Posts

Students: Professor Forced us to Wear ‘Gay’ Ribbons

/5 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: gernhaex

Photo Credit: gernhaex

Several students are demanding a Tennessee community college psychology professor be disciplined for persistently pushing her pro-”gay” views on her students and even forcing students to identify themselves as in favor of the LGBT agenda in a mandatory project.

The Alliance Defense Fund is representing the students who objected to the classroom tactics of Columbia State Community College professor Linda Brunton. The students say any views opposed to Brunton’s were not welcome, and any opposition to the homosexual agenda was considered to be the thinking of “uneducated bigots” who “attack homosexuals with hate.”

But one assignment in particular triggered the protests.

“She assigned the class to wear rainbow coalition ribbons in support of homosexual behavior for at least a day on campus and wherever they went off campus. Students then had to write a reaction paper from wearing those ribbons and how they were allegedly discriminated against while wearing the ribbons,” Alliance Defense Fund attorney David Hacker told WND. “Several students contacted us, just objecting to this. It’s a very clear case of a government official, a state college professor, compelling students to speak in a way they disagree with.”

Hacker said it’s fine for teachers to have students consider ideas from different perspectives, but Brunton clearly crossed the line.

Read more from this story HERE.

Wichita Teachers Union Refuses Agreement Including Lesson-Plan Requirements

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Representatives of United Teachers of Wichita reached a tentative one-year contract agreement on Friday, following a heated dispute in which the union balked at a proposed clause that would require teachers to keep well-crafted daily lessons plans. The Wichita Eagle reports that the agreement was reached late Friday, and it is not yet clear which side prevailed in the lesson-plan fight.

A deal proposed by the district would require teachers to prepare lesson plans containing various mandatory details such as learning objectives and pacing references, according to the Eagle.

The current labor contract requires teachers to make lesson plans “only in sufficient detail to provide guidance to the teacher,” which leaves room for a range of different planning methods. Teachers must also provide their lesson plans and other teaching materials to school principals if asked.

Leaders of United Teachers of Wichita, which represents some 4,000 currently vacationing teachers, call compulsory daily lesson plans “busy work.”

“That’s going to take away the art of teaching, and it almost becomes like they’re doing cookie-cutter lessons,” Randy Mousley, president of the teachers union, told the Eagle.

Read more from this story HERE.

Lawmakers Fail to Reach Student Loan Deal Before July 4 Break

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit:: AP

Photo Credit:: AP

Interest rates on student loans are set to double on Monday after lawmakers failed to find a bipartisan solution to keep the federally subsidized borrowing costs down.

The Senate adjourned Thursday night for the July 4 recess without approving a student loan rate package.

With the current, 3.4 percent interest rate on Stafford loans — the most popular funding for college students – set to expire on July 1, a host of 11th-hour fixes all failed to generate support from both sides of the aisle. Without new legislation — either to extend the cap, set a new one or find another way to peg the loans – the cap rises to 6.8 percent. Congress could always forge a solution in the following days, even lowering rates retroactively.

The higher rates would add about $3,000 to the total interest on a $23,000 student loan repaid over 10 years.

“At one level it’s modest, but if you have an entry-level position or can’t find work, it starts to add up,” Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council of Education, told FoxNews.com.

Read more from this story HERE.

Deal to Stop Student Loan Interest from Doubling Appears to be Falling Apart

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Forbes

Photo Credit: Forbes

Efforts to keep interest rates on new student loans from doubling appeared to be falling apart Wednesday as the Democratic leader of the Senate declared a bipartisan proposal unacceptable.

With just days to spare before a July 1 deadline, a group of senators from both parties attempted to link interest rates on new federally subsidized Stafford loans to the financial markets in a deal that would avert a costly rate hike for now but could spell higher rates in coming years. The loans account for a quarter of all federal student lending.

The proposal seemed to stall even before it had a chance to be considered.

The chamber’s top Democrat, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, said it could never pass. The Democratic chairman of the education panel said he couldn’t back a plan that doesn’t include stronger protections for students and parents…

There is no limit to how high interest rates could go.

Read more from this story HERE.

Over a Trillion Dollars of Student Loans on the Brink; Fall-Out Could Be Enormous

/5 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AFP

Photo Credit: AFP

Cable news channels regularly stoke their viewers’ fears about China holding $1.1 trillion of U.S. debt. But they’re focused on the wrong $1.1 trillion of loans.

The borrowers of this other $1.1-trillion debt are far more likely to default on their obligations: students, particularly those who went to for-profit colleges. The global consequences could be — and likely will be — staggering…

These loans leave many students entrenched in a permanent underclass. When they default — and they are defaulting in record numbers — the ripple effects spread from shore to shore, and beyond. They have no money to see movies, buy health insurance or, sometimes, even put dinner on the table. And when this many Americans are facing debt they can’t afford, businesses suffer from lower demand, tax revenues decline, and lenders face enormous losses.

This should sound eerily familiar. The situation is not unlike America’s recent housing crisis. In both cases, loans were doled out without regard to credit risks, and borrowers took on substantial debt they could not afford. Years of irresponsible, predatory lending finally caught up with mortgage issuers when homeowners lost their jobs and could not afford to repay their mortgages with interest rates that averaged 6.5%.

Now imagine the economic calamity if those mortgage interest rates had doubled to 13%. That’s the dire situation faced by unemployed and underemployed former students, who have neither steady jobs nor savings to cover tens of thousands of dollars in loans that seem to grow exponentially. We all know what happened to the housing market. Student loans are not far behind.

Read more from this story HERE.

School Apologizes for Threatening Constitution-Citing Valedictorian’s Naval Academy Appointment

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Mr. T in DC

Photo Credit: Mr. T in DC

A Texas school district has apologized to a high school valedictorian whose appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy was threatened after he delivered a speech that referenced God and the U.S. Constitution — in defiance of district policies.

Remington Reimer, a senior at Joshua High School, made national headlines on June 6 when officials cut off his microphone in mid-speech after he strayed from pre-approved remarks and began talking about his relationship with Jesus Christ…

The following day the principal, Mick Cochran, met with Reimer’s father and …”threatened to send a letter to the United States Naval Academy advising them that Remington has poor character or words to that effect,” Sasser told Fox News. “The principal said he wanted to try to ruin him for what he did – for talking about the Constitution and his faith.”

Fran Merek, the superintendent of the Joshua Independent School District, issued a carefully worded statement apologizing for the incident.

“On behalf of the school district, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to Mr. Todd Reimer and Remington Reimer for any interpretation of a threat by Mr. Cochran in expressing his displeasure at a meeting on Friday morning between Mr. Todd Reimer and Mr. Cochran following Remington Reimer’s valedictory address,” Marek wrote in a statement. “The District has never intended to nor will take punitive action against Remington Reimer for deviating from the prior-reviewed speech. The District endorses Remington Reimer’s appointment to the Naval Academy and wishes him success for all future endeavors in his naval career. District officials will ensure that district policy is followed at future graduation ceremonies.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Teacher Charged After Students Pierce Ear, Stomach in Class

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Carl Bednorz

Photo Credit: Carl Bednorz

April Beard, a high school teacher in Pennsylvania, allegedly allowed a student to pierce Beard’s ear and then another student’s stomach — in class.

Beard, 34, was charged with endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors, police said. Court records show she also was charged with body piercing of a minor.

According to Carroll Township Police, on April 16, Beard took a “handful” of students into a project room, and left the rest of the students in the classroom. Chief Sean Kapfhammer said a student with a piercing kit was then allowed to pierce Beard’s left ear three times and then pierce another student’s belly button.

Police said Beard paid the student $20 and gave her a homemade necklace as payment for the piercings. Beard then told the students, “What just happen(ed) here does not leave the room,” according to charging documents.

Read more from this story HERE.

Which Bathroom Should Transgendered Students Use?

/5 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

By Robby Soave. Maine’s highest court will soon decide which restroom Nicole Maines, a 15-year-old transgendered student, should use.

Last week the state supreme court heard oral arguments about whether a school district violated her civil rights when it forbid her from using the girl’s restroom. She was in fifth grade at the time.

Maines is biologically male but has identified as female since she was very young. As such, she wished to use the girl’s restroom. State law, however, mandates that boys and girls use separate facilities. Her school told her to use the staff restroom instead.

These requirements violate the Maine Human Rights Act, which bars gender discrimination in schools, claim the Maines family and their supporters, including the Maine Human Rights Commission and various LGBT groups. Read more from this story HERE.

_______________________________________________________________

Will California Let Boys Use Girls Locker Rooms?

By Todd Starnes. Should boys who think they are girls be allowed to use the locker rooms and bathrooms of their choice?

That’s the issue facing California lawmakers as they consider Assembly Bill 1266 – legislation that would require all public schools to allow students to access to facilities consistent with their gender identity.

“AB 1266 forces San Francisco values on all California schools,” said Karen England, executive director of the Capitol Resource Institute. “This is a very radical idea. You’re going to have first-grade boys going to the restroom next to first-grade girls without any supervision.”

England said the bill would allow students of any gender to access public school bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice. It would also students to participate in sports activities based on “that student’s assertion that he or she identifies as having a different private sense of their own gender regardless of their biological gender at birth.”

San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano said his bill simply clarifies existing non-discrimination provisions in the education code. He said districts must offer transgender students equal access to programs and facilities based on their gender identity. Read more from this story HERE.

Ghost Student: Obama’s Columbia 30th Reunion and NO Classmate Remembers Seeing Him

/87 Comments/in , , /by

7811068144_dd61720aec_b (1)I just returned from New York, where I attended my 30th Columbia University reunion. I celebrated with my esteemed classmates. Everyone except Barack Obama. As usual – he wasn’t there. Not even a video greeting. Not a personalized letter to his classmates. Nothing. But worse, no one at our 30th reunion ever met him. The President of the United States is the ghost of Columbia University…

I am a graduate of Columbia University, Class of 1983. That’s the same class Barack Obama claims to have graduated from. We shared the same exact major- Political Science. We were both Pre-Law. It was a small class – about 700 students. The Political Science department was even smaller and closer-knit (maybe 150 students). I thought I knew, or met at least once, (or certainly saw in classes) every fellow Poly Sci classmate in my four years at Columbia.

But not Obama. No one ever met him. Even worse, no one even remembers seeing that unique memorable face. Think about this for a minute. Our classmate is President of the United States. Shouldn’t someone remember him? Or at least claim to remember him?

…Now you might argue this is all strange, but it’s possible. After all Columbia says he graduated. And I take my college’s word for it. Would one of the world’s greatest Ivy League institutions participate in a cover-up, thereby risking their billion dollar reputation? And there is one single article written for the Columbia newspaper with Obama’s name on it. A single photo also exists of Obama in his Manhattan apartment with the man he claims was his college roommate – a Pakistani foreign student. And one single radical leftist Columbia professor who hates Israel also claims he remembers Obama.

That’s the sum total of Obama’s existence at Columbia University, Class of ’83.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Liberty High Valedictorian Makes a Stand, Says the Lord’s Prayer at Graduation (+video)

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: YouTube

An Upstate high school valedictorian tore up his graduation speech and prayed instead.

Valedictorian Roy Costner spoke at his Liberty High School graduation as people in the crowd cheered when he threw away his pre-approved speech, reciting the Lord’s Prayer instead.

…Costner said he spoke to his pastor and prayed before deciding his speech was the time to make a statement.

“It was an emotional moment,” Costner told FOX Carolina on Tuesday. “It was overwhelming to look out and see the crowd and yelling.”

Read more from this story HERE.