Education News
Mental calculation in a prodigy is sustained by right prefrontal and medial temporal areas
Brain Development with Mental Math & Abacus -- Children have an amazing ability to learn, but their vast brain potential is not always nurtured to the fullest extent. With the proper guidance and tools, children as young as 4 or 5 are capable of mastering mathematical skills and calculating ability that will yield benefits that last a lifetime.
Ancient Asian Calculating Tool May Hold Key to Boosting Children's Mental Math Skills -- In Asia, many schools have rediscovered the secrets of the abacus, an ancient calculating device that offers remarkable benefits for nurturing young minds and encouraging proficiency in mathematics and mental calculation. With abacus instruction, children can achieve much more than just excellent math skills. Abacus use can build confidence, provide a sense of achievement, promote intuitive thinking, enhance problem-solving capability, stimulate creativity and improve concentration and mental endurance.
College Students Hide Hunger, Homelessness -- A growing population of college students is facing hunger and homelessness as tuitions rise and the economy is slow to recover. UCLA has created an Economic Crisis Response Team to identify financially strapped students and help keep them in school.
A $35 Tablet? India Is On The Case -- The Indian government unveiled a $35 prototype of a touch-screen tablet for students. If it's produced, it would be the world's cheapest. Inexpensive touch-screen tablets have global appeal because there's no need for language-specific keyboards.
U.S. Losing Ground In College Graduation Race -- A new report warns that the U.S. is falling farther behind other developed nations in the proportion of adults with a college education. The U.S. now ranks 12th in college completion among 36 such nations.
Report: Feds Downplaying Student Loan Defaults -- One in every five government loans that entered repayment in 1995 has gone into default, according to a recent report released by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The Department of Education is undercounting student loan defaults, Chronicle reporter Kelly Field tells NPR.
Proposed Federal Rules Target For-Profit Colleges -- The Education Department will propose much-anticipated regulations Friday that would cut off federal aid to for-profit college programs if too many of their students default on loans or don't earn enough after graduation to repay them.
Cab-Schooled Student Earned Ticket To Harvard -- Imagine the back seat of a big rig as your high school classroom. For Kerry Anderson, who was home-schooled as her truck-driver mom made deliveries across the country, that was reality. Anderson eventually got through community college and received a full scholarship to Harvard University. Michele Norris talks to Anderson, now 26, about her unconventional education.
Western Swing Gets Texas Town Scootin' Again -- Fiddlers, guitar players and singers gathered in tiny Goree, Texas, for a music camp. The camp is about equally divided between children and adults, even though the style of music was popular more than half a century ago.
District To Pay Lesbian Teen $35K Over Prom Dispute -- Constance McMillen challenged the Itawamba County School District's rules banning prom dates of the same gender and allowing only male students to wear tuxedos. The rural Mississippi school district responded by canceling its prom, prompting the ACLU to sue claiming the teen's rights had been violated.
Cheating In College Is Widespread -- But Why? -- The Internet is providing college students with inventive new ways of maintaining their GPAs without required reading, tedious essays or hours of studying. It has led to a new kind of cheating that educators are trying to combat with technology and a look at what counts as plagiarism.
Founders, Students Defend Islamic College -- The first Islamic college in the U.S. opened this summer in Berkeley, Calif. Conservative critics have already lambasted Zaytuna College as a center for "indoctrination," but its founders say it's about time the millions of Muslims in the United States have a center for religious studies. Lonny Shavelson reports.
Disaster 101: Preparing Students For A Scary Future -- In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, emergency management became a critical priority. As a result, more American colleges began offering classes on how to deal with an increasingly dangerous world. Students are now seeking job security in our national insecurity.
New Evaluation Laws Split Teachers Even More -- Teachers across the country are confronting new state laws that evaluate and reward teachers based on student achievement. Education organizations have stood up not only to legislators, but also to each other.
Exploring The American Dream In The South Bronx -- Arthur Levine has spent much of his career writing about how tough it is for poor minority kids to get into college. Rarely has this widely respected educator written more urgently than in his latest book, Unequal Fortunes. It was a journey that took him back to his childhood in the South Bronx.
Berkeley Students To Get DNA Test In Welcome Kits -- Incoming freshmen at the College of Letters and Science at the University of California Berkeley will be offered voluntary DNA tests to analyze genes that help control the body's responses to alcohol, dairy products and folic acid. Robert Siegel talks with Mark Schlissel, dean of biological science at the college, about the plan.
Questioning The Ethics Of Unpaid Internships -- While many students can't afford to work for free, others see unpaid internships as the only way to get a foot in the door. And in some cases, interns spend thousands of dollars to work for free. Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times talks about the changing rules and ethics of internships.
Obama defends education policies to critics (AP) --
AP - Challenging civil rights organizations and teachers' unions that have criticized his education policies, President Barack Obama said Thursday that minority students have the most to gain from overhauling the nation's schools.
Obama to deliver education reform speech Thursday (AP) -- AP - President Barack Obama will deliver an education reform speech Thursday morning at the National Urban League's 100th Anniversary Convention in the nation's capital.
AP-Univision Poll: College dreams for Hispanics (AP) --
AP - More than 10 years have passed since she gave up her pursuit of a degree in computer science, but Yajahira Deaza still has regrets. She says she feels incomplete.
Do Elite Universities Discriminate Against Poor Whites? (Time.com) -- Time.com - A Q&A with Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade on his decade-long investigation into college admissions practices at eight elite schools
18 states, DC are education reform grant finalists (AP) --
AP - Eighteen states and the District of Columbia were named finalists Tuesday in the second round of the federal "Race to the Top" school reform grant competition, giving them a chance to receive a share of $3.4 billion.
Government taps 19 states for education grant finals (Reuters) -- Reuters - The Department of Education has selected 19 states to vie for $3.4 billion in grants aimed at improving their schools, Secretary Arne Duncan said in a speech on Tuesday.
Consumer confidence retreats further in July (AP) --
AP - Americans' confidence in the economy eroded further in July amid worries about a job market that has proven stubbornly stagnant. The report raised concerns about the overall economy and the back-to-school season.
Fewer parents to cut back-to-school budget (Reuters) -- Reuters - Fewer parents plan to cut their back-to-school budgets, but they will count on smartphones and social networking to find the best bargains during the second biggest shopping season of the year, according to a Deloitte survey released on Tuesday.
Obama to defend education plan (Politico) -- Politico - President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will deliver major speeches this week on their $4.35 billion Race to the Top school reform program, pushing back against complaints that it promotes unproven methods and ignores long-standing inequities in public education.
Ed Dept, civil rights leaders discuss reform (AP) -- AP - Civil rights leaders are criticizing Obama administration education reforms aimed at turning around low performing schools and closing the achievement gap for minority students.
Educated people cope better with dementia (Reuters) -- Reuters - Educated people are better able to cope with the physical effects of dementia, and even one extra year of education can significantly cut the risk of developing the brain-wasting disease, scientists said on Monday.
Hundreds of DC school employees to be dismissed (AP) -- AP - The D.C. Public Schools are firing 241 teachers and warning more than 700 other employees that they could be fired in the next year if their performance doesn't improve.
Proposed federal rules target for-profit colleges (AP) -- AP - The Education Department proposed much-anticipated regulations Friday that would cut off federal aid to for-profit college programs if too many of their students default on loans or don't earn enough after graduation to repay them.
Sector Snap: For-profit education shares rise (AP) -- AP - Shares of for-profit education companies soared Friday after the Department of Education proposed new rules that should allow most schools in the industry to continue to receive federal loan funds.
Public sector losing jobs in this recession: report (Reuters) -- Reuters - State and local governments have cut fewer jobs than the private sector during the recession, but public education is still facing its worst job losses in 30 years, according to a report.
2 more plead guilty in Obama student loan case (AP) -- AP - Two former employees of a U.S. Department of Education contractor in Iowa have pleaded guilty to illegally viewing President Barack Obama's student loan records.
Education inventors get boost under new programs (AP) -- AP - A movement is under way to make it easier for entrepreneurs to navigate the lucrative and sometimes-tricky education market and introduce new technology and products into classrooms.
Police: Decomposed body is missing Calif. teen (AP) --
AP - Authorities identified a decomposed body Wednesday as that of a 17-year-old girl who was likely kidnapped while walking home from school last week in Southern California.
Rural schools from apartheid cloud S.Africa's future (Reuters) -- Reuters - A tap with running water came when apartheid ended, electricity came 14 years later but the text books for each student have yet to arrive at Knoppiesfontein Primary Farm School.
'Common Core' standards clearer, more rigorous (AP) -- AP - An analysis by an education policy think tank finds that the common academic standards many states will be adopting are clearer and more rigorous than those currently used in most states.
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