The New York Times (District May End N.C. Economic Diversity Program) describes the polarization of the Wake County school district’s economic diversity policy. The distance wealthier children have to travel from their home, performance scores, and discipline rates are discussed as touchstones for measuring progress or failure, yet there are two major flaws in this article. [...]
The Washington Post published an interesting opinion piece on the word Retard and the effort of the Special Olympics and others to eliminate its use in everyday speech (The case against banning the word “retard”). Within the piece, the offense and harm the word causes is overridden with an argument for free speech, an assertion [...]
Between a Jan. 31, 2010 New York Times Op-ed (Sex Ed in Washington) and follow-up responses on Feb. 6 (Sex Ed, With No Federal Strings?) debating the merits and disconnects of sexual education, the Times reported on the findings of a recent study of an abstinence-only intervention (Quick Response to Study of Abstinence Education). From the [...]
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The Times ran an editorial (End to the Abstinence-Only Fantasy) on the policy/funding changes for abstinence-only education: From the piece: Gone is all spending for highly restrictive abstinence-only sex education programs that deny young people accurate information about contraceptives, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. The measure redirects sex-education resources to medically sound programs aimed at [...]
Looking for early HIV and AIDS imagery for my dissertation, I came across the following article and website recently: Trebay, G. (2009, December 11). Lost to AIDS, but Still Friended. The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/fashion/13memorial.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hpw http://www.avert.org/history-science.htm
The New York Times (Degree Required, but You Don’t Have On) reports on the importance of credentials. From the article: Owning that paper may seem especially important when the unemployment rate is high. Many employers are now reflexively listing a bachelor’s degree as a requirement; it’s an easy way to help whittle down hundreds of [...]
I’m finally here in DC…
The Post reports (House Votes to End Subsidies to Student Loan Firms) to end subsidized student loan lending for banks. These loans have carried low risk (the government guarantees 97%) and high returns for banks. This earlier article in the Times (Plan to Change Student Lending Sets Up a Fight) presents the lame rationale for [...]
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The role of schools is expanding in Washington, DC to include STD/STI (Sexually Transmitted Disease or Infection) testing, according to the Washington Post (D.C. to Offer STD Tests In Every High School). From the article: The program conducted last year at eight high schools found that 13 percent of about 3,000 students tested positive for [...]
The Post (New Index Will Score Graduate Students’ Personality Traits) reports on the Educational Testing Service (ETS) creation of a Personal Potential Index because recommendation letters are apparently too cumbersome to request and expect people to read. One wonders if the great minds of the world would all score a 5.
Continue reading about People Say You’ve Got Skills; Now You’ve Got an Official Score!