New Rule: Everyone deserves equal rights.

Bill Maher: New Rule: Everyone Deserves Equal Rights

New Rule: Everyone deserves equal rights. That's why they're called "equal" and "rights." Tomorrow night President Obama will speak before a gay rights group, and on Sunday there will be a massive gay rally in Washington, or as I call it, the Million Mo March. Which makes this weekend the perfect time for Obama to announce he's repealing "don't ask, don't tell" and committing to a full-throated endorsement of gay marriage. One, because it's the right thing to do and two, because it will throw the conservative base into such a frenzied, pants-shitting panic that they'll drop all that BS about death panels and socialism and let us all get some actual work done.

Education Week: Youth Push for Louder Conversation About Suicide

Education Week: Youth Push for Louder Conversation About Suicide:

"The topic of suicide makes many people squirm. It's something we've been told we're not supposed to talk about. If you speak it, someone might do it.

But there's a growing conversation about suicide that's happening on college campuses, in high school auditoriums and online — even among youth some might think are too young to consider suicide. The hope is that a public discussion between young people and the teachers and counselors who work with them could inspire peers in distress to get help."

High School Connections: Who's at the Leading Edge of Career-Tech Ed Policy?

High School Connections: Who's at the Leading Edge of Career-Tech Ed Policy?:

"Who's at the Leading Edge of Career-Tech Ed Policy?

As more people talk about the importance of college and workplace readiness, the evolution of career and technical education is worth keeping an eye on. In a recent brief, the Education Commission of the States describes state-level efforts that it considers 'ahead of the curve' in developing top-notch CTE programs.

It ain't voc-ed anymore, folks. Take a look here. States are infusing career and tech ed work into high school curricula and giving it core course credit. They're incorporating it into their accountability systems to ensure it's rigorous. They're creating what they say are new-age career tracks that will produce young people with enviable, practical skills, not just an impressive command of English literature (okay, there has been a tiny controversy about Louisiana's career diploma. But I digress...)."

Education Week: Sen. Boxer Plans Hearing on Toxic School Drinking Water

Education Week: Sen. Boxer Plans Hearing on Toxic School Drinking Water:

"The head of the U.S. Senate Environment Committee said Wednesday that legislators will hold hearings to address toxic drinking water in the nation's schools following an Associated Press probe into the widespread problem.

California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer called for the hearings to be held in Washington this year after an AP investigation revealed unsafe levels of lead, bacteria and pesticides have surfaced in the water supplies at thousands of schools. ('Nation's School Drinking Water Contains Toxins,' Sept. 25, 2009.)"

Education Week: Standards Aren't Enough

Education Week: Standards Aren't Enough:

"While Americans spent the summer watching shouting matches over health care, quiet but historic progress was being made on another of President Barack Obama’s domestic-policy priorities: getting schools to ask more of their students so that they graduate better prepared for life and work.

In late September, a new draft of national end-of-high-school standards intended to demand of students a greater depth of understanding of math, reading, and writing was unveiled. A philosophically diverse validation committee of senior scholars and practitioners has been appointed to examine the evidence supporting the standards and to recommend revisions. The next step will be to write standards for each grade, starting in kindergarten. ('New Standards Draft Offers More Details,' Sept. 30, 2009.)"

CPR: News Story | Kennedy Center Names Sacramento Inaugural City for Arts Education Initiative

CPR: News Story Kennedy Center Names Sacramento Inaugural City for Arts Education Initiative:

"It’s intended to offer an arts curriculum to every Sacramento student from kindergarten through eighth grade. For example, the Sacramento ballet might work with one grade level and the symphony with another.

Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser says the goal is make an arts education more constant and systematic – instead of the haphazard way it’s taught now.

Kaiser: “If a third grade teacher loves the arts, he or she might bring the class to many different arts experiences. Then those same children go to the fourth grade. And if the fourth grade teacher doesn’t love the arts or doesn’t know about the arts, then the children get no arts exposures. We don’t teach any other subject that way.”

All of the city’s school districts are participating in the program, as are the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, local organizations and Mayor Kevin Johnson’s new arts initiative.

Under the program, Kennedy Center staff will audit Sacramento’s schools over the next six months, then work with arts organizations to craft a curriculum that would start next fall.

The center wants other cities to join the program once it gets started."

Johnson Favors Railyards As New Kings Arena Site - cbs13.com

Johnson Favors Railyards As New Kings Arena Site - cbs13.com:

"Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is speaking out about plans for a new arena.

Mayor Johnson says he prefers the downtown railyards as a site. Johnson says he recently spoke to NBA commissioner David Stern who had this warning:

'Sacramento's a great market and we want to be here and we're committed to keeping the Kings in Sacramento, but know that there has to be an entertainment complex that is consistent with competition around the country.'

Mayor Johnson says building an arena is a top priority and says he's trying find a way to pay for it."

Watch video: http://www.cbs13.com/video/?id=61499@kovr.dayport.com

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled... Schools Still Not Gauging What Works

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled... Schools Still Not Gauging What Works:

"San Diego Unified still needs a way to evaluate whether programs have worked, according to an internal report on instruction slated to go to the school board Tuesday.

Employees noticed the same problem earlier this year, in a similar report. The school district has introduced more innovative programs this year, such as a program to boost attendance and a mentoring program that is being expanded with stimulus money, but there is no systematic way to measure whether each program met its stated goals, the report found."

But fixing that could be a problem: "There are staffing resource needs in the area of Research and Evaluation associated with the development and consistent implementation of this process that would need to be addressed before undertaking a project of this magnitude," the report says. Translation: It would take more people to do that than San Diego Unified now has.This finding was especially interesting to me after writing about the extinct High School Readiness Program, which suffered a lot of logistical problems and hasn't had a clear verdict of whether it worked. Another example might be the City Heights Educational Collaborative, which is an outside effort that didn't set clear goals.

House Votes to Expand Hate Crimes Definition - NYTimes.com

House Votes to Expand Hate Crimes Definition - NYTimes.com:

"WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to expand the definition of violent federal hate crimes to those committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation, a step that would extend new protection to lesbian, gay and transgender people."

Democrats hailed the vote of 281 to 146, which brought the measure to the brink of becoming law, as the culmination of a long push to curb violent expressions of bias like the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student.

“Left unchecked, crimes of this kind threaten to ruin the very fabric of America,” said Representative Susan A. Davis, Democrat of California, a leading supporter of the legislation.

Under current federal law, hate crimes that fall under federal jurisdiction are defined as those motivated by the victim’s race, color, religion or national origin.

UC Students Gear Up for Oct. 24 Conference. Category: Front Page News from The Berkeley Daily Planet - Thursday October 08, 2009

UC Students Gear Up for Oct. 24 Conference. Category: Front Page News from The Berkeley Daily Planet - Thursday October 08, 2009:

"About 200 students gathered in Lower Sproul Plaza Sept. 30 to discuss the upcoming Oct. 24 mobilizing conference at UC Berkeley, potentially the next big event planned in protest of the university’s budget cuts, furloughs and fee hikes.

Various student groups that took part in the Sept. 24 faculty and student walkout in the 10-campus UC system organized Wednesday’s general assembly in front of Eshelman Hall for students to brainstorm ideas for future protests or other forms of action.

A group of UC Berkeley students moderating the meeting described it as “an open forum for all groups to come together,” calling the walkout the “first time faculty, staff and students had come together in a show of solidarity.”

Later that night, students met to form three committees—the general assembly committee, an Oct. 24 committee and a peace committee which would ensure that all future protests were non-violent."

Commentary: Teen murders aren't about race - CNN.com

Commentary: Teen murders aren't about race - CNN.com:

"SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Those of us in the U.S. can be so smug about what we think we know about why some teenagers turn into bloodthirsty predators -- even when it turns out that we don't know much.

Frankly, we might know more if we didn't jump to conclusions and let our prejudices get in the way.

After the videotaped beating death of Derrion Albert, a 16-year-old African-American honors student in Chicago, Illinois, I criticized President Obama for avoiding public comment about the tragedy and thus blowing the opportunity to have the first African-American president address the issue of black-on-black crime."

Perriello adds amendment for early childhood education | GoDanRiver

Perriello adds amendment for early childhood education GoDanRiver:

"The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act moving through Congress includes an amendment from Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th District, to even out funding between rural and urban areas for early childhood education programs.

Perriello held a conference call Thursday with Rep. George Miller, D-California, chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, who described the SAFRA bill as “an historical act.”

“(This legislation) is the largest commitment by the federal government to higher education in our his-tory,” Miller said.

The bill, H.R. 3221, would improve college accessibility through an overhaul of the federal student loan process by creating a direct loan program in 2010. The program will form a public-private partnership and take the place of taxpayer-subsidized lenders, keeping the loan program “entirely insulated from market swings,” according to a news release from the education and labor committee."

School chef pushes fresh food

School chef pushes fresh food:

"Childhood obesity in America 'is something we can change,' a Baltimore schools chef told a congressional panel Thursday, describing a school garden where students 'plant a seed, pick a tomato ... and taste the flavor explode in their mouth.'"


The experience "forever changes the way a kid looks at food," said chef Anthony Geraci.

As Congress prepares to overhaul school nutrition programs, it is drawing on food guru Alice Waters' radical school-garden experiment in Berkeley in 1995 that has caught fire nationwide. The aim is to change the relationship between children and food to help blunt a public health catastrophe.

The federal government feeds breakfasts and lunches to 32 million schoolchildren at a cost of about $14 billion a year. At the same time, obesity and the chronic diseases that accompany it cost nearly $150 billion a year in added health care spending and kill more than 100,000 Americans each year.Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/10/09/MN681A309R.DTL#ixzz0TRSwzMLv

As We See It: Tough choices for UCSC - Santa Cruz Sentinel

As We See It: Tough choices for UCSC - Santa Cruz Sentinel:

"All the discussion over the future of higher education in California reminds us of the old saw 'all politics is local.'

The University of California, perhaps the best public university system in the world in terms of quality of research, is in the midst of a historic crisis. With a drastic cut in state funding, campuses are being forced to furlough employees and impose steep fee hikes for students.

This is true at UC Santa Cruz, just as it is in Berkeley, Davis or San Diego, and other UC campuses. Fortunately, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal has been willing to make some tough choices in the name of preserving the university's core missions of education and research.

That's the local part."

Op-Ed Columnist - The Uneducated American - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - The Uneducated American - NYTimes.com:

"If you had to explain America’s economic success with one word, that word would be “education.” In the 19th century, America led the way in universal basic education. Then, as other nations followed suit, the “high school revolution” of the early 20th century took us to a whole new level. And in the years after World War II, America established a commanding position in higher education."

But that was then. The rise of American education was, overwhelmingly, the rise of public education — and for the past 30 years our political scene has been dominated by the view that any and all government spending is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Education, as one of the largest components of public spending, has inevitably suffered.

Until now, the results of educational neglect have been gradual — a slow-motion erosion of America’s relative position. But things are about to get much worse, as the economic crisis — its effects exacerbated by the penny-wise, pound-foolish behavior that passes for “fiscal responsibility” in Washington — deals a severe blow to education across the board.

Pew Hispanic Center study reveals blocks in Latinos' road to college | thecalifornian.com | The Salinas Californian

Pew Hispanic Center study reveals blocks in Latinos' road to college thecalifornian.com The Salinas Californian:

"A new Pew Hispanic Center survey found that 90 percent of Latino students say it's 'necessary' to get a college education to get ahead in life — more than any other ethnic or racial groups in the country — but financial pressures are keeping them from attending college.The study shows that Latino students want to go to college just as much as their peers, but they face more barriers.Nearly 74 percent of those students who dropped out of high school or didn't finish college say they did it to help support their families. An additional 40 percent said they cannot afford school.The national survey of young Latinos was conducted between Aug. 9 and Sept. 16. The results were released Wednesday."

Big Hollywood » Blog Archive » In Defense of Obama’s Safe School Czar (Sort Of) – or I Was A Teenage ‘Lolito’

Big Hollywood » Blog Archive » In Defense of Obama’s Safe School Czar (Sort Of) – or I Was A Teenage ‘Lolito’:

"Which brings me to the fracas over Obama czar number five hundred and… well, who’s counting. The conservative blogosphere has been in an uproar because Kevin Jennings – the (deep breath) Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education, or “Safe School Czar” - failed, in 1988, while still a mere teacher, to advise a 15-year-old boy (according to some reports, he might have been older) to stop having sex with adult men (in particular one man the teenager had met in a public restroom). Instead, Jennings reminded the boy to “play safe,” and use condoms.

To be honest, I don’t see what the big deal is. Based on his own experience, Jennings probably figured it was no use trying to convince the boy to stop seeing the man – take it from me, that would have had the exact opposite effect – so the more practical tack was to urge the kid to at least protect himself, ASAP, as Jennings did. Let’s not forget the high suicide rate among gay youth; twenty years ago, that teenager surely needed somebody to talk to."

Suit looming against California over school funding - San Jose Mercury News

Suit looming against California over school funding - San Jose Mercury News:

"Top California school leaders said they soon will sue the state over chronically underfunded schools — a move that in other states has infused billions of dollars into school systems.

California spends $35.7 billion, or about 30 percent of its budget, on its 10,000 public K-12 schools. Like other state programs, education has suffered waves of cuts in two years as state revenues have shrunk. In per-pupil spending, California ranks anywhere from 30th to 47th among states, depending on how cost of living is adjusted.

The California Constitution requires the Legislature 'to provide for a system of common schools by which a free school shall be kept up and supported.' The suit will allege that the state violates that provision by not ensuring adequate support."

Funding grab? 'F' | Editorials | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California

Funding grab? 'F' Editorials PE.com Southern California News News for Inland Southern California:

"California schools cannot realistically expect to get more money from a state government mired in deficit. Education interests should be more focused on seeking reforms that allow the most effective use of available funding, which would improve California's school system regardless of current budget woes.

The California School Boards Association, which represents elected school trustees, plans to sue the state over inadequate school funding, according to news reports this week. Just what suing the state might accomplish was not clear, however. The current budget already features a $7 billion to $8 billion deficit, which could easily grow to $10 billion or more by 2010-11.

And the state will likely face huge budget shortfalls for years to come. About all a lawsuit would do is further obstruct the process of setting rational priorities for the use of public funds."

Sacramento Mayor Johnson aids Read for the Record - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Mayor Johnson aids Read for the Record - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson received positive reviews Thursday from young patients at Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California after reading the classic book 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' as part of a worldwide read-a-thon."