Adderall Receives Honorary Degree From Harvard | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Adderall Receives Honorary Degree From Harvard | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Adderall Receives Honorary Degree From Harvard

MAY 31, 2010 | ISSUE 46•22

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CAMBRIDGE, MA—Citing the drug's extensive contributions to almost every field of academia, Harvard conferred an honorary doctoral degree upon a 30-day supply of Adderall during the university's 359th commencement exercises Thursday.

Harvard president Drew Faust lists Adderall's accomplishments.

Resting on a wooden dais throughout the ceremony, the synthetic psychostimulant was warmly praised by Harvard president Drew Faust, who called Adderall a stirring testament to what the human mind can achieve when chemically altered by a combination of dextroamphetamine and racemic DL-amphetamine salts.

"Harvard is proud to honor the tremendous merits of Adderall, without which many of you would not be sitting here today," Faust said in her opening address to the nearly 1,900 unblinking and intensely focused students receiving their diplomas. "I don't think I'm exaggerating matters when I say that Adderall has been an inspiration to us all."

The psychologically addictive drug then received resounding applause from the

Chefs Answer the First Lady's Call to Join Let's Move! | The White House

Chefs Answer the First Lady's Call to Join Let's Move! | The White House

Chefs Answer the First Lady's Call to Join Let's Move!

by The White House

Chefs Move to Schools program to help educate kids about food and nutrition
THE WHITE HOUSE – More than 500 chefs filled the South Lawn of the White House today to join First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to solve the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation. Participating chefs have answered Mrs. Obama’s call to get involved by joining the Chefs Move to Schools program, run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Children consume as many as half of their daily calories at school, and with more than 31 million children participating in the National School Lunch Program and more than 11 million participating in the National School Breakfast Program, good nutrition at school is more important than ever,” said Mrs. Obama. “Chefs have tremendous power as leaders on this issue because of their deep knowledge of food and nutrition and their ability to deliver these messages in a fun and delicious way and I want to thank them for joining the Chefs Move to Schools campaign.”
The Let’s Move! campaign is engaging every sector impacting the health of children to achieve the national goal, and will provide schools, families and communities simple tools to help kids be more active, eat better, and get healthy. Chefs in the Chefs Move to Schools program will adopt a school in their community and work with teachers, parents, school nutritionists and administrators to help educate kids about food and nutrition, create healthy meals that meet the schools’ dietary guidelines and budgets, and teach young people about making balanced and healthy choices.
At the launch of the Let’s Move! campaign, Mrs. Obama announced that the Obama Administration, with the private sector and the non-profit community, will take the following steps to get healthier food in our nation’s schools:
Reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act: The Administration requested an historic investment to improve the quality of the National School Lunch and Breakfast program with more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products and increase the number of kids participating in these programs. The Administration is also working to make sure schools are prepared to provide nutritious meals, through training for school food service workers and grants for upgraded kitchen equipment that were recently awarded to schools.
The Reauthorization bill is moving through Congress with bipartisan support. A majority of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives from both parties have signed letters calling for swift passage of a bill
Double the number of schools participating in the Healthier US School Challenge: The Healthier US School Challenge establishes rigorous standards for schools’ food quality, participation in meal programs, physical activity, and nutrition education – the key components that make for healthy and active kids – and provides recognition for schools that meet these standards. Over the next school year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, working with partners in schools and the private sector, will double the number of schools that meet the Healthier US School Challenge and add 1,000 schools per year for two years after that.
Key stakeholder groups also committed to improve the nutritional quality of school meals across the country including:
Major School Food Suppliers: Sodexho, Chartwells School Dining Services, and Aramark committed to meet the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations within five years to decrease the amount of sugar, fat and salt in school meals; increase whole grains; and double the amount of produce they serve within 10 years.

US court weighs school discipline for Web posts | Technology Headlines | Comcast.net

US court weighs school discipline for Web posts | Technology Headlines | Comcast.net

ARYCLAIRE DALE, AP
21 hours ago
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A U.S. appeals court heard arguments Thursday over whether school officials can discipline students for making lewd, harassing or juvenile Internet postings from off-campus computers.

Two students from two different Pennsylvania school districts are fighting suspensions they received for posting derisive profiles of their principals on MySpace from home computers. The American Civil Liberties Union argued that school officials infringe on student's free speech rights when they reach beyond school grounds in such cases to impose discipline.

"While children are in school, they are under the custody and tutelage of the school," ACLU lawyer Witold Walczak argued Thursday in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "Once they leave the schoolhouse gate, you've got parents that come into play."

But a lawyer for the Hermitage School District in western Pennsylvania offered a different view.

"It's not a matter of where you throw the grenade, it's where the grenade lands," Anthony Sanchez said.

The appeals court agreed to rehear the two cases in a rare en banc session — with all 14 eligible judges on the bench — after its judges issued conflicting rulings in the two cases in February. One three-judge panel upheld a girl's suspension, while another found the suspension of a boy unconstitutional.

Such disparities are common around the country as school districts wrestle with how to address online behavior that can range from pranks to threats to cyberbullying.

Some school officials mete out discipline, opening themselves to lawsuits, or refer cases to police. Occasionally, a targeted school employee sues the suspected culprit for defamation.

David L. Hudson Jr., a scholar at the First Amendment Center in Nashville, Tenn., has reviewed many such cases across the country and said the extent of school officials' jurisdiction remains unsettled.

Legal experts hope the Supreme Court will soon clarify the limits of school discipline for online speech that is posted offsite. Hudson told The Associated Press many school officials "would welcome further elucidation by the courts."

The two school districts argued Thursday that the postings can be disruptive at school, and said they

Nation & World | 4-day school weeks gain popularity across US | Seattle Times Newspaper

Nation & World | 4-day school weeks gain popularity across US | Seattle Times Newspaper

4-day school weeks gain popularity across US

During the school year, Mondays in this rural Georgia community are for video games, trips to grandma's house and hanging out at the neighborhood community center.

By DORIE TURNER

Associated Press Writer

FORT VALLEY, Ga. —

During the school year, Mondays in this rural Georgia community are for video games, trips to grandma's house and hanging out at the neighborhood community center.

Don't bother showing up for school. The doors are locked and the lights are off.

Peach County is one of more than 120 school districts across the country where students attend school just four days a week, a cost-saving tactic gaining popularity among cash-strapped districts struggling to make ends meet. The 4,000-student district started shaving a day off its weekly school calendar last year to help fill a $1 million budget shortfall.

It was that or lay off 39 teachers the week before school started, said Superintendent Susan Clark.

"We're treading water," Clark said as she stood outside the headquarters of her seven-school district. "There was nothing else for us to do."

The results? Test scores went up.

So did attendance - for both students and teachers. The district is spending one-third of what it once did on substitute teachers, Clark said.

And the graduation rate likely will be more than 80 percent for the first time in years, Clark said.

The four days that students are in school are slightly longer and more crowded with classes and activities. After school, students can get tutoring in subjects where they're struggling.

On their off day, students who don't have other options attend "Monday care" at area churches and the local

This Week In Education: USDE: List of States Making RTTT-Related Changes

This Week In Education: USDE: List of States Making RTTT-Related Changes

USDE: List of States Making RTTT-Related Changes

by Alexander Russo

Here's the list from the USDE to go along with the claim that 23 states have made changes to their laws to try and win RTTT funding. Make of it what you will.
Standards- States that have signed onto the State Standards Initiative Charters- States that have enacted legislation creating or expanding the number of charter schools Teacher Quality- States that have enacted legislation that ties/will tie teacher evaluations to student data or removed the “firewall” on student data. Teacher Contracts- New contracts that address student achievement in teacher compensation.
STANDARDS . 48 states and the District of Columbia have joined a national partnership led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to develop a common core of new, rigorous college and career-ready standards in reading and math.
CHARTERS Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Utah, New York, and Tennessee have all altered laws or policies to create or expand the number of charter schools.Kentucky, Mississippi, and Idaho are considering similar legislation to create or expand the number of charter schools. South Dakota has created legislation allowing for the creation of a pilot Native American charter school if it receives a federal grant to do so.

PG&E Commits Facebook Identity Theft for Prop 16 | California Progress Report

PG&E Commits Facebook Identity Theft for Prop 16 | California Progress Report

PG&E Commits Facebook Identity Theft for Prop 16

Posted on 04 June 2010

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By Paul Hogarth

Several weeks ago, I noticed that one of my friends on Facebook was a “fan” of Proposition 16 - PG&E’s Monopoly Protection Act that is easily the worst measure on the June ballot. After I chewed him out for it, he expressed shock to even be on that page. Apparently, PG&E had added him on as a supporter without his consent.

Today, just as the Prop 16 campaign boasted that it now has 50,000 “fans” on Facebook, I received a press release from the Sunrise Center in Marin County - who complained that some of their own staffers (who are working hard to defeat Prop 16) have also been added as “fans.” Besides exposing a serious loophole in Facebook’s privacy features, it also proves that PG&E’s $40 million campaign to pass Prop 16 includes committing identity theft.

Christy Michaels, the Corte Madera-based Sunrise Center office manager, said she was surprised to hear from a friend that an ad showed up on her friend’s Facebook page claiming, “Christy Michaels likes Prop 16.” When Christy went online she found she was named as a supporter of PG&E-funded Prop 16 on the Sunrise Center Facebook page and her personal page.

Women’s Energy Matters (WEM) is reporting these incidents to the Secretary of State, Attorney General, California Public Utilities Commission and State Senator Mark Leno, asking for immediate investigations and injunctions against PG&E and Facebook. WEM, Christy, and Kiki are advocates for Marin Clean Energy, the community-run alternative to PG&E that launched May 7th and provides local residents and businesses twice the renewable energy as PG&E at the same cost. If Prop 16 passes, local communities

LAUSD Robots Only Follow Orders... - Perdaily.com

LAUSD Robots Only Follow Orders... - Perdaily.com

LAUSD Robots Only Follow Orders...

by Leonard

Just when I thought it couldn't get more bizarre... I met with my Principal Janet Seary and Ignacio Garcia of LAUSD Staff Relations today, because it was Seary's intention to issue me another Notice of Unsatisfactory Acts and another 15-day Suspension for alleged acts on my parts that go back as much as 8 months to September 29, 2009. Surprise, this wasn't one Notice of Unsat and one 15-day Suspension, but rather two.

When I asked Ignacio Garcia if he had read the answers to these new charges, he said he had, but that "these were only preliminary finds and not as yet conclusions." So my next question to him was, "Since you've already waited 8 months, why not wait a little longer to see if there is any validity to the charges?" He responded, "The charges and penalties are not being imposed at this time." But this is only true, because I have a right to appeal the charges which tolls their implementation- something I should not have to do if there was not a preponderance of the evidence showing that I had done something wrong, which Garcia admitted there wasn't at this time.

I queried him on whether it wouldn't have been more reasonable to complete the investigation to ascertain whether I was in fact guilt of anything charged, since to hit me with charges with admittedly no reasonable belief on the part of LAUSD at this time that they were in fact valid was abuse of process, harassment, and a violation

Teacher Magazine: Fixing NCLB: How Testing Hurts Disadvantaged Kids

Teacher Magazine: Fixing NCLB: How Testing Hurts Disadvantaged Kids

Fixing NCLB: How Testing Hurts Disadvantaged Kids

By Renee Moore

Premium article access courtesy of TeacherMagazine.org.

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I’ve been part of a group of determined teachers from around the nation working to engage in direct discussions with the Obama administration about its blueprint for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (known for the past decade as No Child Left Behind). Some of us thought it might be a good time to write about issues related to the Blueprint, and why we think seeking the expertise of successful teachers might help lawmakers develop better policies.

One of the first points identified by teachers as a problem is that the proposed plan continues to place an emphasis on high-stakes accountability through standardized test scores. What's wrong with a big focus on test scores? Don't we need to know how students are performing?

I'm going to revisit a past post from my blog TeachMoore as I begin to answer. Here’s what I wrote:

I recently had opportunity to talk with some parents, including some who were my former students. One of the most profound and disturbing

What Would Yoda Do? Teachers Tweet About Their World - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

What Would Yoda Do? Teachers Tweet About Their World - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

What Would Yoda Do? Teachers Tweet About Their World

An Insider View For Parents & Educators:

The Jedi Approach For Teacher Professional Development

Creative Show Below

"If you're not having fun, your students probably aren't either."

"Open classroom doors and let other teachers in to help us reflect and hone our practice.
It's not as scary as it seems."

Want a glimpse behind-the-scenes of what teachers think about their own development?

A "call for submissions" from The Journal Of Curriculum and Pedagogy inspired three to respond in a collaborative mode by leveraging their social networks (PLN - Professional Learning Network). The topic up for discussion was how the influence of our digital culture was affecting pedagogy (teaching) and curriculum for teachers and schools. Rather than submit a formal scholarly essay, Rodd Lucier, Ben Hazzard and Kathy Hibbert decided to walk their talk by presenting this topic via tweets from Twitter from colleagues and contacts in the teaching profession.

Their sub-topic: A Jedi Approach to Professional Development For Teachers
The challenge: Message must be 140 characters or

Secretary Duncan Visits Durham to Highlight Role of HBCUs, Reiterate Call to Save Education Jobs – ED.gov Blog

Secretary Duncan Visits Durham to Highlight Role of HBCUs, Reiterate Call to Save Education Jobs – ED.gov Blog

Secretary Duncan Visits Durham to Highlight Role of HBCUs, Reiterate Call to Save Education Jobs

Yesterday Secretary Duncan travelled to Durham, North Carolina, where he spoke at North Carolina Central University’s Setting the Agenda for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Symposium and visited Southern High School for a panel discussion on saving teachers jobs.
In his remarks, Secretary Duncan praised North Carolina’s HBCUs for their successful efforts to elevate access to higher education and raise academic standards, noting their study abroad programs, self-evaluative research, and smooth transition to Direct Lending. He also emphasized the need for stronger teacher preparation and a greater commitment to raising college completion rates, stressing the lack of black male teachers and the high dropout rate among minority students.
Dr. John Wilson, Jr., Executive Director for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, joined Secretary Duncan at the meeting with hundreds of representatives of HBCUs and affiliates at the Symposium.
Secretary Duncan then headed to Southern High School, where he talked with students, congratulating them on their upcoming graduation and encouraging them to pursue their personal passion. He participated in a panel discussion with Governor Bev Perdue, Congressman Bob Etheridge, and Durham County School Board Chairwoman Minnie Forte-Brown about the threat of education job losses and the negative impact on academic progress. Duncan called on Congress to act quickly on a $23 billion bill to prevent education job cuts, drawing attention to the potential 10,000 education jobs the bill could support in North Carolina.
“Without these funds, teachers could lose jobs, schools may have to cancel summer programs, end vital extracurricular courses like gym, art, drama and decrease the time our kids spend in school,” said Secretary Duncan. “We can’t afford to take a step back. This has to happen now.”
During the panel, Duncan also commended North Carolina for their efforts to raise their academic standards. Local morning headlines announced the State Board of Education’s Wednesday meeting where members planned to adopt common standards for math and English for public school children. The state’s adoption is part of an almost year-long initiative lead by the National Governors Association where 48 states came together to pursue high common education standards.
Liz Utrup
Office of Communications and Outreach

ED Global Engagement Update

“All of us must recognize that education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century.”
One year ago today, President Obama delivered a speech in Cairo titled “A New Beginning.” The President reminded us in his remarks that “change cannot happen overnight” and that while much anticipated, it was only a speech. But here at the Department of Education, the President’s words catalyzed much change in the past year.
Secretary Duncan has led ED in active engagement with the Muslim world at home and abroad. Senior ED officials have traveled to Morocco, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia this year. Secretary Duncan blogged at for the White House about a video conference he held with students from Washington DC and Jordan and led a panel on youth entrepreneurship with colleagues from Pakistan, Indonesia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship. Secretary Duncan has met with Ministers of Education from around the world, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Last June, ED’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education joined the State Department and U.S. AID in hosting a conference on community and technical colleges in Amman, Jordan. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Pakistan, and Jordan are among the countries working with U.S. institutions to connect education and workforce development in high-tech, high-demand fields. ED collaborated with State to launch a small grants program to support institutional partnerships between US community colleges and technical colleges in the BMENA region, which was announced by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton as part of a portfolio of programs designed to improve educational and economic opportunities in Muslim-majority nations.
The Cooperative Civic Education and Economic Education Exchange Program provides grants to improve the quality of civic and economic education through cooperative exchange programs with emerging democracies. Currently, there are CCEEEEP-funded projects in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Uzbekistan.

ED has supported engagement with the Muslim world for many years and often decades through programs and exchanges. ED’s National Resource Centers, Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad, Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad, Centers for International Business Education, Foreign Language and Area Studies, Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad, Americans Overseas Research Centers, Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program, Business and International Education and Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information Access are all opportunities for global engagement. These grants can support projects that develop, maintain, or enhance linkages with overseas institutions of higher education or other educational organizations in areas with substantial Muslim populations in order to improve understanding of these societies and provide for greater engagement with institutions in these areas. Or they send students, teachers and faculty overseas for language instruction, group research or study, and other purposes. These grants support foreign language instruction in the US and business education abroad. This year, these programs supported engagement with Muslim majority countries across the globe.
ED’s Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnership has reached out to Muslim communities in the U.S. in a variety of ways, including visits with Muslim students, parents and faith leaders from California to Illinois, Arkansas to Washington DC.
“We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning.”
Here at the Department of Education, we have tried to use the power that we have to make a new beginning for young people in the United States and across the world. This is the President’s challenge, and we will continue to work toward the vision he expressed in Cairo.
Lauren Lowenstein
Office of the Secretary