UNC Handling Rape Issues Badly

Ken AshfordEducation, Women's Issues1 Comment

The University of North Carolina is allowing revenge against one of their students, a rape survivor, who reported on their failed administrative policies on sexual assault. After the initial report, she discussed her experience with The Daily Tarheel: “It’s incredibly clear that those people had no idea what sexual assault is, what consent is,” said Landen Gambill, a sophomore whose assault … Read More

North Carolina Appoints Fox To Protect Hens

Ken AshfordEducation, Local InterestLeave a Comment

North Carolina has a Health and Human Services Department, and within that department is the Child Development and Early Education.  The Division of Child Development and Early Education, or DCDEE, oversees the state's child-care program as well as NC Pre-K. So you would think that the person placed in charge of DCDEE would have an interest in North Carolina pre-K education. You would be … Read More

The Price of Stupidity

Ken AshfordEducation, GodstuffLeave a Comment

Kentucky lawmakers wanted to make sure that their high school students were well-prepared to go to colleges, whether in-state or out-of-state.  Specifically, they wanted to be sure that the end-of-high-school tests were in parity with the national norms.  That's a good thing, a responsible thing, for lawmakers to be concerned about. So to that end, the Kentucky lawmakers asked themselves … Read More

Late To The Party (But It’s Nice You Finally Came Around)

Ken AshfordEducation, Godstuff, Sex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

Well, it looks like evangelicals can't avoid the big fat pregnant truth when it kicks them in the ass: The statistics, some evangelicals say, can no longer be ignored. Eighty percent of young evangelicals have engaged in premarital sex, according to a new video from the National Association of Evangelicals. and almost a third of evangelicals' unplanned pregnancies end in … Read More

Santorum Is Getting Desperate

Ken AshfordEducation, Election 2012Leave a Comment

He's making things up now: SANTORUM: I was just reading something last night from the state of California. And that the California universities – I think it’s seven or eight of the California system of universities don’t even teach an American history course. It’s not even available to be taught. Here's the video (it's low quality):   And he's right in … Read More

Utah Goes Back To The Victorian Era

Ken AshfordEducation, Sex/Morality/Family Values1 Comment

Utah's legislature gave final passage this week with a Senate vote of 19-10 to an abstinence-only sex-ed bill that forbids discussion of homosexuality even if the student asks, FOX13 reports: After the new bill goes into effect, the teaching of sex education in Utah classrooms has to be about not having sex before marriage and fidelity within marriage. Teachers cannot advocate … Read More

Judge Of The Day

Ken AshfordEducation, Election 2012, GodstuffLeave a Comment

Texas federal Judge Fred Biery has been a key villain in GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s narrative about why federal judges are supposedly out of control.  Gingrich routinely cites a previous decision by Biery holding that the Constitution does not permit a public school district to sponsor a student-led prayer at graduation to justify eliminating courts that displease Gingrich. In … Read More

Quote Of The Day

Ken AshfordEducation, GodstuffLeave a Comment

This comes from Rep. Jerry Bergevin, a Republican state senator in the state of New Hampshire.  He's backing a bill in which evolution should be taught in New Hampshire schools, but it should be, in his view, exposed for what it is: [Bergevin's] bill would require schools to teach evolution as a theory, and include "the theorists' political and ideological viewpoints … Read More

Little Rock Arkansas Is Still Backwards, Apparently

Ken AshfordEducation, RaceLeave a Comment

Kymberly Wimberly has a huge disadvantage.  And it's not that she has a funny name that rhymes. She's a teenage mom. Still, she managed to stay in school.  In fact, she got only a single B in her 4 years at McGehee Secondary School, and loaded up on Honors and Advanced Placement classes. She had the best grades in her high … Read More

Fake Outrage From One Year Ago: An Update

Ken AshfordEducation, Obama Opposition1 Comment

What topic was the GOP and teapartiers up in arms about a year ago?  Anyone remember? That's right — the fact that Obama was going to be making a speech in front of schoolchildren in Philadelphia, a speech to be live telecast to kids throughout the nation.   According to the right wing at the time, it was part of … Read More

School Elections In Mississippi

Ken AshfordEducation, RaceLeave a Comment

Does your kid want to run for class officer at Nettleton Middle School in Mississippi?  Cool. Just so you know, they have some, uh, interesting qualifications.  For example, the student must have a “B” average and a good attendance record.  Oh, and depending on the office, there are other qualifications: Apparently, this is not a hoax.

Velcro Parents and the First Day of College

Ken AshfordEducationLeave a Comment

I enjoyed this New York Times article about how colleges are dealing with parents who, when dropping their freshman child off for the first day of college, just won't… you know… go.   There's some obvious things colleges do, like have mass student orientation in large halls with signs outside saying "for students only".  Other times they arrange events so that the university … Read More