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Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change

3.13.10 - AUSTIN, Tex. — After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light

Bill Maher: New Rule: Let's Not Fire the Teachers When Students Don't Learn -- Let's Fire the Parents

3.13.10 - Last week, President Obama defended the firing of every single teacher in a struggling high school in a poor Rhode Island neighborhood. But according to all the studies, it doesn't matter what teachers do. What matters is what parents do.
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Arizona House moves to improve tuition tax credit program

3.10.10 - Through the magic of public access television, I recently watched debate before the state House of Representatives on bills to reform the tuition scholarship tax credit program. I'm happy to report that legislators engaged in a substantive discussion and adopted amendments from both parties.
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“Inferior National Standards: English Language Arts” -- by Donna Garner

3.12.10 - U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan waited until the state contracts were signed before he made the rest of the plan clear. He also waited until just a couple of weeks ago to reveal that the states must use 100% of the national standards and not just the 85% they had been told early-on.
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The Standards Themselves Are, Frankly, Irrelevant

3.12.10 - Neal McCluskey - Three days ago I reported that draft, grade-by-grade, national curricular standards would soon be released by the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Yesterday, they were. (If you want to get a sense for what the proposed standards are follow the link to them. Don’t bother with the appendices, though, unless you really want to get into the weeds.)
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Public Education: The Real Fix

3.13.10 - Peter Stern - I have a simpler solution. It will save a ton of tax dollars and achieve better learning outcomes. Teach children the basic needs in learning and life: reading, writing, math along with some basic science and core history.
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Democrats Link Student Loan Overhaul To Health Care Reform Bill

3.13.10 - WASHINGTON — Under White House pressure to act swiftly, House and Senate Democratic leaders reached for agreement Friday on President Barack Obama's health care bill, sweetened suddenly by fresh billions for student aid and a sense that breakthroughs are at hand.
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House Republicans, besting Democrats, will ban all earmarks

House Republicans said Thursday they will adopt a unilateral, one-year ban on funding requests for all member projects, or earmarks. House Democrats put forward a partial ban the day before.
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Banished! City forbids Bible studies in homes

3.13.10 - The city of Gilbert, Ariz., has ordered a group of seven adults to stop gathering for Bible studies in a private home because such meetings are forbidden by the city's zoning codes.
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The End of an Era in Finance

CAMBRIDGE - In the world of economics and finance, revolutions occur rarely and are often detected only in hindsight. But what happened on February 19 can safely be called the end of an era in global finance. On that day, the International Monetary F...
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