A study published in late October suggests that a shortage of career scientists in the U.S. is the fault of companies, and not educational institutions. "Steady as She Goes?  Three Generations of Students through the Science and Engineering Pipeline" was funded by the Alfred P.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is investigating whether selective colleges have been discriminating against women applicants by admitting less-qualified men in an attempt to maintain a gender balance on campus.  According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, The investigation is being undertaken at the request of commissioner and law professor Gail Heriot, an opponent of affirmative action.

A long time ago I volunteered at a conference for Deaf/Blind participants held at Gallaudet University. It was a lot of fun. There were daily challenges to keep up with the participants who wanted to go everywhere and do everything. I was joyfully run ragged. I have one specific memory, a lesson that sticks with me to this day on expanding thinking beyond myself.

For the past four years, the World Economic Forum has studied the gender gap - that is, the amount of resources dedicated to boys and girls and women's opportunities to fully participate in society - in over 100 countries, then ranked them. (In 2009, the Index included data from 134 nations. At least 12 of 14 indicators used for the Index must be available in order for a country to be included.) The goal, according to the 2009 Global Gender Gap Report, is:

Last night, 16-year-old Melody Ross, an honors student and track and field athlete, was shot to death at the football game between rival Wilson High School and Long Beach Poly High School in Long Beach, California.  The shooting took place at Wilson High School, which you may be slightly familiar with if you saw the Freedom Writers movie or read Erin Gruwell's The Freedom Writers Diary.  The school serves some of Long Beach's most upscale neighborhoods, but is no stra

Pastor Grizzard of Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, North Carolina plans to burn versions of the bible, music and other objects that are not in alignment with his church’s belief system. One of the definitions of hubris is pride of presumption. Here are the exact words copied from a cached version of the website:

As I type this, my four-year-old son is explaining that because it's getting dark outside, it's time to fire up the DVR and watch WordWorld, his favorite PBS show. Indeed, on many nights, if I'm grading papers, prepping for class, or just trying to steal a few minutes to focus on my own stuff, he does get to watch WordWorld.

Forty percent of teachers in the U.S. are "disheartened," or so says a new study by the nonpartisan nonprofit Public Agenda and Learning Point Associates.  Among the remainder, the study says, 37 percent are "contented," while 23 percent are "idealists."

For this week I want to focus on people that made me smile, gave me hope or fed my brain cells. These folks reminded me that fun, creativity and exploration are worthy things to concentrate on when you get tired of reality television or adults behaving badly.

School violence has been in the news frequently this past month, thanks to the beating death of honors student Derrion Albert by other teenagers and the shooting death of Trevor Varinecz by a school resource officer whom Varinecz reportedly stabbed several times.

Opera music is a lot like okra to me. it If I know it is heading my way I run in the opposite direction. I don’t like Opera music. Well, most of it anyway. If it is not wrapped in a Warner Brothers cartoon or some form of animation I suffer. Classical music, yes, rack up some Glenn Gould and I will be happy; that dude could rock the 88’s, classically speaking.

Teachers have always had students who, for whatever reason, have difficulty participating fully in class. In the past, these students were dismissed as "problem children" or declared unable to learn. Today, however, teachers are increasingly using a set of principles termed the universal design for learning (UDL) to reach all their students.