by Jason on March 4, 2010
According to an article in today’s Columbus Dispatch, Ohio is among the top finalists to receive money from the federal government through the “Race To the Top” program to increase achievement in our state. In the application, Ohio states that it will:
The state’s goals include: increasing the high school graduation rate to 88 percent, up 2 percent; reducing graduation rate gaps between minority and majority students by 50 percent; reducing performance gaps on state and national assessments by 50 percent; and reducing by half the gap between Ohio and the best performing states in the nation on national reading and math tests.
As an educator at the secondary and post-secondary levels, it is my opinion that we must focus most of our energy on reducing the achievement gap between majority and minority students. As we all know, there are a plethora of reasons for which this gap exists, but that does not mean that we should ever rest in our efforts to erase this gap.
More research must be done to develop new and innovative ways to reach all of our students. Until we can claim that our minority students score equal to the Caucasian students on measures such as grades, graduation rate, and standardized testing, then we continue to fail those students that need the most help.
by Jason on February 17, 2009
I ask this question in all seriousness. We have a beheading of a woman in the state of New York and hear very little about it. This seems very strange to me. If a woman is decapitated by her husband, it should be news.
The founder of a U.S. Muslim television network has been arrested and charged with murdering his wife by beheading her, the network’s Web site and local media reported.
Muzzammil Hassan, founder and CEO of Buffalo, N.Y.-based Bridges TV which launched in 2004 with a mission to show Muslims in a more positive light, was charged after reporting the death of his wife, Aasiya Hassan, 37, on Thursday night.
So this man has a mission of portraying Muslims in a positive light, but he beheads his wife? What might be the impetus for such a horrific act?
Authorities said Aasiya Hassan, with whom Hassan had two children, had recently filed for divorce and had an order of protection mandating that he leave their home as of February 6.
Unbelievable. So this man allegedly killed his wife and if found guilty, will spend a significant amount of time in prison. Thus, he leaves his two children with no parents.
I also think that it is time for people to stand up and say that these “honor killings” have no place in our society. These horrible acts perpetuated by some in the Islamic faith against women is indefensible. Where is the outrage? Where are groups like N.O.W.?
We need more people to speak out against such actions and violence against women!
by Jason on February 12, 2009
My friend, Lisa Renee Ward, has an interesting story on her blog unrealistic expectations about the mother in California that had octuplets via fertility treatments. In the article she details what she believes is the motivation of the outrage that many people across the country are feeling for Nadya Suleman.
I’ve been following this story off and on with some curiosity. I am an educator and care deeply about issues relating to children. As teachers, we often see kids that are neglected and some that are mistreated and abused. Abuse should outrage us all, but neglect is far harder to diagnose and to remedy.
As Lisa Renee stated, many people are upset that this woman choose to become pregnant with the help of a physician when she already had six other children. Don’t forget…she’s a single mom. I have nothing but respect for single mothers. I was raised by a wonderful one. But I do have a problem with someone who chooses to have that many children and cannot afford them.
The Associated Press today reports that Nadya Suleman will be handing over the bill to raise her fourteen children to the residents of the state of California.
Even before the 33-year-old single, unemployed mother gave birth to octuplets last month, she had been caring for her six other children with the help of $490 a month in food stamps, plus Social Security disability payments for three of the youngsters. The public aid will almost certainly be increased with the new additions to her family.
Also, the hospital where the octuplets are expected to spend seven to 12 weeks has requested reimbursement from Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, for care of the premature babies, according to the Los Angeles Times. The cost has not been disclosed.
I do have a big problem with this. When is it the responsibility of the mother and father to pay for children that they choose to create? Why can the state not put some type of limitations on this? Fundamentally, I do not like the idea of the state dictating to parents in many areas, but this is not only morally wrong, but unfair to the tax payers and to the children.
For a single mother, the cost of raising 14 children through age 17 ranges from $1.3 million to $2.7 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
When does a state decide to come in and remove children? I am not necessarily advocating that position in this case, but for far too long states and judges have been making decisions based on what is in the best interest of the parents. It is time that they start making decisions based on what is in the best interest of the child. Fourteen children under the age of seven in a small house cannot be in the best interest of these children.
by Jason on February 8, 2009
Being an educator, stories that are education-centered frequently catch my eye. Usually I am reading about the new trends in education or methods of improving instruction. But when I saw a Reuters article titled “Boy allegedly forced to use hands to unclog toilet”, I had to check it out.
The boy’s parents claim their son told them the principal made him clean out a toilet bowl that the boy had accidentally clogged on Dec. 12. The boy told his parents he wiped himself with paper towels, instead of toilet paper, causing the clog.
If this is true, can we say bye bye principal? Not only would it be morally and educationally unsound, but it would be just plain disgusting. That’s not to mention how the boy would have been put at danger health-wise. If this case is found to be true, what do you think should happen to the principal? Lose his job? Get fined? Jail? I’d say all of the above.