education

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What Happened to 'E' Grade?
 What Happened to 'E' Grade? 
Aug 14, 2010 2:29 PM CDT

What Happened to 'E' Grade?

We used it once—and not for 'excellent'

(Newser) - You can get an A, B, C, D, or F in a class—whatever happened to E? It was used at one point, writes Brian Palmer in Slate’s Explainer column . At Mount Holyoke College, which boasts the earliest record of letter grades, it was given for scores of 74...

New Site Lets Students Bet on Their Grades

And yes, they can bet they will flunk—with 'grade insurance'

(Newser) - A new website is taking wagers from American college students who want to bet on their own grades. Just as Las Vegas sports books set odds on sporting events, Ultrinsic will pay top dollar for A's, a little less for the more likely outcome of a B average or better,...

7 Reasons Your Kids Should Skip College

It's a four year—or more—waste of time, author says

(Newser) - College is a must if you want to have a real career, right? Nope, it’s “a scam, a self-perpetuating Ponzi scheme that needs to stop right now,” writes James Altucher for DailyFinance.com . Here are his seven reasons you shouldn’t send your kids:
  • It’ll cost
...

We're Turning Into a Nation of Dunces
We're Turning Into a Nation
of Dunces
Bob Herbert
Aug 7, 2010 11:41 AM CDT

We're Turning Into a Nation of Dunces

We'd rather watch reality TV than think or get an education

(Newser) - Stats showing that the US has fallen to 12th among developing nations in the percentage of young people with college degrees has Bob Herbert very worried. It's yet another sign of how a nation that once led the way in education is now heading in exactly the opposite direction. Nobody...

There Aren't More Cheaters, Just More Getting Caught

Before the Internet, plagiarism was easy to hide

(Newser) - Everyone can calm down now: The New York Times’ recent proclamation that we’re raising a generation of cheaters may have been a bit of an exaggeration. The Times article suggested not only that the Internet is making plagiarism easier and more widespread—but that today’s youth don’t...

DC Schools to Fire Hundreds of Teachers

Poor performance, No Child Left Behind lead to 241 dismissals

(Newser) - The Washington, DC, schools are giving hundreds of teachers the ax because of their low scores in the district’s tough new evaluation system. Chancellor Michelle Rhee says 241 teachers are being fired for poor performance, the Washington Post reports. Another 737 were rated “minimally effective,” meaning they...

US Sinks Like a Stone in College Grad Rankings
 US Sinks Like a Stone 
 in College Grad Rankings 
From No. 1 to No. 12
Jul 22, 2010 8:48 AM CDT

US Sinks Like a Stone in College Grad Rankings

Now in first place: Canada

(Newser) - So along with chronic social networking and oversharing, America's newest generation of young adults has another distinction: Possibly the first to be less-educated than their parents. The US has plummeted from first to 12th place among nations with the highest percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds with a postsecondary degree. Blame...

Many English Speakers Don't Understand English
Many English Speakers
Don't Understand English
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 11, 2010 8:43 AM CDT

Many English Speakers Don't Understand English

Study discovers shocking grammar deficiencies

(Newser) - Loads of native English speakers lack even a basic understanding of the language, according to a surprising new study from Northumbria University. The researchers gathered a group of adults, some of whom were postgraduates students, and some who had dropped out of school at age 16, and tested them on...

For True Knowledge, Close the Laptop and Grab a Book
For True Knowledge, Close the Laptop and Grab a Book
David Brooks
Jul 9, 2010 11:38 AM CDT

For True Knowledge, Close the Laptop and Grab a Book

For now, old-fashioned tomes beat the Internet for learning

(Newser) - David Brooks rounds up the latest studies on books vs. the Internet as a learning tool and comes down squarely on the side of paper and ink. The web may be better at imparting facts, but books are better at imparting knowledge to interpret those facts. The Internet produces "...

Americans Flunk History
 Americans Flunk History 
happy independence day
Jul 2, 2010 2:36 PM CDT

Americans Flunk History

One-quarter of Americans don't know who got the short end of Revolution

(Newser) - On July 4th, Americans from all walks of life will gather to celebrate their independence from … someone or other. According to a new poll, more than 1 in 4 Americans can’t name England as the country the colonists fought in the Revolutionary War, CNN reports. That figure includes...

4-Day School Week Gains Traction

Some districts see performance rise, others worry about student stress

(Newser) - For one cash-strapped Georgia school district, instituting a 4-day school week was a last resort—cut a day, or fire 39 teachers. But besides saving money on operating costs, school officials say, the 4-day week has boosted test scores and increased attendance for both students and teachers, leading to more...

Berkeley to Freshmen: Want a DNA Test?

They'll see how their genes deal with alcohol

(Newser) - UC Berkeley's incoming freshmen have an unusual option this summer: Students can swab their cheeks and send it in for a DNA test that will check for genes that help metabolize alcohol, lactose, and folates. The school is hoping that genetic information will help students live a healthier lifestyle on...

Why the World Should Worry About California

It faces the same troubles that shook Greece

(Newser) - Greece's financial trouble may have seemed far off before it helped send the stock market into a tizzy. Business Insider says the same kind of mess could easily hit even closer to home, in California. A sampling of its 16 reasons:
  • Even after last year's huge cuts, the state still
...

Arizona Goes After Teachers With Accents

If not 'fluent,' they can't teach English learners

(Newser) - Arizona is already under fire for its controversial new immigration law, and now this: Schools in the state are being forced to fire or reassign some teachers who speak English with an accent. Teachers who aren’t deemed fluent can’t be in classrooms where students are still learning English,...

School Pulls Lesbian's Photo From Yearbook

Because she was (gasp!) wearing a tuxedo

(Newser) - A Mississippi high school student's photo has been scrubbed from her senior yearbook. Ceara Sturgis' crime? The lesbian teen sported a tuxedo in her picture. “They didn't even put her name in it,” Sturgis' mother, Veronica Rodriguez, tells the Jackson Free Press . “They've got kids in the...

White House Dangles Obama Commencement Speech

Public school voted tops will land president

(Newser) - If your high school commencement speech was some guy from the Chamber of Commerce, the White House has a less nap-inducing alternative: The public school voted most dedicated to prepping its kids for college and career will get a graduation address from one Barack Obama. Six finalist schools are on...

Megan Fox Thinks Teachers Are Hot
 Megan Fox Thinks 
 Teachers Are Hot 
wishes California thought so, too
Apr 8, 2010 10:29 AM CDT

Megan Fox Thinks Teachers Are Hot

She's flabbergasted by education cuts in new video

(Newser) - Megan Fox and boyfriend Brian Austin Green feel quite strongly about the budget cuts affecting education in California. The two co-star in a Funny or Die video showing an appalled Fox being asked to take over an overcrowded classroom that has already lost its teacher…and its janitor…and its...

Del., Tenn. Only States to Qualify for Education Stimulus Prize

Union support helps 'Race to Top' winners

(Newser) - With $4 billion in stimulus funds up for grabs in an initiative to improve US schools, only two states of the 41 that applied scored high enough to get a piece. Delaware and Tennessee will each get $600 million, from the “Race to the Top” program, the Department of...

House Passes Huge Student Loan Overhaul

Move cuts out private lenders, saves the government $61B

(Newser) - The House passed a sweeping overhaul of the federal student loan program today, slipping it into its final amendments to the health care bill. The measure would call for the government to lend directly to students, rather than paying private lenders to lend out the money. By effectively cutting out...

'Puberty Pill' Could Make Kids Smarter

Drug would act on brain, blocking receptor that slows learning

(Newser) - Studying, schmudying: A pill that boosts teenagers’ ability to learn may be in the pipeline soon. A receptor in the hippocampus area of the brain appears to slow down learning when kids hit puberty, researchers at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn report. Give kids a steroid to suppress that receptor, and...

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