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Refuge through learning

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

citizensvoice.com - By Csheaffer@Citizensvoice.Com - Feb. 09 (Special Report) - Although a medical doctor in his home country, Nyein pursued additional education in the United States to escape persecution in Burma, now known as Myanmar. He had served five years in prison after joining the democratic revolt as a young doctor. He sought refuge in the U.S. and figured becoming a student was the best way to do that. “Dictatorships neither forgive nor forget their opposition,” Nyein said. “They aren’t agreeable to people leaving, either.” Nyein recently started in his new position as Misericordia University’s dean for adult and continuing education. At 59 years old, he says a philosophy of lifelong learning is what brought him to the Back Mountain institution. It is a philosophy he formed early in his life and he is glad to see others gravitate toward it as well. “I’ve embraced that and it put me on a good path,” said Nyein, who completed his doctorate in health education at the University of Tennessee.

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Cooper Union’s Appeal (No Tuition) Is Heightened by Recession

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Lisa W. Foderaro - Feb. 09 (News Report) - Already among the nation’s most competitive colleges, with an admissions rate of about 8 percent — on par with Juilliard or Harvard — Cooper saw about a 70 percent surge in applications for early decision this year, after annual increases of 5 percent to 10 percent over the last decade. Over all, the school expected to receive 3,300 applications this season for the 265 spots in the Class of 2013, including 750 students vying for 30 seats in the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture. “I’m pretty confident that the economy played a big role,” said the dean of admissions, Mitchell Lipton. “You probably had a lot of parents who said: ‘Look, I know you’re looking at Cooper Union. You ought to make it your first choice.’ ”

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Finland's educational system offers lessons for Dallas

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Dallas Morning News - By Jim Landers - Feb. 08 (News Report) - By the time Finland's children complete the ninth grade, they speak three languages. They have studied algebra, geometry and statistics since the first grade. And they beat the pants off students from just about everywhere else in the world. In math, science, problem solving and reading comprehension, Finland's 15-year-olds came out at or near the top in international tests given in 2000, 2003 and 2006. Even the least among Finnish students – the lowest 10 percent – beat their peers everywhere else. This matters to Dallas because so many students are still left behind. Even though Dallas reformers played key roles in the federal legislation named for the goal of bringing everyone a quality education, there are still great disparities in academic achievement between city and

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Are Schools Inflating Grades?

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Atlanta Journal - By Heather Vogell - Feb. 08 (Special Report) - Some metro Atlanta high schools routinely award stellar grades to students who can’t pass standardized tests in the subject, leaving them potentially unprepared for college, a state study has found. The results could mean teachers are either handing out good marks too easily or not teaching the state curriculum well, experts say. The study released last week found the End of Course Tests were generally much harder for high school students than classroom work. The gap was most startling for the economics test, which covers basic theory and personal finance. While nearly 36 percent of students failed the test, only about 6 percent failed the class.

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Houston dropout rate vexes outgoing schools chief

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Houston Chronicle - By Jennifer Radcliffe - Feb. 08 (News Report) - The embarrassing high school dropout problem that HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra inherited and that he fought to rectify will almost certainly be passed along to his successor, the outgoing schools chief acknowledges. In a one-on-one interview after last week’s surprise announcement that he will step down by spring 2010, Saavedra claimed significant victories in raising test scores, narrowing the achievement gap and installing an aggressive performance pay system for teachers. But Saavedra also acknowledged that his inability to stem Houston’s dropout problem after nearly five years on the job is his biggest disappointment.

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Economists Agree Time Is of the Essence for Stimulus

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Steven Mufson, Lori Montgomery - Feb. 08 (News Report) - With Congress moving closer to adopting a $820 billion stimulus package and the Obama administration poised to unveil a new bank bailout plan, economists say that the federal government is taking its biggest role in the economy in a generation. States that once aspired to blaze trails independent from Washington are turning to it for money, banks and businesses that once decried regulation now are seeking federal capital, grants or tax cuts and individuals are looking for tax relief.

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Debating future of Black History Month

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - By Jessie Washington - Feb. 08 (News Report) - "If Obama's election means anything, it means that African-American history is American history and should be remembered and recognized every day of the year," says Stephen Donovan, a 41-year-old lawyer. Ending "paternalistic" observances like Black History Month, Donovan believes, would lead to "not only a reduction in racism, but whites more ready and willing and able to celebrate our difference, enjoy our traditions, without feeling the stain of guilt that stifles frank dialogue and acceptance across cultures."

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Schools Confront Anti-Gay Bulllying Here and Abroad

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

edgeboston.com - By Killan Melloy - Feb. 08 (News Analysis) - Around the country, and internationally, anti-gay harassment of GLBT youth has come to the forefront for lawmakers and social organizations.

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Schools Face Sharp Rise In Homeless Students - washingtonpost.com

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Maria Glod - Feb. 08 (Special Report) - The economic plunge has generated a growing wave of children nationwide who are sleeping in shelters, motels, spare bedrooms or even the family van as their parents seek to keep them in school. Educators are scrambling to help, with extra tutoring, clothes, food and cab fare. D.C. school officials have registered about 462 homeless students this school year, twice as many as the same time last year. Schools in Fairfax County, one of the country's most affluent areas, counted 1,314 homeless students early last month, up 20 percent from the same period last year. Prince George's, Montgomery, Loudoun and Arlington counties have also reported increases. The children are often scared, stressed or embarrassed. Marcus, a teenage PlayStation pro, rushes inside the Alexandria shelter he calls home each afternoon. Even his closest high school friends don't know his family lives there, and he does not want classmates across the street to see him going in. He misses the house his parents rented for three years, before his father lost his job as a security guard. He misses the bedroom he and his brother shared, their video game system -- now in storage -- even their chores.

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The wiki-snobs are taking over

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Times - By Giles Hattersley - Feb. 08 (News Report) - Jimmy Wales is in the departure lounge at JFK airport, New York, sucking his breath with shame as he tells me of the moment when his beloved Wikipedia got it wrong. “Take your pick,” I’m thinking. Was it the day Alan Titchmarsh’s Wikipedia entry stated that he had penned a sequel to the Kama Sutra? Or when Bruce Springsteen’s biography kicked off with: “This guy kinda sucks.” Or when Alistair Darling’s life story was replaced with a sentence so profane it would be impossible to reprint here? “No, it was the Ted Kennedy thing,” sighs Wales. Ah yes. That. Also known as the day last month when Wikipedia – the world’s largest online encyclopedia, co-founded by Wales eight years ago – announced that a member of America’s most scrutinised dynasty had died . . . when, actually, he hadn’t.

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Recession: Losers in the classroom war - Telegraph

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Daily Telegraph - By Julie Henry - Feb. 08 (Special Report) - The Wallis family has put three children through private schools, spending at least £200,000 in the process. But their youngest will not be following in the footsteps of her siblings. Six-year-old Vivien is currently at state primary school and, unlike her brother and sisters, who all switched to independent prep schools at the age of eight, the little girl will be staying put. As with a growing number of families in Britain, the economic downturn has forced the Wallises' hand. With two daughters still in private schools, one in Dorset, the other a weekly boarder in London, the cost of putting another child through the system was too much. "With the others, we started them off at local primaries and then they went on to prep school," said Janette Wallis, a book editor. "But this time, because of the economic climate, we can't do that.

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New Jersey Issues Annual School Report Cards

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By John Mooney, Robert Gebeloff - Feb. 07 (Special Report) - WHEN it comes to student achievement, public high schools in affluent New Jersey suburbs like Millburn, Ridgewood and Princeton have long been perennial all-stars. With high SAT scores, Advanced Placement credits aplenty and college admissions records to envy, they are a source of pride — and lofty real estate values — to their communities. Yet over the last decade, some less-recognizable names like Communications High School, High Tech High School and Academy for Math, Science and Engineering have moved onto the list of top schools. And when it comes to the SAT, arguably the nation’s true standardized high school exam, these schools are outperforming the suburban school districts that have long held the top spots.

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St. Louis Public Schools' 100-Year Deed Restriction Bans Charter Schools From Setting Up Shop in the City's Abandoned Classrooms

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Riverfront Times - By Kristen Hinman - Feb. 07 (Special Report) - Rhonda Broussard went out shopping in late 2007 for a building to house the St. Louis Language Immersion Schools, a set of French- and Spanish-speaking public charter schools she plans to open this fall. Broussard pulled up in front of the old Hodgen Elementary School, a brick Italianate structure in the city's Gate District, hopped out of the car and said to herself, "I want that school." At 46,000 square feet and with fixtures that were renovated in the mid-'90s, the bygone public school (since replaced with a new facility) was perfect, recalls Broussard, a former French teacher and Washington University graduate. "It's in a great mixed-income neighborhood, near a new housing development, with an under-utilized park in the area and the Barr Library right nearby. You want your elementary school to be nestled in a neighborhood with a thriving neighborhood association and a business group who will cheerlead your school. This area has both."

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More Students Turning Illegally To 'Smart' Drugs : NPR

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By Michelle Trudeau - Feb. 07 (Special Report) - They're commonly called "smart drugs" or "study drugs." Scientists call them "cognitive enhancers." Drugs like Adderall and Ritalin, generally prescribed for attention-deficit disorder, are increasingly being used by college students to help them study despite serious side effects, researchers say. Adderall, nicknamed "Addy" by students, is the most popular study drug on college campuses around the country, according to scientists. Students say the drug boosts cognitive function and enables them to study for hours with full concentration without getting fatigued. Illegal And Popular One student says she took her first Adderall during her freshman year when she was cramming for tests. She and other students asked that their names not be used because using or selling these drugs without a prescription is a felony.

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The Senate Sheds Education Aid :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, Views and Jobs

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Inside Higher Ed - By Doug Lederman - Feb. 07 (News Report) - Hope you haven’t spent that stimulus money yet. A compromise amendment worked out by moderate Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate late Friday slashed billions of dollars that would have flowed to colleges and universities in the Senate’s original version, with the biggest cuts coming in education aid to states and funds to modernize college facilities. To the relief of advocates for students, the compromise legislation sustained $13.9 billion to increase the maximum Pell Grant for needy students, which budget cutters had eyed. College and student lobbyists had worked aggressively late last week as various drafts of the compromise amendment emerged showing Pell funds in and out of the plan, but when Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) revealed the final plan’s contents late Friday evening, Pell was in.

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In Medford schools, healthier choices are on the lunch menu

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Boston Globe - By Brad Kane - Feb. 07 (Special Report) - Connor Flynn, an eighth-grader at Andrews Middle School in Medford, used to get pizza every day for his school lunch. His mother, Kathy Flynn, got frustrated as he abandoned healthy eating habits at home for simply what was available in the cafeteria. But as the Medford school system has made healthier lunches a priority, Connor - to his mother's liking - has chosen more nutritious options like salads, chicken fingers, and sunbutter, which is a substitute for peanut butter. "I notice a lot of the girls eat salads now," Connor Flynn said.

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Shining in rural India