Extra Credit Reading: Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Did you hear about the jerks person or persons unknown who attempted to burn down their own brand-new school building?

The British education system has its problems too, where 7-in-10 children have reported that they've been bullied at school.

U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has once again been ballyhooing the federal No Child Left Behind Act. This time around, the action happened at a conference of the Education Trust. Here's a key quip from Washington's EduCrat-in-Chief:

That's why I'm proud for the first time ever we as a nation are holding ourselves accountable for making sure all students learn. Last year, all 50 states assessed every student in grades 3-8 in both reading and math and broke down the results to make sure minority and low-income students aren't falling behind.

We've set a historic goal to ensure every child—regardless of race, income, or zip code—can read and do math at grade level. And we've given ourselves a deadline to do it by 2014 because parents have waited long enough.

As you know, No Child Left Behind is up for reauthorization next year. President Bush recently said reauthorizing this law is one of his top priorities, and there's a lot at stake. Over the next year, you'll hear people say we need to lower standards and water down accountability. I strongly disagree. We cannot—and we must not—turn back the clock. And I'm looking forward to working with Congress and organizations like Ed Trust to make sure we keep our commitment to leave no child behind. All of you here today know we can—and we must—do this.

This year's Christmas Tree Controversy is getting started early, with Alabama's Auburn University lighting the way.

It appears as though a Columbine-type massacre has been averted at McNeil High School in Round Rock, Texas.

Here's something that we don't read everyday: A high school student who has been arrested and charged with groping his teacher.

In the seemingly-endless EduWar between supporters of Intelligent Design and the teaching of Evolution, the latest dispatch from the Michigan Front will be viewed as a victory by Evolutionaries everywhere.

It looks as though quite a battle is shaping-up for control of the Los Angeles Unified School District, with no fewer than 8 candidates announcing their intentions. --------------------------------See our latest EduPosts here and yesterday's Extra Credit Reading there.