National Spelling Bee Ends in Tie Second Year in a Row
They couldn’t be rattled. They couldn’t be denied. Gokul Venkatachalam and Vanya Shivashankar had worked too hard and come close too many times not to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Education
Ed. Sec. Arne Duncan Sought Advice From Jeb Bush Over Rick Scott’s Fear of ‘Rebellion’ Around Common Core
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan asked for advice via his private email account from Jeb Bush about how to respond to concerns about Common Core from current Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
Louisiana Lawmaker Fighting Common Core: Deal ‘Gives Us Everything We Asked For’
The Louisiana lawmaker who has led the fight against Common Core for several years in his state says the final deal agreed to in the legislature “gives us everything we asked for” and proves that “passionate” engagement by citizens is what makes the difference.
Scarborough Attacks Elizabeth Warren for Not Standing Up to Amtrak, Education Unions
Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” to the shock of co host Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough blasted Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for criticizing Republicans for playing to their base when she does the same thing by not challenging hers. After playing a
Why Homeschoolers Don’t Want School Vouchers
The sobering reality that further entanglement with the Common Core standards and tests could come along with school vouchers is underscored by the fact that Common Core champions Bill Gates, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Jeb Bush are all major supporters as well of school voucher programs and charter schools.
Penn State Bans Fraternity for Three Years over Secret Facebook Groups
A fraternity linked to a secret Facebook page on which photos of nude and semi-nude women were posted was shut down by Penn State for at least three years on Tuesday after the university’s Interfraternity Council recommended a milder punishment.
Parents Who Allow Children To Walk Home From Park Cleared of One Case of Neglect
The Meitivs were first investigated last fall when their children, ages 10 and 6, were seen playing together at a park one block from their home.
Robert Redford Warns Graduates: The World is ‘Grim’
Oscar-winning actor and director Robert Redford reminded graduates at Maine’s Colby College the world is a “grim” place Sunday, before asking them to be fearless.
‘A Beautiful Mind’ Subject John Nash, Wife Die in Car Crash
John Forbes Nash Jr., a mathematical genius whose struggle with schizophrenia was chronicled in the 2001 movie “A Beautiful Mind,” has died along with his wife in a car crash on the New Jersey Turnpike. He was 86.
One Year in the Aftermath of the Isla Vista Mass Murder
“We don’t short sell the presence of evil in this world,” Pastor David Guzik said in his Sunday message following the May 2014 murderous rampage of a disturbed Elliot Rodger, in which he ripped through the community of Isla Vista, California, killing six and wounding several others.
Watch: Jon Bon Jovi Performs Song for Rutgers Students After Commencement Speech
After addressing students and faculty at Rutgers University-Camden’s 2015 graduation Thursday, rocker and New Jersey native Jon Bon Jovi performed a song he wrote specifically for the audience of 1,749 graduates.
U.S. Department of Education: Higher Educated Parents More Likely to Homeschool
As the U.S. Department of Education observes the higher education levels of parents who are homeschooling their children, a new trend is developing: institutions of higher learning are actively recruiting homeschooled children.
Cal Public Sector Unions Spending $1Billion Per Year
U.S. public sector unions are politically powerful because they collect and spend at least $4.0 billion in dues each year. But California unions are overwhelmingly powerful because although the state has just 11 percent of the nation’s population, California’s public
Las Vegas High School Censors Pro-Life Club
Administrators of a Las Vegas school district have received a demand letter from attorneys at the Thomas More Society charging them with unconstitutionally discriminating against a student by denying her the right to form a pro-life club at her high school.
Top Young Women Conservatives: ‘The Left Is Wrong about Young Women’
The nation’s top young female conservative activists will gather in June to train in the methods they will use to bring the message that the ideology of the Left will make women more dependent on government and less successful in their individual goals.
Sexual Assault Case Against Venice High Schoolers Collapses
On Wednesday, prosecutors decided not to file charges against 15 students at Venice High School who had been suspected of sex crimes and arrested. Greg Risling of the District Attorney’s Office stated that they had “insufficient evidence,” according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
Pope Francis’s Message to Separated Parents: ‘Don’t Take your Child Hostage’
In his weekly audience Wednesday, Pope Francis continued his reflections on the family, urging separated parents not to make their children bear the brunt of their difficulties.
Pope Francis: Parents Have Primary Role of Educating Children, Not Experts
Pope Francis addressed parents during his weekly audience Wednesday, strongly emphasizing that it is their role to educate their children, not that of “intellectual critics” who may try to take the place of parents, ousting them from their proper role.
Top Teachers Say Family Stress and Poverty Top List of Education Hurdles
A survey finds that K-12 teachers feel that family stress and poverty are the top two hurdles students face in getting an education in America today. Psychological problems come in third as a barrier for education.
Study: Lyrics of No. 1 Hit Songs Average a Third-Grade Reading Level
Have you ever been driving along, listening to the latest hit song on a Top 20 radio station, and thought, “Man, these lyrics are really dumb?”
Number of Homeschooled Children Soars in America: Up 61.8% Over 10 Years
Between 2003-2012, the number of American children between ages 5 to 17 who are home schooled has risen 61.8 percent, and that the percentage home schooled in that age range has increased from 2.2 to 3.4 percent.
Elite High School Students Rejecting Common Core Tests
LOS ANGELES — Half of the students in their junior year at four affluent high schools in California–Gunn, Palo Alto, Palos Verdes and Calabasas–have chosen to ignore the Smarter Balanced Assessments, the tests based on Common Core that premiere at California high schools this spring.
Scott Walker: School Vouchers A ‘Moral and Economic Imperative’
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker came out fighting for school vouchers Monday at a national conference of education reform advocates, where Walker said vouchers are a “moral and economic imperative.”
University of California At Center of Antisemitism Fight
The University of California has produced some of the most blatant cases of campus antisemitism in recent months, with Jewish students singled out for their faith–often by anti-Israel activists. That prompted 57 rabbis and 107 members of the UC faculty to write to the administration Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports, to ask that it adopt the State Department definition of antisemitism, which includes demonizing Israel, delegitimizing Israel, or holding double standards for Israel.
Viral Video Shows Kennesaw Student Accused of Harassment for Literally Sitting in Silence
“Sitting here until someone is available is harassing them.”
