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June 17, 2013

Rabbi Simcha Weinstein: Black to the Future: American Apparel Gets Biblical

Patrik Jonsson: Minnesota Nazi: How did Nazi hunters miss Michael Karkoc?

Kate Irby, Ali Watkins, Trevor Graff and Kevin Thibodeaux: All the ways you're being watched
Don Lee: G-8 meeting will test NSA leaks' effect on U.S. influence

Patrik Jonsson: Fort Hood shooting: Judge nixes Nidal Hasan defense strategy. What now?

Stacey Burling: Why the stigma for migraine sufferers?

The Kosher Gourmet by Lisa Abraham: Does it work? 5 new kitchen gadgets put to the test

June 14, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget: Religious economics and being a ruler

John P. Martin: Hitler insider's missing diary found

Matt Pearce: NSA surveillance disclosure could affect court cases
Peter Tinti: US bounties changes strategy on (Wild, Wild) West African jihadis

Daniel Pendrick, M.D.: Memory loss? Old age may be the least of it

Lauren F. Friedman: But it's all natural! Should we have an instinctive preference for herbal remedies?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Streisand and Alicia Keys in Israel; "Girls" Stuff; Mel Brooks, Another TV special; Superman (who is Jewish) returns --- Israeli plays his mom

The Kosher Gourmet by Sharon K. Ghag : Bored with salad? Bling it up a bit (4 effortless recipes that will result in a 'WOW!')

June 12, 2013

Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect

Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: What's so special about Omega-3 supplements?
Morgan Housel: What newspapers were saying when you should have been buying

Pete Spotts: How cockroaches evolved so as to bypass 'roach motels'

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: Deep-dish cookie: Warm, gooey and a little over the top

June 10, 2013

Joseph A. Slobodzian: Faith healing and third degree murder: Thorny legal case
Lindsay Wise: Few options for online users to avoid spying, experts say

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: There are plenty of nutritional food bargains out there
Harvard Health Letters: Can bariatric surgery control diabetes?

Zach Murdock: Superglue helps doctors save infant's life

The Kosher Gourmet by Celebrated chef Mario Batali : As good as grilling gets: Rib eye with dry mushroom spice rub

June 7, 2013

Rabbi David Aaron: Beating jealousy

Caroline B. Glick: Wounded . . . and dangerous

Clifford D. May: Al Qaeda vs. Hezbollah
Harvard Health Letters: Fighting back against allergy season

Kimberly Lankford: Grandparents who use FSA to cover grandkid's braces and other must-know info

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom:J ewish Tony Nominees/Tony Awards; Jewish Teen Actor In Sci-Fi Flick; Jewish singer in "Voice" finals

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust

June 5, 2013

John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less

Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: Mushrooms Have Medicinal As Well As Culinary Value
Morgan Housel: Why you never learn from your investment mistakes

Don Lee: In China, kindergarten rivalry takes deadly turn

The Kosher Gourmet by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan: 30-Minute Coq au Vin isn't a dream

June 3, 2013

Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself

Richard A. Serrano: Pvt. Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks trial also a test for government

Mark Trumbull: Have degree, driving cab: Nearly half of college grads are overqualified
Kim Lankford: What to do when long-term care insurance premiums rise

Deborah Netburn: Study: Adults' mouth bacteria may help babies

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Contestant on 'The Voice'; Will Smith's 'Jewish movie family'; Bravo Gives Long Island Jews the Jersey Shore Treatment; Magicians and More

The Kosher Gourmet by Bill Ward: How to be as refined as the wines at a wine tasting

May 29, 2013

Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die

Dennis Prager: The 'Muslims-Killed-by-the-West' Lie

David Clark Scott: Open war on teachers?
Morgan Housel: If you know only five things about investing, make it these

Sara Reardon: AGenome detectives change the donation game

Deborah Netburn: A one-way ticket to Mars? 78,000-plus and counting apply by video

The Kosher Gourmet by Bev Bennett: CHEDDAR AND CHERRY MUFFINS --- your mouth is already watering

May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting


Jewish World Review March 5, 2007 / 15 Adar, 5767

Reaching a deal on education

By Michael Barone


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The No Child Left Behind Act — the education bill passed by Congress in 2001 and signed by George W. Bush in 2002 — comes up for reauthorization this year. NCLB injected into the federal aid to education program important doses of accountability — yearly testing of kids from grades 3 to 8, consequences for failing schools, disaggregation of data by race and ethnicity — and it seems to have resulted in some modest improvements in test scores.


Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is optimistic that it will be reauthorized. Sen. Edward Kennedy and Rep. George Miller have scheduled a bipartisan joint meeting of their committees for March 13 — both played major roles in 2001 shaping the bill, which passed with bipartisan majorities. Yet 11 members of a bipartisan group of 12 Washington education law professionals surveyed in December by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute predicted that the new version will not be passed until 2009.


Perhaps this is because they think that Kennedy and Miller would rather wait until a Democratic president is in office. They have made it plain that they want a bill authorizing considerably more funding. Kennedy has been complaining since 2002 that the administration hasn't fulfilled its promise to spend the full amounts authorized then. Others do not recall such a promise and note that few programs are funded up to the full authorization amount. And the teachers unions — an important Democratic constituency — would probably like more money and less accountability. The Republicans involved — Spellings and Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Rep. Buck McKeon of California — seem primarily interested in more accountability.


On that, they have received serious intellectual support in recent months. An Aspen Institute panel headed by two former governors, Republican Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin and Democrat Roy Barnes of Georgia, called for beefed-up accountability measures, more public school choice, aligning state test standards with college and workplace standards, and more assessments in high school grades.


Bill Gates, whose foundation has been concentrating on education, is pushing for more rigor and better results in high schools. The Center for American Progress, headed by former Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta, has teamed with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Frederick Hess of the conservative American Enterprise Institute to urge more in the way of accountability.


Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and high-tech CEOs have emphasized that America needs better schools if it is to remain competitive. At the same time, there appears to be little support in liberal think tanks for the positions the teachers unions have taken over the years.


Spellings calls for some interesting changes: merit pay for teachers in districts with "challenging" schools, overriding teachers union contracts when they conflict with NCLB sanctions and more assessments of students' progress in high school. It's not at all clear that Kennedy and Miller are going to oppose all such changes (though the teachers unions will press them to oppose the second).


Their support of the 2001 legislation represented a sharp shift from the Democrats' approach to the 1994 reauthorization, which added more money but did little about accountability. Kennedy and Miller, impressed by the success of state accountability programs in the intervening years and acting out of a heartfelt conviction that schools without accountability were poorly serving disadvantaged children, led their party to a sharp change on policy.


But more progress is needed. Something more needs to be done about the 15 percent of high schools that produce 50 percent of high school dropouts. Only about half the blacks and Hispanics who enter high school graduate within four years. Kennedy and Miller seem willing to plunge ahead with elaborate hearings, and my sense, based on observing them over many years, is that they will be not only open, but inclined, to support many tougher accountability measures. They proved that in their work on the bill in 2001.


It's also my sense that Spellings, Enzi and McKeon are open to more funding. The Bush budget already adds $1.2 billion for Title I aid to disadvantaged schools, $500 million for low-performing schools and $600 million for tuition to alternatives to failing schools.


The fact is that our schools are not as good as they could be. This doesn't hurt kids from affluent, stable, book-filled households too much — they're mostly going to do well even if they go to mediocre schools. But it does hurt kids from low-earning, single-parent, bookless households who fall behind in poor schools and too often never reach their potential. It would help them if these Democrats and Republicans could once again reach a deal. Let's hope the insiders are wrong on this one.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

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JWR contributor Michael Barone is a columnist at U.S. News & World Report. Comment by clicking here.




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