U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GIVES MONEY

More than a million dollars will be shared between schools in Kansas, Florida and New York. The money will be given by the U.S. Department of Education to help character development and citizenship responsibilities in students. This was announced by the U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings on Friday.

The grants are called Partnerships in Character Education Program awards that will last up to four years. They are eligible to state and local education agencies to put together character education programs that teach children about civics, citizenship, justice, responsibility and respect for others, as well as for themselves.

Recipients of the grant need to show how they have implemented these core values into teacher training, as well as into classroom instruction.

The program also must involve parents, students and the community as part of the process.

The aim of the project to help students develop positive character, reduce discipline problems and improve academic achievement.

SOURCE: http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/us-department-o-8.php

South African Education Needs More

The Ministry of Education in South Africa is planning to step up efforts to improve the outcomes in education.

Selected schools that have been under-performing in 2007 matrix exams will be targeted.

Plans include having students write more demanding national examination papers.
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The recent meeting held by the Ministry of Education also stressed having all teachers, schools and students more prepared for the exams.

The immediate support that will be given includes all students having textbooks for each subject, as well as preparation for the examination with different types of questions. The students must attend all classes every day for the next five months.

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20080602191654878C192447

Rural Australian Education

There are human rights concerns for quality education when it comes to rural Australians.

The number of people who actually go to school and stay in school from rural Australia is far below the national average. The recent federal budget of the country is attempting to address the issue, however much more needs to be done.

Long-term goals have a vision up until 2020 to improve the quality of education for rural Australians. This includes opportunities in community-based early childhood learning, primary and secondary education, vocational education and training, higher education, online learning, professional development and lifelong learning.

Source: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=7376

Marijuana University

Higher education has a new meaning with a private San Francisco university dedicated to the study of cannabis.

Students learn how to grow, harvest, cook and dispense marijuana to others at Oaksterdam University.

Even though possession of marijuana remains illegal under federal law, the goal of the university is to create students who can own dispensaries in California.
The school is modeled after one in Amsterdam and has recently begun offering classes in Los Angeles.

Some of the classes included at the university are the politics of marijuana, horticulture ad bud tending.

A variety of students have been attending the school, as well from a variety of backgrounds, nationalities and age groups.

Students are also being prepared in what to do if they are caught possessing marijuana by a police officer.

The course is intense and happens over a weekend. The students receive a certificate making it possible for them to work at a marijuana dispensary.
Graduation stands at 200 for now and more than 500 people have enrolled in the university.

One student was diagnosed with depression and took Prozac for many years. This drug Prozac left her feeling nauseous and manic.

Now, she has turned to marijuana and is off anti-depressants. She says her life has improved and she is sleeping better.

The staff at Oaksterdam says that marijuana eases the pain in people and is helpful in everything from multiple sclerosis, cancer and HIV/AIDS.

The university also says that legalizing the drug would boost tax revenue for the state and add legitimacy to a drug that is already widely used.

Human Resources Education

There are many schools that offer education in human resources, although a degree is not always necessary.

Human resources is a booming field and if you are the type of person that enjoys helping other people find work, as well helping your company find the right person for an open position...this may the perfect field for you.

Many people in human resources actually make anywhere between $20,000 CDN to $80,000 CDN a year. This can be an extremely lucrative career choice.

More and more, unlike days of old, companies have a human resources department to deal with the demand of people out there looking for work. The kinds of courses you would take in a human resources program include interpersonal communication, presentation skills, a co-op option depending on if one is available, as well as English courses. The program is demanding and vocational schools, as well as colleges and some universities offer the program.

Many people in human resources find the work extremely rewarding. It is possible to work for staffing agencies that solely concentrate on finding the right people for other companies, working in-house to a company to support their staffing needs, as well as opening up your own business.

Source: http://www.recruiting.com/human_resources_education

HOW DOES STATE FUNDING EFFECT CHILDREN IN SCHOOLS?

Kitsaps's public school districts, schools in Washington, have cut their budgets by hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past seven years. The needs for the schools are still great. State funding pays about 70 percent of the total public school funding is based on a formula from 30 years ago.

School superintendents say that Washington schools should offer:

● preschool
● free, but mandatory, all-day kindergarten for all students
● class sizes of no larger than 19 students from kindergarten to grade two, rather than the 25 children that exist now
● high-quality, ongoing professional development for all teachers
● instructional coaches at every school to help teachers learn strategies to reach all kids
● time in the school day for teachers to meet and go over students' work and brainstorm new strategies
● tutors who reach to students and parents
● more elective courses in high school
● specific, individualized learning plans for all students
● longer school year (200 days at least)
● a full-time counselour and full-time nurse at each school
● adequate office staff at each school to meet the needs of students and parents
● technology that meets today's standards and allows for online learning
● more hands-on learning experiences to help kids find their passions

The Washington public school funding formula is being challenged in the state supreme court.

SCHOOLS RECEIVE LOCAL PROPERTY TAX MONEY TO HELP FUND THEM.

EVERY YEAR THAT CUTS HAVE COME, EDUCATION LEADERS SAY THEY WILL NOT AFFECT THE CLASSROOM.

SOURCE: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jun/21/does-state-education-funding-shortchange-our/

Graduation Rates Across the Board

Reports are coming out that the announcements of graduation rates should be standard across the nation.

Washington state has already implemented a standardized reporting method in an effort to reveal who is telling the truth about the rates of graduating students.

To get a clear picture of who is graduating in Washington state or the United States is difficult.

Currently there is not a uniform way to calculate graduation rates throughout the country.

Individual schools view the graduation rates differently. In some cases, for example, students who attend alternative schools or special programs are not counted. The bottom line is these various formulas have been so confusing they cannot be easily explained or understood.

As a result, the taxpayers often feel confused ― even duped.

The U.S. Department of Education is implementing new rules aimed at standardizing graduation rate reporting. This reform is long awaited and needed. Taxpayers need to know how well their schools are doing. Understanding whether students are graduating on time from high school is critical to assessing the success of educators.

U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has proposed a plan ― which follows an agreement from the National Governors Association ― that requires states to assign ID numbers to students so they can be tracked when they enter the ninth grade until they graduate or drop out. This will allow students to be tracked when they move to another school district or even another state.


Source: http://www.unionbulletin.com/articles/2008/06/21/opinion/daily_editorial/080622editorial.txt

Education in Developing Countries

UNICEF goes to great efforts to make sure children in places such as Myanmar and China are educated. This makes a difference for emergency situations.

Education is so powerful, it is like a magic wand or like the hand of God. Many children can lead healthier lives because of the education given to authorities to deal with emergency situations and at the end of the day – this saves lives.

In school supported initiatives that UNICEF funds, children are given the basics on how to handle emergency situations and how to seek for help, as well as when to call for it.

This creates a situation where children have the opportunity to take control of their own destiny. As well as potentially save the lives of their parents and their siblings and other family.

Some of things that are taught are good sanitation practices for children. This helps them to avoid any diseases that can be spread through viruses. Children learn how to wash their hands as well as medical doctors do to guard against getting ill from all the germs that tend to exist in schools.

Due to this, one example of the effects of how this education is working effectively is that that whopping cough is down 44 percent. Diseases associated with diarrhea kill about 1.5 million children a year in China and Myanmar. Now, because of UNICEF, there are sanitation facilities provided right on the school grounds to help children live and fewer to die.

Source: http://fieldnotes.unicefusa.org/2008/06/education_is_a_magic_wand.html

Education Coverage Award

For awards in 2007, the Seattle P-I received 34 of them from the regional Society of Professional Journalists.

Staffers at the newspaper received 14 first place awards. The grand prize for education coverage went to Jessica Blanchard and Casey McNerthney. Their story was about the under-reporting of crime in Seattle schools called “School crimes under wraps.”

The Seattle Times received 53 awards.

Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/365369_spj31.html

Adult Education Award

Kim Heang Kinsey is the winner of the 22nd annual Literary Achievement Award in Wells-Ogunquit Community School District. She won for an essay called “Charity in Cambodia.”
Kinsey who is born and raised in Cambodia spent her early years in a refugee camp during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. She returned to live with her family in Cambodia. Her parents enrolled her in school and she has become a life-long learner.

She is currently taking adult education courses. During high school she did some English language instruction.

She is currently living in America with her American husband. She passed the Cambodian national test to become a teacher in 2006.