Yet Another Gender Gap

There was once a time when only males went to school, a gender gap that seemed unfair. Now, in an age where there is an expectaion for both males and females to recieve a higher education, a gender gap continues to exist. In this week's issue of Time Magazine, the essay focuses on the topic of females outnumbering males on college campuses. Nancy Gibbs comments on the unique irony, "if girls were once excluded because somehow they weren't good enough, now they are rejected because they are too good." In an attempt to even the ratio of males to females, colleges and universities are sometimes turning away the highly qualified female and instead choosing the less qualified male. Is this right? It's reminicient of the Supreme Court case, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, in which a more qualified white student was rejected in order to accept a less qualifed minority, to fill minority quotas. The Supreme Court ruled this unconstitutional, so why is it ok to do the same thing to females? It's a tricky situation. We can't have all female colleges, that would be unattractive to both males and females. As of right now, "roughly 58% of all undergraduates nationally are female." For whatever reason, "developmentally, girls bring more to the table than boys, and the desparity has gotten greater in recent years." Girls seem to mature earlier, they get involved sooner, while boys are still just interested in sports. It's a fact of science, and as a result I don't know if it's fair to punish the boys. Therefore, the current college trend would be ok. On the other hand however, is it fair to encourage a double standard where boys don't have to work as hard to receive the same rewards? It's a tough question to answer. Basicially, it comes down to this. College admissions has gotten complicated. I guess it's a good thing that college has become the expectaion rather that the exception.

Landmark Supreme Court Cases

There are countless Supreme Court cases that have dealt with education throughout history. Here are the biggies:

Dealing with free speech:

• Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) - school district overturned after suspending the Tinker children for wearing black armbands protesting Vietnam
• Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) - Four students sued the school and won, upon removal of books from the library due to censorship
• Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986) - Fraser was suspended after delivering a disruptive and inappropriate speech; the SC backed the school.

Student Discipline

• Goss v. Lopez (1975) - high school students sued upon being suspended with denial of due proscess. The SC ruled that the 14th amendment applies to schools too.
• Ingrahm v. Wright (1977) - dealing with a case of corporal punishment in schools after a student was paddled several times and required medical attention. The SC ruled paddling was not a form of corporal punishment.

Student Newspaper

• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988) - SC held that the school did not violate first amendment by restricting certain articals from being printed because they were inappropriate.

Search and Seizure

• New Jersey v T.L.O. (1984) - court ruled that a school can search a student upon reasonable suspicion after searching a girl's purse and finding drugs, money, and rolling paper.

Civil Rights

• Plessey v Ferguson (1896) - Supreme Court ruled seperate but equal facilities were constitutional.
• Brown v Board of Ed. Topeka Kansas (1954) - Court overturned seperate but equal and ordered integration.

Affirmative Action

• University of California Regents v Bakke (1976)- a white male was rejected from college even though he was more qualified because the school was trying to meet minority quotas. The court ruled these quotas unconstitutional.

Religion

• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) - Court ruled that children can't be forced to say the pledge
• Engle v Vitale (1962) -Court upheld the establishment clause and ruled school prayer unconstitutional.
• Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) - Court delt with the separation of church and state, deciding what federal funds could be used towards in religious schools.

The College Opportunity and Affordability Act

As a student preparing for college, I can say firsthand that college is unbelievably expensive and the process for applying for aid is long and painful. Congress recognizes this problem and is working on fixing it. On February 7, the US House passed the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, which is a reauthoriztion of the Higher Education Act. The bill passed with a vote of 354 - 58. The bill hopes to:

• lessen the cost of a higher education
• encourage colleges and universities to make tuition and aid information more easily accessable
• improve student loan programs
• simplify the aid application process
• make text books more affordable
• expand college access for minorities and low-income families
• improve safety and disaster plans
• help students with disabilities
• increase aid for veterans and military families

Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kkf7_WvHkMg for an interview with George Miller, committee chairman.

*information gathered from House website, visit for more information : http://edlabor.house.gov/

Education in the Senate

The main committee that deals with education in the senate is the HELP committee, the Health, Education, Labor, and Petitions committee. Edward M. Kennedy is the chairman and Michael B. Enzi is the Ranking Member.

This committee in the Senate has juristiction over bills such as NCLB, the Head Start Program, Higher Education, the Arts and Humanities, Student Financial Aid, IDEA, Workforce Investment Act, and Job and Vocational Training.

Today, Kennedy commented on the cost of Federal Student aid. He advocated that direct loans are better and more cost effective for the tax payer. Last year, the government increased Student aid by over $20 billion, which is the largest increase since the G.I. Bill. For the whole release visit, http://help.senate.gov/Maj_press/2008_02_04_a.pdf.

*Because it is something that directly affects me and many of my peers this year, I thought I'd mention the financial aid piece....This year, the government will provide over $83 billion to help students and families afford a higher education. Aid comes in the form of loans, grants, and work-study programs.

The website for this committee is http://help.senate.gov/Education_index.html

Bush's State of the Union 2008

In his last State of the Union address, Bush didn't forget education. No Child Left Behind is one of his legacies so he was sure to mention its successes. He talked about how the United States needs to trust students and give parents the freedom to demand results from their children's schools. He also mentioned that students across the nation have dreams that only education can help them achieve. This is a valid statement, and one that gives hope and inspiration to children from every economic background. It places an importance on the education system and holds individuals partly responsible for their own success. An important success that Bush noted was last year's highest math scores on record for fourth and eighth graders. While this is a great success, what about all the other grades? He also mentioned the improvements in reading and accountability across the nation. Finally, Bush talked about the DC opportunity scholarships which have helped poor students and proposed the Pale Grants for Kids, a 300 million dollar proposal to liberate poor students in failing schools. As far as I can tell, Bush's No Child Left Behind is making the progress it should and will be a great legacy for Bush, although it has a long way to go.

No Child Left Behind - what is this all about and where is it going?

In 2001 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was renamed the No Child Left Behind Act. The act set high standards for public education in the United States, with efforts to insure success in the education of all children.
Measuring Success:
Schools' successes are marked by the AYP Report, which stands for the Annual Yearly Progress Report. This report is basically left to the states. Each state defines what is proficient in math and reading and each state decides what they will include in their AYP each year. The goal of No Child Left Behind is to have every single child become proficient in state testing by the year 2014. The AYP references the minimum level of progress that each school must make in a year in order to reach the goal in 2014.
Title I (statement of purpose)
This title discusses the hope that all children reach their maximum potential and that all children are reaching at least a proficient level of learning. This title proposes ensuring success by improving teacher training, curriculum, and teaching materials. It also addresses the problems with having low-achieving children that detract from other students' learning. This was a large problem in the highest poverty schools and schools with minorites who aren't proficient in english. The title also aims to close the gap between high and low preforming children and hopes to hold states accountable for the success of their schools. This includes recognizing and helping to turn around low preforming schools.
Reading First
The act introduces this reading program especially to low preforming schools to help children get a jump start on their language skills. This program promotes regognition, knowledge of letter sounds, and an early appreciation for literature. To read a transcript of the interview with Chris Doherty, the program director for Reading First, visit this site: http://www.childrenofthecode.org/interviews/doherty.htm
Minority Children
The act aims to ensure that minority children are not forgotten and that they receive all the same services and tools of every other child. Minority children are also expected to be challenged to reach their highest potential.
Protection and Intervention
The act includes provisions to help and take care of children who are abused, neglected, and deliquent. These children are held to the same standards as all the others and are expected to succeed in just the same way.

For videos of school success stories, visit this link: http://www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/reauth/successstories/index.html

The act also includes an outline for the allotment of money and federal grants, procedures for school drop outs, advanced placement opportunities and much more. For more information and the entire bill, visit this link:http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html.

The Basics: Where do the parties stand?

Republicans support:

* student innitiated prayer in schools

* a limited role of federal government in education -> believe that states are mostly responsible for the quality of education in their schools

* increased access to a higher education with the help of savings accounts

*access to college should be based on personal achievement

*school choice

Conversely the Democrats support:

* smaller class sizes
* increased after school activities

* more individual attention to students

* greater amount of federal funding to schools

*information gathered from http://www.ontheissues.org/ visit their website for more information! and from the Government in America Textbook by Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry Twelfth Edition 2006