education

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Critics Blast Sarkozy's Holocaust School Plan

Prez wants each 5th grader to study a victim

(Newser) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has sparked a new controversy: The maverick leader is  now defending his plan to have every fifth grader study a French youth killed in the Holocaust. Critics, including Jewish analysts, warn the move could traumatize students. But one historian applauded Sarkozy's "courage" and said what...

Boom in Online Schooling Fuels Broad Debate

Freedom appeals to parents; critics worry over regulations, costs

(Newser) - With half a million children taking classes online, debate over virtual schooling is intensifying, the New York Times reports. The proliferation of web-based public schools has sparked concerns about public financing and the appropriateness of the model for young children. In Wisconsin, meanwhile, supporters won a fight last week to...

UK Plans Cheap Web Access for All Students

Broadband to become compulsory under new schools program

(Newser) - The Brown government is collaborating with Britain's top IT companies to provide Internet access to every child in the country. A major education review recently urged closing the widening achievement gap between rich and poor families. In effect, a broadband Internet connection is becoming compulsory, the Guardian reports.

Stop Picking on Nerds!
Stop Picking
on Nerds!
NEW RELEASE

Stop Picking on Nerds!

US needs more brainiacs, even if they are unsexy, new book argues

(Newser) - Americans mock nerds ad nauseum, and psych prof David Anderegg says it's time to lay off. In his new book, Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them, Andregg breezily but thoroughly critiques a cultural prejudice that he claims dates back to Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Washington ...

Teachers Need Help as Math Gets Tougher

With algebra now taught as early as grade school, many lack skills

(Newser) - Having long lagged behind other nations, the United States is finally kicking up the level of mathematics instruction in public schools. But as algebra becomes a subject for middle schoolers, and basics are introduced to elementary students, It's turning out to be as much a challenge for the teachers as...

Calif. Crunch May Force Drastic Cuts

State might slash education funds, free inmates early

(Newser) - California's dire financial straits may force the early release of 30,000 low-risk inmates and bring drastic cuts in education, the Los Angeles Times reports. Arnold Schwarzenegger will declare a fiscal emergency next month as the state wrestles with a $14.5 billion budget gap. The governor has ordered agencies...

Best Places to Educate Children
Best Places to Educate Children

Best Places to Educate Children

(Newser) - Wondering where’s the best place to educate your children? Compiling scores from various criteria--strength of the public school system, options for private schools, library popularity, the abundance of higher-learning institutions—Forbes magazine made a list of the best educational environments. Here’s the top ten:
  1. Washington, DC-Arlington, VA
  2. Madison,
...

Religion Remains Flashpoint With Huckabee

GOP candidate sounds off on creationism in schools, Romney's Mormon faith

(Newser) - A month before the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee reacted with frustration when asked if creationism should be taught in public schools, the AP reports. Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister who has said he does not believe in Darwin's theory of evolution, said his personal views on religion...

NY Diocese's Coloring Book Warns of Abuse

Angel tells kids not to be alone with an adult; priest not mentioned

(Newser) - A coloring book handed out by the Catholic Church to kids in New York warns them not to be alone with an adult in a room with the door shut, Newsweek reports. It doesn't specifically name priests as a risk, but it does depict an angel warning an altar boy...

Bullying Cases Spike in Japan
Bullying Cases Spike in Japan

Bullying Cases Spike in Japan

Six students commit suicide, 125K cases reported despite government plan

(Newser) - School bullying cases have spiked sixfold in Japan this year, according to a new survey that highlights a dark issue in Japanese education. Officials blame the 125,000 cases on a recent, broader definition of bullying and the addition of more schools to the tally—but admit to six student...

Bush Blames Pork for Spending Veto
Bush Blames Pork for Spending Veto

Bush Blames Pork for Spending Veto

$606B bill isn't kosher, prez says, ordering Congress to trim

(Newser) - President Bush vetoed a $606 billion domestic spending bill today, accusing Congress of “acting like a teenager with a new credit card.” His rejection of the measure, which included education, health, and job-training funds, will likely lead to a showdown, the Los Angeles Times reports. The House appropriations...

Gen Xers Aren't Saving for Retirement

Too many still living paycheck to paycheck, one expert warns

(Newser) - Aging Gen Xers are too saddled with costs and debt to save for retirement, MSNBC reports. In fact, 62% of Gen Xers—those born roughly from 1965 to 1980—said they still live paycheck to paycheck, according to a Charles Schwab survey. And they’re headed for trouble: The fund...

Congress Defies Bush on Funds
Congress Defies Bush on Funds

Congress Defies Bush on Funds

House votes $10 billion for domestic programs White house seeks to ax

(Newser) - The Democratic-controlled Congress has approved an extra $10 billion for education and health care, daring the White House to veto the extra funding for popular domestic programs that President Bush seeks to cut. The vote came as the Senate dealt the White House its first veto override on a water...

Hand to Brain: Why Writing Matters in the Digital Age

Fluid writing linked to fluid thinking

(Newser) - Handwriting seems like a vestigial skill now that 3-year-olds are using computers, but it may still benefit children in more ways than helping them slog through parent-mandated thank-you notes, Newsweek says. Penmanship may be closely connected with the learning process, and a new study by a Vanderbilt prof indicates that...

US Schools Not in Dire Decline, Study Says

Report blasts myth of kids lagging in math, science, reading

(Newser) - Despite dire warnings, US students rank well against worldwide peers in math, science, and reading, according to a new study. In fact US scores are rising, and students are graduating with more science and engineering diplomas than the US market can sustain. So why all of the hullabaloo about US...

Why US Math, Science Ed is OK
Why US Math, Science Ed is OK

Why US Math, Science Ed is OK

Writer cites against-the-grain report ranking US in second place globally

(Newser) - Americans aren’t as deficient at math and science as usually reported, writes entrepreneur and Harvard Law Fellow Vivek Wadhwa in a Business Week op-ed. He cites an Urban Institute report with results contradicting many long-held beliefs about American science education, which places American science students consistently second in the...

Parents Believe Kids Are Too Plugged In

A third thinks children spend too much time online, but do they really?

(Newser) - American kids are spending more time than ever in front of the computer, and the trend makes some parents queasy, CNet reports. Three-quarters of Americans age 12 and up spend an average of 8.9 hours online a week, a new study finds. And the numbers will keep rising, as...

Betting on Schools Doesn't Pay
Betting on Schools Doesn't Pay

Betting on Schools Doesn't Pay

Lotteries don't provide as much school funding as thought

(Newser) - For decades state lotteries have been sold to voters as tax-free ways to funnel funds into cash-starved schools. Of the 42 states with lotteries, 23 of them earmark money for education. But an investigation by the New York Times found that very little of the billions raised finds its way...

Job Market Shrinks for Lawyers
Job Market Shrinks for Lawyers

Job Market Shrinks for Lawyers

Lots of new grads, but big salaries are hard to come by

(Newser) - Lawyers are entering the work force in record numbers, but demand—and salaries—aren't keeping up. Law schools advertise six-figure starting salaries for grads, but these wages materialize only for those from elite schools or at the top of their class, the Wall Street Journal reports. For the rest, $20-an-hour...

British Schools Crack Down on 'Cyberbullying'

Teachers want mobile phones considered 'offensive weapons'

(Newser) - England's education chief wants schools to put their digital foot down when it comes to “cyberbullying.” The schools should confiscate mobile phones when necessary and pull down hurtful material from websites, the BBC reports. The schools chief called cyberbullying a particularly “insidious” form of abuse because it...

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