘We’re going to set up a drama group to help the three of them (including Monty) deal with their social responses.’<br /><br />Social responses? What on earth was she talking about? I felt like she had swallowed a whole political correctness dictionary! <br /><br />I rushed from the room, went straight home and told Monty that if either of those boys came anywhere near him again he had my permission to punch them — a social response I felt was quite appropriate under the circumstances.<br /><br />But I knew he wouldn’t. He’s no angel, but punching is not his style. Then the school suddenly changed tack. ‘This isn’t actually a bullying matter,’ the head teacher informed me at the beginning of week three.<br /><br />‘Bullying is the relentless targeting of one individual, and these two boys behave like this towards every child in the class.’ She then suggested — with Monty present — that it might be best to just ‘put up with it, and stop taking their behaviour so personally’.<br /><br />I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. By shifting the focus from ‘bullying’ to ‘general bad behaviour’ it seemed as though she had cleverly placed the onus of the problem on Monty — deflecting it away from a word she appeared desperate not to have the school associated with.<br /><br />According to ChildLine, there has been a rise in bullying in schools and there is much evidence to show there is often a discrepancy between what teachers consider to be bullying behaviour and what their pupils report is actually happening.<br /><br />Indeed, bullying remains the second most common reason for children to contact ChildLine, with 31,599 counselling sessions being carried out last year — approximately 87 per day.<br /><br />To this end, the charity are launching a ChildLine schools service next month — run by trained volunteers — who will go into schools across the UK and hold workshops for children, in particular those aged nine to 11 years old, about bullying and how they can be supported.<br /><br />Of course, it will be too late for Monty. But that’s OK because I have taken matters into my own hands in the best way I know how. I have moved him somewhere else. <br /><br />Call it running away if you like, but when you have lost all trust in your child’s school to nurture and protect them with common sense and no other agenda, then what other option do you honestly have?<br /><br />I know my decision was a good one because now, at the end of the day, Monty has a bounce in his step and is bursting with enthusiasm. He’s still dragging his bag along the ground, mind you. But perhaps you’ll understand when I say I honestly couldn’t care less...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2222569/The-agony-knowing-sons-bullied--school-politically-correct-punish-tormentors.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Ill-educated youth in Australia</b><br /><br /><i>Knowing the times tables obviously so yesterday</i><br /><br />I GO to a gym for my daily constitutional. I love it – lots of mature women like me, trying to compensate for years of now-abandoned bad habits taken up when young and seemingly invincible. And no one laughs at us as we run, crunch, lunge and cycle furiously, sweat pouring down our faces into nooks and crannies that younger women have yet to develop.<br /><br />The lockers at my gym are tiered vertically in threes: small, small and large, with large at the bottom. Recently I asked the receptionist (a nice young woman and long-term employee who is usually a personal trainer) for a key for a large locker because I was carrying a number of packages, as well as my gym bag. "Oh," she said, "the keys aren't labelled that way. I don't know which keys are for large lockers."<br /><br />I suggested that given they were in vertical rows of three, with large lockers at the bottom, any locker number that was a multiple of three would be a large locker. She looked at me as though I had asked her to explain Pythagoras' Theorem. Then she offered me a key for locker No. 20. I said no, that would not be a large locker. Next, she offered me the key for No. 26, assuring me that one would be a biggie. Wincing slightly but still smiling, I decided to humour her, and took the key to the locker room where I noted, not unexpectedly, that No. 26 was a middle row, small locker.<br /><br />Still smiling (almost giggling, in fact) I broke the bad news and suggested she give me the key for No. 27. Alas, that one was already taken. For a moment, I waited for her to come up with 24 or even 30, but nope, she was now leaving it it to me to choose a number, which I did – 18 – an effortless multiple of three that my kelpie, Bluey, could have calculated easily.<br />Advertisement<br /><br />This was a pleasant enough, easygoing encounter, but I must say I was astounded that this young woman seemed not to know simple multiplication. Are times-tables not taught in schools these days? No one could accuse me of being a mathematical genius, but really, this is kid stuff. I did wonder how she would cope with counting exercise repetitions when on PT duty, but perhaps there's a phone app that does the job.<br /><br />When I was a gel back in the day, we had to learn multiplication tables parrot-fashion. It was tedious at the time but people never forgot them. A minor skill, but one that has come in very handy in the intervening (ahem) decades. I can recommend it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/knowing-the-times-tables-obviously-so-yesterday-20121024-285xr.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-32624912602263481742012-10-24T05:48:00.000-07:002012-11-19T05:47:46.378-08:00<br /><br /><b>Tufts University Bans Christian Student Group for Requiring Leaders to Embrace ‘Basic Biblical Truths of Christianity’</b><br /><br /><i>Tufts is a great church of Leftism so this sort of anti-Christian Fascism is to be expected. I rather wonder why Christian students go there.<br /><br />If the local churches put up on their billboards something like: "Tufts is anti-Christian. Don't go there", it would probably have a salutory effect. I think the time has come for churches to come to the aid of Christian students. The Leftist oppressors should not have it all their own way<br /><br />Ironical that Tufts was originally founded by Christians devoted to religious tolerance.</i><br /><br />There’s a troubling pattern developing on college campuses across America, as universities are increasingly preventing Christian campus groups from requiring that their leaders be practicing believers. If these clubs fail to comply with so-called “non-discrimination policies,” they are often de-legitimized and banned from official-recognition.<br /><br />Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, is the latest higher education facility to crack down on student-led religious groups. In a recent move, the school’s student government banned the Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF), an evangelical organization. The decision was made because TCF, which is the campus’ chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, requires that those serving in leadership positions must embrace “basic biblical truths of Christianity.”<br /><br />The group’s demand that leaders be Bible-believing Christians was found to be in violation of Tuft’s non-discrimination policy. Last month, the Judiciary recommended that the belief requirement be moved from the constitution’s bylaws to its mission statement; while the bylaws are legally-binding, the mission statement is not. TCF didn’t comply and, now, the group is officially unrecognized by the university.<br /><br />The ban, which was put in place by the Tufts Community Union Judiciary, means that TCF can no longer use the Tufts name for official campus activities. Additionally, its members are forbidden from scheduling events or reserving space through the school’s Office for Campus Life. As is generally the case when these bans go into effect, the group will also be unable, as other student groups do, to receive money from the school.<br /><br />While TCF plans to appeal the decision, it could be an uphill battle — especially considering the similar trend that other schools seem to be following. TCF has 10 days to appeal and must file paper work with the Committee on Student Life (CSL), a panel comprised of students and faculty, The Tufts Daily reports.<br /><br />In 2000, the group faced a similar situation when a student complained that she was denied a leadership role due to her sexual orientation. After being re-recognized, the organization appealed to the CSL and was re-instated.<br /><br />“We’re deciding to appeal this decision because we feel like just the purpose of our organization is to…encourage understanding and celebration of each belief [in the Basis of Faith], and the best way to fulfill that purpose is to have leaders that are centered on and unified by these beliefs,” one of the student leaders of the InterVarsity chapter told the Daily. ”We feel like we have the right to be selective on the basis of belief for our leaders since we’re a student group that is trying to encourage understanding about a faith-based set of beliefs.”<br /><br />Tufts isn’t the only campus community battling over Christian student groups’ rights to require faithful leadership. As TheBlaze reported earlier this month, Yale is facing a similar issue after the Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX) fraternity has come under fire for requiring its members to embrace Christianity. And the non-discrimination policy issues at Vanderbilt University have been widely-reported as well.<br /><br />While non-discrimination policies are well-intentioned, the notion that a Christian group would be forced to allow leaders who don’t embrace the faith is relatively silly. Similarly, a gay rights group being forced to allow someone opposed to same-sex marriage to lead would also be problematic.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/tufts-university-bans-christian-student-group-for-requiring-leaders-to-embrace-basic-biblical-truths-of-christianity/">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Ohio Student Suspended for Growing Out Hair to Donate to Charity</b><br /><br /><i>I understand where the school authorities are coming from here but -- at the risk of being tediously trite -- there are exceptions to very rule. And charity is very much to be encouraged -- JR</i> <br /> <br />Zachary Aufderheide has run afoul of his Ohio high school's dress code because of his desire to grow his hair long enough to donate it to Locks of Love, an organization that provides wigs to needy children who've lost their hair because of medical problems.<br /><br />Zachary, 17, of Canton is about an inch away from the 10 inches of hair he needs to donate to the organization. Faced with an ultimatum, the Canton South High School junior decided to accept an in-school suspension rather than cut his ponytail.<br /><br />The minimum length of hair needed for a hairpiece is 10 inches, according the Locks of Love website.<br /><br />Zachary said he is passionate about donating hair to the organization because he was picked on as a child and now wants to help sick children who might have lost their hair avoid the feelings he experienced when he was teased.<br /><br />"I was picked on so I know where they're coming from, I know how they feel so I sort of sympathize with them because I've been there," he said Monday.<br /><br />Zachary's mother, Robin, said she understood and respected the school's dress code, but wanted officials to make an exception in her son's case.<br /><br />She said her son went to a school board meeting in September, explained what he was doing and asked them to consider allowing him to reach his goal.<br /><br />She said board members came up to him after the meeting and commended his efforts, but said the board had voted to uphold the school's dress code, without giving him an explanation.<br /><br />The school's principal told her son he had until Monday to get his hair cut, she said. "And we didn't do it. We didn't do it. I measured it and he's got, oh, less than an inch to grow …," she said.<br /><br />The school's principal, Todd Osborn, has not replied to requests for comment placed by ABCNews.com as of this writing.<br /><br />Robin Aufderheide said she was surprised by the board's decision, but her son wasn't.<br /><br />"I feel pretty disappointed with their decision because, honestly, I really put a lot of heart and soul into my demonstration, like, my presentation of the idea to them, and then when they just all unanimously voted against it … it was just kind of heartbreaking to me," he said.<br /><br />According to the dress code in the Canton Local School District's student handbook, "Hair for male students shall be neat and clean and shall not be worn covering the eyes, in a ponytail, or extending beyond the bottom of the regular shirt collar."<br /><br />Zachary isn't sure what will happen after the two-day suspension ends, but says if he cut his hair before reaching his goal, "then, personally, that would be admitting defeat to them. It would be meaning that I would just give up on what I view as important to myself. So this is more or less like a battle of my morals and my values, really."<br /><br />After he donates his hair, he said, he'll be happy to maintain it at regulation length.<br /><br /><a href="http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/ohio-student-suspended-growing-hair-donate-121458418--abc-news-topstories.html">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Homework controversy in Australia</b><br /><br /><i>Working by yourself is an important part of learning and THAT is what homework is for -- JR</i><br /><br />HOMEWORK has no benefit for very young children and only small benefits for those in upper primary, academics say.<br /><br />Their comments come after France announced last week it was planning to ban homework altogether for children under 11.<br /><br />Controversy around homework is set to reignite with the launch of a new book today urging reform of homework policies in Australia.<br /><br />Central Queensland University professor Mike Horsley, co-author of Reforming Homework: Practices, Learning and Policies, said research showed students who did the most homework on international exams performed the worst, while those who did the least performed the best.<br /><br />Fellow author and University of Sydney professor Richard Walker said Australian students needed more challenging homework that gave them some autonomy and control.<br /><br />"A lot of homework in schools is just drill and practice worksheets that students get to take home and that is really of no benefit to students," he said. <br /><br />"There are a whole lot of ways in which the quality of homework can be improved. I think there is a very strong case that (younger) students should be doing other things."<br /><br />Prof Horsley said they were not calling for a homework ban.<br /><br />"We argue that far too much homework involves tasks kids can already do and isn't challenging enough," he said.<br /><br />"Instead, there is scope for less homework that is of a higher quality and more highly structured."<br /><br />Education Queensland's homework policy states Prep pupils generally aren't assigned any, while Years 1 to 3 students could have up to one hour each week. From Year 4 homework can be set daily, with Year 4 and 5 students set "up to but generally not more than 2-3 hours per week".<br /><br />"Homework in Year 8 and Year 9 could be up to but generally not more than five hours per week."<br /><br />Queensland Teachers' Union president Kevin Bates said homework remained "the subject of significant debate" and individual school communities needed to make their own decisions on whether to use it.<br /><br />"I don't necessarily accept the view 'it is not good to do just drilling', in that practice is an important part of the whole learning process. For some children sight words and doing word lists is an important part of the process of picking that learning up," Mr Bates said.<br /><br />"To have anybody from outside come in and say this is how homework will be done is totally unacceptable because it has to fit within the school's ethos of learning. It is equally valid for a school to decide to have no homework or to have regular weekly homework."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/homework-has-no-benefit-for-very-young-children-little-benefit-for-upper-primary-students/story-e6freoof-1226501851265">SOURCE</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628262872103171293.post-21448583329141411292012-10-23T05:43:00.000-07:002012-11-19T05:47:46.451-08:00<br /><br /><b>Unlearning Liberty</b><br /><br /> Mike Adams <br /><br />Despite their feigned interest in tolerance, college campuses are among the most punitive and stifling environments in the country. Students are routinely punished for "offenses" ranging from penning mild satire to holding the wrong opinions on important social and political issues. One book, Unlearning Liberty, by Greg Lukianoff, documents these abuses better than any other that has been written since I joined the campus culture wars over a decade ago. Greg is able to document these things well and for a simple reason: he has been the president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for the last seven years.<br /><br />The stories Greg tells in his new book are so disturbing it will be difficult for some to believe that they are all real and all come from American universities. Unlearning Liberty at times sounds like an account from some far away land that never valued the kinds of freedoms our constitution guarantees. For example,<br /><br />* A student is punished for racial insensitivity for publicly reading a book that condemns the KKK.<br /><br />* Students are required to lobby before legislatures for political bills they disagree with in order to graduate from a public university.<br /><br />* A student Senate passes a Sedition Act to punish other students for criticizing them at, of all places, a public university governed by the First Amendment and funded by their tuition dollars.<br /><br />However strange these stories seem, they deserve our undivided attention. The reason is simple: when these students graduate, their anti-liberty mindset is unleashed on the larger society. <br /><br />Indeed, after a generation of unlearning liberty, these things will begin to seem normal if not addressed soon. FIRE co-founder Alan Charles Kors said it best when he stated that "A nation that does not educate in liberty will not long preserve it and will not even know when it is lost."<br /><br />For over a decade, I have been trying to explain that the campus free speech war transcends politics and religion. It is a threat to everyone. That is why I am glad that a book echoing my arguments - but in far greater depth and with much greater eloquence - was written by someone who disagrees with me on a broad range of issues. Greg Lukianoff is an atheist, a Democrat, a supporter of same-sex marriage, and a supporter of abortion rights. We have worked together for years as allies in the free speech wars because we both recognize that liberty is a sacred process, not a pre-ordained result.<br /><br />We also understand that true commitment to liberty is measured by the conduct of our institutions of higher learning, and not by their statements about their conduct. For example, Harvard University claims that "Curtailment of free speech undercuts the intellectual freedom that defines (Harvard's) purpose." In reality, it fires even presidents who refuse to bow down to the gods of political correctness and gender sensitivity.<br /><br />Harvard and other private universities claim to be free from the technical requirement that they conform to the dictates of the First Amendment. That much is true. But they are not free from the moral requirement that they must always be honest about the true state of the marketplace of ideas in their classrooms and across their campuses.<br /><br />Truth be known, Harvard has a long record of suppressing free speech among students, faculty, and, more recently, non conforming administrators. Given that reality, they should refrain from telling prospective students that, "The free exchange of ideas is vital for our primary function of discovering and disseminating ideas."<br /><br />To the extent that administrators make these patently false claims, they fraudulently induce students into taking on debt, often in the realm of six digits. All this, in order to join a marketplace of ideas that barely exists in an age of administratively mandated and supervised political correctness.<br /><br />The best and most accurate measure of the depth of our constitutional crisis in higher education can be seen in the campus speech codes of our public university campuses. These codes are a measure of not just the censoriousness of our public administrators but also their audacity. The fact that they knowingly enforce them - even with no prospect of winning in court shows us two things:<br /><br />1. They know that even when they lose in individual cases, the presence of the often multiply-layered speech codes will help maintain orthodoxy by chilling speech that is not politically correct.<br /><br />2. Due to qualified immunity, they will never have to pay personal damages and the general public - the same people they seek to censor - will have to foot the bill for the litigation.<br /><br />The problem is not just at Harvard and Yale. It is at other universities - even ones located in conservative areas of the nation. For example, Texas A&M has a speech code that prohibits violating the "right" to "respect for personal feelings" and protects "freedom from indignity of any type." <br /><br />Of course, many of the smaller liberal arts colleges are even worse. Davidson College bans "inquiries about dating." So you can't ask someone on a date at Davidson without violating the speech code. Even if you could, you would not be able to ask your date to go see Guys and Dolls. Use of the word "doll" is considered sexual harassment.<br /><br />The University of Iowa does the best job of combining the speech code and the sexual harassment policy into a powerful weapon people can use to destroy just about anyone they don't like: sexual harassment is when "somebody says or does something sexually related that you don't want them to say or do, regardless of who it is." Did you get that folks? If you are a student at Iowa and the girl you like has sex with someone else and you get jealous then guess what? You've been sexually harassed!<br /><br />Because the speech code issue is so important and because this book is so important, I will review it in several installments. In the meantime, go to this link and order a copy now. Learn about the American values students are unlearning on campuses all across America today.<br /><br /><a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2012/10/23/unlearning_liberty/page/full/">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Why not a free market in educational loans?</b><br /><br />Suppose investments in education are every bit as fantastic as we're supposed to believe: Ability bias and signaling are myths, so the entire observed education premium is causal and socially valuable. Even so, it's hard to see why government should subsidize education. Why can't students simply fund their ever-so-valuable investment in human capital with unsubsidized educational loans?<br /><br />Non-economists' favorite argument is something like: "The interest rates would be so high that few people would borrow." At least on the surface, though, this objection clashes with the "education is a fantastic investment" premise. If education really has enormous benefits, people should be happy to pay high interest rates to acquire it. Furthermore, if education yields such reliable returns, lenders should be confident of repayment, and therefore happily lend at a low rate.<br /><br />At this point, many economists will leap to the non-economists' defense. Free-market educational loans would have high interest rates despite the fantasticness of the investment. Why? Because of imperfect information.<br /><br />Now things get really interesting. Imperfect information, you say? Which kind? Symmetric or asymmetric?<br /><br />Case 1: Symmetric Imperfect Information<br /><br />You might say, "No one really knows if an educational investment will pay off." If so, we've got symmetric imperfect information. Contrary to much loose talk, this is not a "market failure." If an investment turns out to be worthless 5% of the time, the efficient response is to take this bad eventuality into account. Maybe the investment will still be worth it. Maybe it won't. But it's stupid for government to subsidize loans so borrowers and lenders act as if this 5% downside didn't exist.<br /><br />Case 2: Asymmetric Imperfect Information<br /><br />You might say, "Borrowers know better than lenders if an educational investment will pay off." If so, we've got asymmetric imperfect information. This can be a market failure. But it depends. If desire to borrow and default probability are positively correlated, you can get the standard market-for-lemons "unraveling" outcome. But is this really likely in the market for student loans? It seems like the people most willing to borrow will be the students with unusually promising post-graduation career prospects. So even with hidden information, the market could still work fine.<br /><br />If desire to borrow and default probability do happen to be3 positively correlated, simple market responses remain. Can borrowers offer collateral? Down payments? Guarantees? If so, the market can still work very well despite the information asymmetry. To take an extreme case, suppose that educational lenders had as much latitude to recover bad debts as the IRS. Do you really think they'd still be reluctant to lend students money? Or consider this keyhole solution: For a small handling charge, the IRS directly collects student loan payments when you pay your income tax, and remits payment to your lender. Unless you flee the country, you're on the hook for whatever you borrow - and the asymmetric information problem vanishes.<br /><br />Before you take extreme measures to overcome asymmetric information, of course, you might want to double check that the problem is genuine. Would borrowers really have a big information edge over lenders? In a free market, lenders could - and probably would - verify students' test scores, grades, school, intended major, and so on. Given all this information, it's far from obvious that borrowers do have superior information. Yes, students know lots of details about their lives, but lenders have the power of actuarial science behind them.<br /><br />Overall, then, neither symmetric nor asymmetric imperfect information provide compelling arguments against a free market in educational loans. But maybe this just reflects the narrowness of neoclassical economic reasoning. When people say "imperfect information" they often mean "irrationality." Perhaps the problem isn't that interest rates are too high, but that people are too myopic to see that even high-interest educational loans are, all things considered, a great deal.<br /><br />While I'm sympathetic to this argument, it's a double-edged sword. Yes, irrationality might lead borrowers to spurn good loans. But as we've seen in recent years, irrationality can just as easily lead lenders to make bad loans. In fact, lenders' recklessness, not borrowers' paranoia, had turned out to be the more serious psychological pitfall. Why then are we so sure that we need heavy government subsidies to make educational lenders even more reckless than they'd be on their own dime?<br /><br /><a href="http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2012/10/why_not_a_free.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Bad behaviour is no bar to sixth–form study in Britain</b><br /><br />Grammar school must offer its unruly pupil a place ... it's exam results that count, says the Government's admission code.<br /><br />Leading schools are being told not to bar badly behaved teenagers from taking up sixth–form places. Schools can only prevent pupils from progressing onto A–level–style courses at 16 if they fail their GCSEs – but not for disciplinary reasons, it was revealed.<br /><br />Under the Government's admissions code, schools are told that progression into the sixth form must not be dependent on attitude, attendance or behaviour records. The ruling emerged as a grammar school was reprimanded by the local government watchdog for refusing to offer an A–level place to an unruly teenager.<br /><br />The Latymer School, in Enfield, north London, was ordered to allow the boy into the sixth form because he met strict academic criteria, despite concerns over his attitude.<br /><br />Jane Martin, the Local Government Ombudsman, said: "The Government's school admissions code specifically prohibits the school from selecting sixthform pupils based on their behaviour records. As the boy had satisfied the academic requirements to join the sixth form, he should have been admitted."<br /><br />It was revealed that the school could only prevent the pupil from taking up a sixth–form place if he had been expelled during his GCSEs.<br /><br />Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "A school should not be forced to have a disruptive pupil in the sixth form or any other part of the school. If any schools have concerns in this way, they should use full exclusion procedures."<br /><br />The Latymer School selects 11–year-olds on the basis of academic ability. It said that admission to its sixth form was dependent on pupils having the necessary GCSE results along with acting in an "evidently self–disciplined" manner, including abiding by attendance, punctuality and uniform rules. <br /><br />It emerged that an unnamed boy – already at the school – was denied entry to the sixth form this year because of poor behaviour in the previous academic year that resulted in him being suspended.<br /><br />The school insisted it should be able to turn down pupils for the sixth form if "admission would prejudice the school's ability to provide an efficient education".<br /><br />But the ombudsman insisted that the ruling contravened the 2010 admissions code introduced by Labour to dictate entry to English state schools, which said that places "must not be dependent on attendance, behaviour record, or perceptions of attitude or motivation". The 2010 code has been replaced for admissions in 2013. The Department for Education said the updated document still carries similar rules that would have bound the school in the same way.<br /><br />A spokesman said: "If a pupil's behaviour falls below the school's expected standard, it should take the appropriate action. A school can exclude a pupil permanently in response to a serious breach, or persistent breaches, of the school's behaviour policy."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9627592/Bad-behaviour-is-no-bar-to-sixth-form-study.html">SOURCE</a><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15511432864734182961noreply@blogger.com0