education

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TV Not All Bad for Kids, Study Discovers

Some couch potatoes apparently got wise watching boob tube

(Newser) - TV has long been blamed for social ills from childhood obesity to plunging SAT scores, but a pair of researchers say the "idiot box" could actually be doing kids some good, the Wall Street Journal reports. Examined test data from 1965 showed that children with more access to TV...

Chicago School Boycott Moves Downtown

'Teach-ins' at corporate offices protest unfair funding

(Newser) - Civic leaders held "teach-ins" at downtown Chicago businesses today to protest uneven education funding in Illinois, the Tribune reports. Educators joined students boycotting a second day of school in the lobbies of buildings including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Boeing Corp. Most businesses said they would welcome the students...

Boycott Disrupts Chicago's 1st Day of School

Inner-city students make symbolic visit to wealthy suburb

(Newser) - Hundred of Chicago students missed the first day of school today as they tried to enroll in more affluent suburban schools, the Tribune reports. Students and parents are protesting the uneven division of wealth among Illinois public schools by attempting to enroll en masse in top-rated North Shore schools. It’...

Georgia School System Loses US Accreditation

Atlanta-area district becomes first in nearly 40 years stripped of recognition

(Newser) - A Georgia school system has become the country's first in almost 40 years to have its accreditation yanked, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Clayton County parents and students were devastated by the move, blamed on the district's "dysfunctional" school board. An exodus of students is expected to accelerate.

Put Catcher to Rest Already
 Put Catcher to Rest Already 
opinion
Aug 28, 2008 7:16 PM CDT

Put Catcher to Rest Already

Salinger standby should make way for newer books

(Newser) - JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye may have once been edgy, coming-of-age literature, but does it deserve a place in today's curricula? It's time to retire Holden Caulfield, argues Anne Trubek in Good magazine. "Salinger’s novel lacks the currency or shock value it once had," she...

'Saving' Public Schools Not a Money Thing

Better education can't be legislated, or bought—parents have to make the effort

(Newser) - As dissatisfaction with the nation’s No Child Left Behind policy grows, it seems educators, politicians, and businessmen all have their own take on how to “save” the US public school system—with little consensus. Gary Stager, in Good, examines the overwhelmingly complex difficulties facing the nation’s ailing...

Colleges Make iGadgets Part of Course Load

Schools give students iPhones, iPods as learning tools

(Newser) - Some US universities have started handing out free iPhones and Internet-enabled iPods to students, the New York Times reports. The institutions view the gadgets as tools for online research, student polling, and as-yet undeveloped educational applications, while Apple gets an in with a new generation with consumers. Professors with easily...

200K US Students Spanked Last School Year: Report

Blacks make up disproportionate number of the punished

(Newser) - Over 200,000 US children were on the receiving end of corporal punishment last year, and a disproportionate number were black, a pair of human-rights groups finds. Black students, who make up 17.1% of the national school population, made up 35.6% of those paddled, CNN notes. Overall spankings...

Nothing to Fear in Public School as Costco

Author/radio host/mom Sandra Tsing Loh outlines latest quest

(Newser) - For many urban, middle-class parents, sending kids to public school is a terrifying prospect. If you’re among that fretting class, Sandra Tsing Loh has a message: Chill out. In Mother on Fire: A True Motherf%#$@ Story About Parenting, Loh recounts her own journey through the school conundrum, and realizes...

To Turn Boys Into Readers, Gross Them Out

Publishers embrace books about farts, boogers, blood

(Newser) - Young boys, who trail far behind their female peers as readers, are reversing that trend with help from publishers who seek to exploit their love for everything gross. The Wall Street Journal examines the wave of children's’ titles rife with farts, boogers, blood, and flesh-eating bacteria—and talks with some...

Pioneering Doc Accused of Sex Abuse
Pioneering
Doc Accused
of Sex Abuse
Aug 6, 2008 12:11 PM CDT

Pioneering Doc Accused of Sex Abuse

Pediatrician became famous for his work on learning disabilities

(Newser) - Dr. Melvin Levine, famous in his field for pioneering new ways of understanding children with learning disabilities, is followed by allegations of sexually abusing young patients. The accusations span decades of his career, the New York Times reports in investigating the trail of charges. In March, a lawyer who had...

Unschooled Keira Driven to Prove Her Smarts

Star has 'chip on shoulder' after she skipped university

(Newser) - Oscar nominations? Check. Intelligent, literary roles? Check. College education? Not so much. “I am completely uneducated,” Keira Knightley told the Daily Telegraph, which “leaves you with a slight chip on your shoulder.” To battle intellectual insecurity, the Atonement star, who is dyslexic and dropped out of...

Does Surfing Equal Reading?
Does Surfing Equal Reading?
Jul 27, 2008 2:34 PM CDT

Does Surfing Equal Reading?

Experts debate whether kids' online time is as educational as hitting the books

(Newser) - As kids spend more time on the internet and less time reading books, a debate is raging over whether online reading is as educational as the traditional kind, the New York Times reports. While the Web allows readers to quickly gobble up multiple perspectives and information, some experts worry that...

'Ivy Retardation' Curse of Elites
 'Ivy Retardation' Curse of Elites
OPINION
Jul 27, 2008 5:09 AM CDT

'Ivy Retardation' Curse of Elites

Inflated self-worth, narrow view of smarts disadvantage of life at top

(Newser) - Its advantages are undeniable, but an elite education can also cause a crippling case of “Ivy retardation,” as William Deresiewicz realized while struggling, despite fluency in several languages, to make small talk with his blue-collar plumber in Boston. “The best and the brightest” develop an inflated sense...

Where to Get Your JD, ASAP
Where to Get Your JD, ASAP
Jul 24, 2008 8:02 PM CDT

Where to Get Your JD, ASAP

Northwestern to join ranks of universities offering 2-year law degree program

(Newser) - Northwestern University’s law school will offer its JD program, normally a 3-year commitment, in 2 years, a move designed to increase the school's competitive edge and respond to critics who say students with jobs lined up coast through their final year. Northwestern isn't pioneering the approach, but as the...

Teenagers Have Rights, Too
Teenagers Have Rights, Too
Opinion
Jul 12, 2008 7:10 PM CDT

Teenagers Have Rights, Too

Schools shouldn't use high court ruling to silence 'disruptive' students

(Newser) - "Teenagers have constitutional rights." That shouldn’t be controversial, but several schools are in court arguing that the First Amendment doesn't apply to students, writes Frank LoMonte in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Morse v. Frederick set a precedent last year, when Supreme Court judges ruled that students could be...

Can Video Games Save the World?

Creators take aim at education in the gaming industry

(Newser) - A small group of educators and activists is championing the use of video games for more than just entertainment, the Washington Post reports. “I don't think games have to be fun,” one key organizer said. “I think games have to be engaging.” New titles in the...

Germans Get Engineers Started Young
Germans Get Engineers Started Young
Jun 17, 2008 12:49 PM CDT

Germans Get Engineers Started Young

Top firms aim to turn kindergartners toward tech careers

(Newser) - With a personnel shortfall that's serious and getting worse, Germany wants to get its next generation of engineers started as soon as possible, the Financial Times reports. Hundreds of companies are sending materials and experts to kindergartens to try interest youngsters in technology and science. They hope getting the tots...

Bush Loyalist Hits the Road to Save 'No Child'

Education secretary seeks to shore up reviled program

(Newser) - As George W. Bush has become less and less popular, so too has No Child Left Behind, his education initiative that one congressman calls "the most negative brand in the country." As the administration realizes that its principal domestic achievement is likely to be undone by the next...

Grueling Gaokao Tests China's College Seekers

Dreaded university entrance exam covers 12 years of study

(Newser) - At least 10 million high school students in China are taking the grueling gaokao, or "high test," to win a coveted spot at college. It’s a two-day ordeal that covers everything students have learned for a dozen years. It also shuts down neighborhoods, redirects traffic, and determines...

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