Education

Homeless Kids Lack School to Call Home

As Kathy Johnson walked from her family's cramped room in a West Side shelter to pick up her 10-year-old twin daughters from school, she asked God to make good on what she had promised them.

"Release housing for me and my children. . . . God, give me strength. We didn't ask to be in this shape; unfortunately we are," Johnson prayed. Health issues cost her a job as a hotel room attendant three years ago, she said.

Chicago Public Schools officials say an increasing number of students are losing their homes, becoming casualties of the economic downturn.

Posted in children, Education, homelessness

Shovel-Ready Stimulus Buries Schools

Shovel This, kids. Last weekend, Senate Democrats, in trying to get a filibuster-proof number of Republicans on board with the stimulus bill, allowed tens of billions of dollars to be slashed from education. It made you forget who won the election.

Posted in Education, stimulus

Stimulus Compromise Cuts Education Spending

WASHINGTON -- Some more details are available for the compromise stimulus package expected to be voted on in the U.S. Senate early next week and they show that much of the cuts came at the expense of education spending.

Posted in Education

Better Nutrition Equals Better Education

Cafeteria food has always been the brunt of kids' jokes. Many of us remember the grilled cheese sandwich that stuck to the plate when you turned it upside down, and the egg soufflé that jiggled when you poked it. But even that is a far cry from what's served now.

In the midst of a growing childhood obesity crisis, school food now means federally subsidized chicken nuggets, low-grade hamburgers, french fries, hot dogs and pizza. "Cooking" usually involves a centralized kitchen similar to a fast food assembly line.

Posted in agriculture, Education, food

Is Our Army Glamorizing War and Violence to an Audience of Children?

Can a child distinguish between real and virtual violence? Our Army seems to think so.

Even though the Army Experience Center, located north of Philadelphia, purports to merely be an educational facility that uses interactive simulations and online learning programs about careers, training and educational opportunities within the armed forces, this $12 million investment seems more geared to teaching kids how to kill and destroy things.

Posted in Education, military recruiting

The Duncan Doctrine

On December 16th, a friendship forged nearly two decades ago on the hardwood of the basketball court culminated in a press conference at the Dodge Renaissance Academy, an elementary school located on the west side of Chicago. In a glowing introduction to the media, President-elect Barack Obama named Arne Duncan, the chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools system (CPS), as his nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education.

Posted in Education, Militarism, military recruiting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2009
11:50 AM

CONTACT: Planned Parenthood
Diane Quest or Christie Petrone, 202-973-4882

New CDC Study Demonstrates Critical Need for Medically Accurate, Age-Appropriate Education and Treatment

to Protect Against Sexually Transmitted Infections

WASHINGTON - January 15 - Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) expressed deep concern over the findings of a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report indicating high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STI), particularly among women, and reinforced the need to take action to reduce these alarming numbers.

“This study underscores what Planned Parenthood has stated for years: Women, men and teens need to know how to protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections.

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Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the nation's leading sexual and reproductive health care advocate and provider. We believe that everyone has the right to choose when or whether to have a child, and that every child should be wanted and loved. Planned Parenthood affiliates operate nearly 880 health centers nationwide, providing medical services and sexuality education for millions of women, men, and teenagers each year. We also work with allies worldwide to ensure that all women and men have the right and the means to meet their sexual and reproductive health care needs.

Posted in Education, Health

Media's Failing Grade on Education 'Debate'

President-elect Barack Obama chose Chicago schools superintendent Arne Duncan as his nominee for Education secretary after an almost entirely one-sided media discussion that portrayed the most progressive candidate in the running for the post--Stanford educational researcher Linda Darling-Hammond--as an unacceptable pick.

Posted in Education, Media

Federal Law Turns Nation’s Public Schools into 'No-Think Zones'

DILLINGHAM-In January 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law by President George W. Bush. This federal mandate enforces standards-based education reform centered on high student academic standards. So far so good.

Unfortunately, these standards are measured by standardized testing, which consist of a series of questions (often multiple-choice) generated for entire groups of students. Educational officials estimate that 100 million or more of these tests are administered to students across the United Sates every year.

Posted in Education, nclb

Obama Slam-Duncans Education

Hey, you Liberal Democrats. You may have won the election, but you're getting CREAMED in the transition.

Today, President-elect Barack Obama stuck it to you. He's chosen Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education.

Who? Duncan is most decidedly not an educator. He's a lawyer. But Duncan has this extraordinary qualification: He's Obama's pick-up basketball buddy from Hyde Park.

I can't make this up.

Posted in Education