education

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Send Your Kid to Private School? You Suck
Send Your Kid to
Private School? You Suck
OPINION
Aug 29, 2013 9:31 AM CDT

Send Your Kid to Private School? You Suck

Only the morally bankrupt do it, Allison Benedikt argues

(Newser) - Do you send your kids to private school? Then congratulations: "You are a bad person," Allison Benedikt argues in Slate . "Not bad like murder bad—but bad like ruining-one-of-our-nation’s-most-essential-institutions-in-order-to-get-what’s-best-for-your-kid bad. So pretty bad." Her reasoning is simple: if everyone were invested in public schools—...

US Needs to Dump Its Entire Terrible Education System

It hurts our kids, and there is a better way: Peter Gray

(Newser) - People talk a lot about how to fix our educational system—but the only real answer is to get rid of it, or at least its traditional components, writes research professor Peter Gray on Salon . Gray, an expert on psychology and how children learn, points out that schools today retain...

'Boobies' Bracelets Aren't Lewd: Court

They're about breast cancer awareness

(Newser) - If kids at a Pennsylvania middle school want to wear bracelets declaring their love for boobies, the district has no right to stop them, a federal appeals court says. Two teens were suspended for wearing bracelets reading "I Heart Boobies"—a breast cancer awareness slogan—during their school'...

Let&#39;s Get Rid of Summer Vacation
 Let's Get Rid of 
 Summer Vacation 
OPINION
Jul 25, 2013 1:20 PM CDT

Let's Get Rid of Summer Vacation

It's creating gap between rich, poor kids: Matthew Yglesias

(Newser) - Imagine the government deciding to shut down the military, or the transit system, or law enforcement, for a few months every year, for no particular reason. The outcry would be insane, because that's a ridiculous idea. So why, then, is there no backlash over the three months out of...

Why We&#39;re Short on Scientists
 Why We're Short on Scientists 
OPINION
Jul 18, 2013 12:57 PM CDT

Why We're Short on Scientists

Cass Sunstein doesn't think we're doing enough to prepare them in high school

(Newser) - Why is the US falling behind in science? Why are fewer people earning science and engineering degrees here than in, say, China and Japan? Cass Sunstein at Bloomberg thinks the answer lies in a new study that found that while 19.8% of kids entering college are interested in majoring...

Radio Host to Trayvon Pal: College Is on Me

Tom Joyner wants to send Zimmerman trial witness to college

(Newser) - Rachel Jeantel has faced criticism for her manner of speaking and trouble reading cursive, and radio host Tom Joyner wants to do something about it. The much-discussed witness in the George Zimmerman trial should finish high school and get a college education—and he's willing to pay for it,...

Senate's Student Loan Plan Cuts Rates—for Now

Undergrads would be able to borrow at 3.85% interest this fall

(Newser) - A Senate deal is set to lower interest rates on student loans for the next two academic years—but rates could climb after 2015, the AP reports after speaking to aides. Still, in the deal—set for a vote as soon as today—Democrats ensured that undergraduates would never face...

Malala Demands Education in UN Speech

General Assembly celebrates her 16th birthday

(Newser) - What did you do for your sweet 16? Because Malala Yousufzai spent hers addressing the UN, which was celebrating a special "Malala Day" in her honor today, al-Jazeera reports. "Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons," said the Pakistani teen,...

Feds Crack Down on Junk Food in Schools

New rules call for 'real food' snacks: fruits, veggies, whole-grains

(Newser) - School snacking is about to get a lot healthier. Starting in the 2014-2015 school year, treats like candy bars, fatty chips, and doughnuts won't be sold to kids during school hours; instead, they'll see choices like peanuts, granola bars, and fruit cups, USA Today reports. The new "...

Every LA Schoolkid to Get an iPad

District agrees to $30M Apple contract

(Newser) - After approving a $30 million contract with Apple, the LA Unified School District is poised to provide every student with an iPad. The decision comes after a 6-0 vote by the Board of Education, the Los Angeles Times reports. The device "received the highest scoring by the students and...

Spelling Bee Champ Breaks 'German Curse'

Arvind Mahankali is first boy to win since 2008

(Newser) - This year's National Spelling Bee winner is a 13-year-old eighth-grader from New York. Arvind Mahankali triumphed on the word "knaidel," meaning dumpling, thus conquering his trouble with German-derived words; they've knocked him out of the running in the previous two competitions. "The German curse has...

No One Cares About Your College Degree Anymore
No One Cares About Your College Degree Anymore
OPINION
May 29, 2013 12:56 PM CDT

No One Cares About Your College Degree Anymore

Thomas Friedman: Employers care only about whether you can add value

(Newser) - Thomas Friedman makes the case today that employers don't much care anymore about what kind of degree a person has or where it's from. Online university? Ivy League? Self-taught? It doesn't matter, writes Friedman in the New York Times , as long as applicants can answer affirmatively the...

Feds Fine Yale $165K, Citing Unreported Sex Crimes

University violated Clery Act: officials

(Newser) - Yale owes the federal government $165,000 after multiple violations of the Clery Act, which calls on colleges to report crimes and release safety warnings. Among the "serious and numerous" violations, per a letter from a Department of Education official, are four unreported forcible sex offenses; the category includes...

The 12 Things Nearly All Americans Agree On
The 12 Things Nearly All Americans Agree On
surveys say
May 13, 2013 11:47 AM CDT

The 12 Things Nearly All Americans Agree On

Surveys show most of us believe in God, are OK with birth control

(Newser) - What can nine out of 10 Americans agree on? Survey says: not much. That's partly because the big polls such as Pew, Gallup, and the General Social Survey are designed to explore differences, not to document what unites the United States. Still, a few questions discover 90% agreement, or...

Public University Presidents Rake in Millions

Disgraced former Penn State boss Graham Spanier leads the pack

(Newser) - Last year, four public university presidents boasted compensation of more than $1 million, a study finds. At the top: Graham Spanier, the former Penn State president driven out by the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal. Spanier made $2.9 million in the 2011-2012 fiscal year; part of that was his...

Let&#39;s Ban Team Sports From Gym Class
 Let's Ban 
 Team Sports 
 From Gym Class 
OPINION
May 10, 2013 11:16 AM CDT

Let's Ban Team Sports From Gym Class

Jessica Olien: Why must exercise be competitive?

(Newser) - Yes, kids need their exercise during the school day—but team sports are an unnecessary and potentially scarring way to get it, argues Jessica Olien. She tried hard as a kid in PE, but "the culmination of each class was the annihilation of my self-confidence," she writes at...

Immigrant Kids Getting Alienated in School

Survey reveals bleak outlook for young newcomers: Marcelo and Carola Suárez-Orozco

(Newser) - Last week's Boston bombings underscore a pressing need in the US: It's time to step up our efforts to reach out to immigrant children, two education experts write in the New York Times . Their five-year study of kids ages 9 to 14 in Boston- and San Francisco-area public...

Let&#39;s Make Kids Play Chess in School
Let's Make Kids
Play Chess in School
OPINION
Apr 17, 2013 2:27 PM CDT

Let's Make Kids Play Chess in School

Alex Berezow: It teaches them logic, strategy—and lessons about losing

(Newser) - Chess is such serious business in Eastern Europe that Armenia requires all kids starting at age 6 to play the game in school. The US should do the same, argues Alex Berezow at Pacific Standard . He likes the idea for all the reasons you'd imagine: The game sharpens young...

New School Regs: Start Teaching Climate Change

Standards formulated by 26 states, educators

(Newser) - For the first time since 1996, educators have released major national guidelines for science in schools. The big news this time: They include a call for climate change education, potentially beginning in middle school, the New York Times reports. They also strongly urge schools to teach evolution. The Next Generation...

National Bee Not Just About Spelling Anymore

281 contestants will need to answer vocab questions, too

(Newser) - This year, it won't be enough for National Spelling Bee contestants to know what words look like; they'll have to define them, too. Local contestants—who have all already been selected—will have to spell live and on a computer as well as answer vocabulary questions in order...

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