If you brag, don't you need to credit the little people
My fair state of Indiana decided it would keen to give every parent a two-color booklet (8.5 x 11) for every Core 40 class that the student is enrolled in. The inside cover claims that these are "world-class Standards" (whatever that means).
I was checking the California (home for 18 years) Education website and found something peculuar: California had the >same wording on its 10th grade English course as Indiana.
"Those cheats plagarized our "'world class" standards!" I huffed.
Not really...we've been wondering where our "WC" standards came from in the first place.
Indiana's standards were "official" in 2000; California's were adopted in Dec. 1997.
Someone didn't credit their sources.

Bibles and Schools are rival gangs
Apparently, a school didn't like that some students passed out religious messaged candy canes before Christmas (I mean, Winter Holiday). So the students bypassed the essay and went for suit.
Speaking of religious intollerance in schools, my home state isn't too keen on students learning about religious literature in a class. Even the Freedom Forum doesn't deny that educational venture.

Everyone is important
I found that a line from a book by the National School Board Association to be interesting:

"Excellence in the classroom begins with excellence in the Board Room."

Even in a simple Google search (because that is where are the questions are answered correctly) didn't mention the Board Room.

President Celebrates First Anny of Ed Reform Bill
"No Child Left Behind" is the mantra in the land across U.S. schools. Some revere the law and speak it as it were a name for Jehovah; others shutter at the thought of speaking its name as those in Harry Potter's universe refer to the really bad guy.

Here's some highlights from the President's celebration/press moment last week:

A theme of the bill:
"Accountability for results is now the law of the land. "

The overtones of "schools as business" melody in the key of more testing for more information:
"In return for a lot of money, the federal government, for the first time, is asking, are we getting the kind of return the American people want for every child. The only way to be sure of whether or not every child is learning is to test regularly and to show everybody, especially the parents, the results of the tests."

A seemingly paradoxical statement...
"I believe in local control of schools. And this principle is inherent in this bill.
The key choices about curriculum and teaching methods will be made at the state and local level. Input will be given by parents and teachers and principals who know the local culture best. Parents and educators will not be bystanders in education reform. As a matter of fact, in our view, they are the agents of education reform. And this law upholds that principle, as well."

I would like to talk with those who opposed the law (not many) and see why they didn't vote it in. The plan seems logical, but school reforms haven't faired too well over the past century.