One of the few cases I was following this year on the Supreme Court docket was Safford United School District v. Redding, a case out of Arizona where a 13 year old girl was search-stripped by school officials because of a "tip" that she had some ibuprofin. (She didn't, as it turned out). I sketched the full details out in … Read More
NC Anti-Bullying Statute Debate [UPDATE: Passes!]
I'm listening to the feed from the NC House as they debate the School Violence Prevention Act (the so-called anti-bullying bill) — full text here — and some moron is up there saying that the problem with the bill is that it is centered around the victims, rather than the bullies. According to this idiot, anyone can be victims, so … Read More
Kudos To Brittani McCalister
She's a Terre Haute student and she is graduating from high school this year, which is nice enough, but in addition…. Brittani McCalister has never missed a day of school in 13 years, kindergarten through grade 12. In fact, she has not missed one minute of school in all those years. The 2009 West Vigo High School graduate has never been … Read More
Corporal Punishment In NC Schools: If We Can Beat Mules, Why Not Kids?
North Carolina is one of the few states that permits educators to hit students. Although the practice has been banned by some school districts in this state, 60 of the 115 school districts think that a teacher walloping a kid is a good way to maintain discipline. That has prompted legislation about corporal punishment in schools. A bill is now … Read More
I Salute The Texas School Board
Dallas News: AUSTIN – In a decision watched by science educators across the nation, the State Board of Education on Thursday narrowly turned aside a last-ditch effort by social conservatives to require that "weaknesses" in the theory of evolution be taught in science classes in Texas. Board members deadlocked 7-7 on a motion to restore a longtime curriculum rule that … Read More
Palin Rejects 31% Of Federal Stimulus Money
First Mark Sandford, Governor of South Carolina. He rejected stimulus money. Now Sarah Palin. She's rejecting 31% of the federal stimulus money. What do these two have in common? They both have their eye on a 2012 presidential run. They want to be able to get up before the crowds and say, "I said 'thanks but no thanks' when they … Read More
And I Want A Masters Degree In Magic
Oy: State Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler) proposed House Bill 2800 when he learned that The Institute for Creation Research (ICR), a private institution that specializes in the education and research of biblical creationism, was not able to receive a certificate of authority from Texas' Higher Education Coordinating Board to grant Master of Science degrees. Berman's bill would allow private, non-profit … Read More
Broad-based Sex Education Popular In North Carolina
From Public Policy Polling survey results released earlier this week, the question was asked: A bill being considered in the Legislature would give parents the choice of having their children receive comprehensive sex education or abstinence only sex education. Would you support this proposal? 69% said "yes"; 31% said "no". Even conservatives (58%) and Republicans (54%) supported the bill by a … Read More
NYU Protests
Student occupations of the administration buildings, police whopping students, pepper spray… it's like the 60's, man. Some setbacks apparently… New York Times: The students pushed tables and chairs against the doors, and a woman with a megaphone outlined the group’s demands. They included a full and annual reporting of the university’s operating budget, expenditures and endowment. The students also demanded … Read More
PreCalculus For Christians
A series of math books published by the Bob Jones University Press is virtually guaranteed to make students stupider. Exhibit A is Precalculus For Christian Schools: "A line can be described either by its slope (a ratio) or by its inclination (an angle). These terms describe the deviation from the horizontal, but the word inclination also has a non-mathematical meaning. … Read More
Nathan Tabor On Evolution and Gays
Our locally-living nationally-syndicated columnist, Nathan Tabor, is a howl today. After trying to make the argument that Obama's policies will effectively result in genocide of African-Americans (yes, he really makes that argument), Tabor writes: But blacks are not the only minority group which could suffer under the Democratic regime in Washington. Democratic leaders believe that children must be taught evolution, … Read More
Stupidity Among Teachers
The full story is here, but it boils down to this: 1. Art teacher tells students to draw a scary mask in art class. 2. One student draws this: (The art teacher even helped with the shading of the eyelids). 3. Student gets in hot water for the "troubling" drawing, and isn't allowed back into school until he undergoes psychiatric … Read More
Since When Is Ignorance A Virtue?
So here’s the latest scandal rocking the Obama campaign…. Last week, Obama said this: Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English — they’ll learn English — you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about, how can your child become bilingual? We should have every child speaking more than one language. You … Read More
More Name Games From The ID Crowd
"Creationism" didn’t work. "Creation science" didn’t work. "Intelligent design" didn’t work. So how do the creationists intend to get biblical teachings into our public schools now? Another name for the same thing: The words are “strengths and weaknesses.” Starting this summer, the state education board will determine the curriculum for the next decade and decide whether the “strengths and weaknesses” … Read More
The End Of The Banana
Will the banana cease to be? The banana we eat today is not the one your grandparents ate. That one – known as the Gros Michel – was, by all accounts, bigger, tastier, and hardier than the variety we know and love, which is called the Cavendish. The unavailability of the Gros Michel is easily explained: it is virtually extinct. … Read More