Ethics on Wall Street

Reuters is reporting that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the downgrade of the United States credit rating by Standards & Poors. The issue at hand is not whether or not the United States deserved the downgrade. Rather, the concern is that potentially there was a leak at S&P, which may have given some traders inside information causing unethical trading. According to the report, there isn't any clear evidence at this time whether or not any crimes were committed.

I understand that there are billions of dollars on the line when it comes to the stock market and that people typically do not become rich because they are frivolous with their money. However, I really think that crimes like insider trading should be treated with much more severe penalties. When our country is in a time of crisis and people do things for their own benefit at the expense of the rest of the citizens, it is nothing short of treason. Insider trading in this instance should be viewed as a betrayal of America and American citizens and punished accordingly. Time and again we see white collar criminals stealing from hardworking American people and receiving very light penalties. I really believe that if we made punishments more severe there would be a dramatic decrease in these types of activities.

This post was written in response to:

SEC Investigates S&P's Downgrade of U.S. Credit Rating: Report
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/12/us-sec-sp-idUSTRE77B0KW20110812?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29

Holy Speed!

According to a recent feed from Aljazeera, the United States is working on creating a glider/bomber that can reach speeds over Mach 20. The feed contained a news video in which it was stated that the goal of the United States with this project was to be able to launch a strike anywhere in the world in less than one hour. Unfortunately, as they were testing this vehicle controllers lost contact with it shortly after it detached from its rocket launch system.

The advancement of technology never ceases to amaze me. It was just over 100 years ago that the first successful flights were conducted at Kitty Hawk. 64 years ago Chuck Yeager was the first pilot to ever reach Mach 1. Now we are looking at potentially flying something 20 times faster! I can't help but wonder where technology is headed. Is it inevitable that at some point our progress is going to have to peak or are we on a never-ending journey of continually outdoing ourselves. Today, technology moves so fast that we often are hesitant to purchase computers and cell phones because we know that something better is probably just weeks or months away. If we continue at this pace, the next great thing may only be hours away.

This post was written in response to:
Pentagon Loses Contact With Hypersonic Plane
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/08/201181202844313448.html

Its Not The Economy Stupid!

A recent feed from NPR writer Tom Gjelten covers the reality of the current global economic crisis. In the article he cites politics as the real driving force behind our current economic woes. He says that Standards & Poors claim that political polarization is the key problem with the future economic outlook in many of the world's major countries. This definitely seems to be the case here in the United States. Gjelten points to Spain as another example of where split opinions are keeping anything from being accomplished.

One of my favorite quotes is by Dale Carnegie. He said "when 2 partners always agree, one of them is not necessary." I believe that multiple perspective are critical to success in any situation. We certainly don't want our government to be run by a single party that has all of the power. However, we also don't want a government in which nothing can be accomplished due to the fact that common sense can never overcome political platforms. I understand that elections are important, but I think that American voters are intelligent enough to see when some compromise is absolutely necessary. Our politicians have continued to embarrass themselves on both sides of the isle throughout these entire proceedings. I know that tough decisions need to be made. I think that everyone would respect them, no matter the outcome, if our elected officials would just transparent about why they made these decisions.

This post was written in response to:

In Current Crisis, It's Not Just The Economy

by Tom Gjelten

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139556112/in-current-crisis-its-not-just-the-economy?ft=1&f=1004

Standardized Test Scores

According to a recent feed from NPR, an Indonesian family is under attack from their neighbors after their son exposed a cheating scandal at the local school. The student claims that his teachers encouraged him to "leave the classroom during the test and stash copies of his answers in the bathroom...for his classmates to pick up." The school denies any cheating was being encouraged. However, they did report in the feed that Indonesia reported a 99% pass rate for all students on their high school entrance exams. Either that test is insanely easy or something is up.

Every time I hear of these incredible scores from overseas it makes me wonder what the reality is. Are they really testing every student? Are they reporting the results for all students? Is there any assistance for these kids or are they really just that superior to American students? I really doubt that any of this is a true picture of what is really going on. Every time I hear about standardized test results from China I simply stop listening. Their top kids may be capable of some amazing things, but so are ours.

I've had the opportunity to be an academic coach in different competitions and traveled to state events. I have seen first-hand just how amazing American students are and I would put them up against students from anywhere in the world in an academic competition.

This blog was written in response to the following feed:
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/10/139393742/indonesian-family-pays-price-for-exposing-cheating?ft=1&f=1004

I Wish I Was A Country...Or A Huge Bank

A recent feed from NPR discusses the current economic situation in Italy and throughout the world. In the feed, the author states that Italy is proposing a possible constitutional amendment that requires the country run a balanced budget from year to year. After reading this it made me think about the total state of global economic affairs. Pretty much every industrialized nation has a huge debt, with no real prospect of ever paying it off.

Looking at my own finances, I can't help but think that I wish I could operate like that. If I took the same path as the United States I could live a very lavish lifestyle and my personal debt would double every ten years (or less). If people started to worry about my credit worthiness, I could simply promise that I would continue to overspend...just not quite as bad. If things ever get really bad I could always play the "I'm too big to fail card".

I know that this is absurd. However, I think its easier to make a mockery of this situation, than to really take a look at how frightening this could all be. I have never been a big believer in the whole "end of days 2012 theory", but a global financial catastrophe might steer me in that direction.

This blog was written in response to the following feed:
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/05/139033161/to-calm-markets-italy-pledges-a-balanced-budget?ft=1&f=1001
By: The Associated Press

Augmented Reality: Cool or Creepy?

Augmented reality has been used by advertisers and gamers in the past to put images of individuals in the action. However, a recent post on ReadWriteWeb discusses a possible new use for the technology. Using a webcam, you can shoot a picture of yourself and try clothes on your picture while shopping online.

Would this really be of use to anyone? I am not a big shopper, but there are few things that I can think of that I would rather do less than virtually try on clothing. It really seems like just another useless application of this technology. I would like to believe that something useful will one day come of augmented reality, but it may just be one of this things that is kind of cool, but may never pan out to really benefit us.

This post was written in response to the following feed:
Augmented Reality for Online Shopping
By: Sarah Perez

What Tech Is Really Necessary?

In a recent blog post on Edutopia, Mary Beth Hertz discusses the necessity of technology in today's educational setting. One aspect that I loved about her post was that she discusses what truly is necessary for students in their future. She mentions that tech tools and gadgets come and go and that these are not the critical element of student learning. In reality, it is much more important that students be able to navigate through multiple operating systems, be able to find quality information online, and be able evaluate online sources.

In today's constantly changing technology world, I couldn't agree with this more. The cutting edge tools of today will be obsolete in a few months or a year, so students need to be flexible. As long as we equip them with the basic tools to be able to work with multiple programs, they will be able to navigate their own way through new things that arise.

This post was written based on:

What Tech Tools Should Be Required Knowledge for Teachers?

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/technology-skills-required-knowledge-mary-beth-hertz?utm

Graduation Rate Comparison

A recent press release from the Department of Education covers the new reporting standards set by the federal government. The new reporting standards are intended to make sure that all schools are using the same data sets in order to determine graduation rates. There has been much speculation over the past several years that some schools were using creative tactics in order to make their graduation rates appear to be better than they actually were. While I like to believe in the goodness of educators and their intentions, I also know that sometimes there is immense pressure to make certain that your school isn't identified in certain categories. Sometimes a tenth of a percentage point can be the difference for schools from being "ok", to mountains of paperwork and financial issues. In the article, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is reported as saying "A common rate will help target support so more students graduate on-time by using more accurate data."

Having worked in school improvement, I know that accurate data is critical to making sound decisions. Further, often times data sets can be very surprising (good or bad) compared to what the common perception of performance is. However, I really have mixed feelings when it comes to the category of graduation rate. We are constantly striving to make curriculum more rigorous and ensure that students are receiving the highest quality education possible. Yet, at the same time we are reducing student choices in electives and eliminating many programs that keep students in school. It is often discussed in terms of technology how we must meet the needs of 21st Century learners and match education to their lifestyles, but we still continue to cut programs like art, music, wood shop, auto, etc... Sometimes these are the programs that match up best with a students learning interests. I maintain the frequently unpopular opinion that maybe college isn't the right path for every student. I do believe that everyone should continue to educate themselves, but for some kids it may be better to attend a trade or technical school. If these students would have had access to trade oriented programs in high school, they may have been better off in terms of career development.

If we offer programs that pertain to student interests, both technologically and otherwise, graduation rates will take care of themselves. Feel free to post a response or comment. I am always interested in others opinions.

Read the full press release by following this link:
http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/states-begin-reporting-uniform-graduation-rate-reveal-more-accurate-high-school-

Is America Broke?

You really can't view any media source in America today without hearing or seeing something related to the looming debt crisis. Politicians seem miles apart from coming to any type of solution and the days are slipping away as we near the August 2nd deadline. The most unfortunate part of this whole situation is that I believe both sides of the debate have legitimate arguments, yet they refuse to even consider points from the opposing side.

Conservatives believe that spending is out of control and that cuts must be made to make any real difference. On this point I would have to agree. I use the National Debt Clock website (http://www.usdebtclock.org/) for various lessons in my classes. When I first began using it in 2008, our debt was somewhere in the 7-8 trillion dollar range. Today, that figure has almost doubled. Clearly something is out of control. I know that there aren't any easy cuts to make since entitlements make up a huge majority of our national spending. Further, of the things that can be cut educational spending is one of them and that would not serve me well as a teacher. It very well could mean that I would be out of a job.

On the other side, Liberals want to increase taxes on the very wealthy. I understand that these are the people who drive industry and create jobs for people like me. However, even if we were to increase taxes on this group none of them would be going without basic necessities. If you take $100,000 from a billionaire, they will still be able to buy groceries. If you take $10,000 from a family with a $40,000 income, they may not. Many people argue that this may discourage innovation and expansion because businesses know that they will just have to pay more in taxes if they continue to grow. While this is true, they will still end up making more money by expanding than if they stay the same. I choose to coach and serve on committees throughout the school year, which does cause me to pay more in taxes. Still, I do end up with a net gain.

In the end, I really don't know what the correct solution to this problem is. I really don't believe in redistribution of wealth and I think that if you work hard and earn a large salary, you deserve it. However, would a flat tax rate for all income levels really be redistribution of wealth? I would love to hear your responses.

This post was written based on the following feed:
Americans View Debt Deadlock With Worry and Scorn
By: Andrew Stern
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/27/us-usa-debt-opinions-idUSTRE76Q4IW20110727?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29

Rural Schools Benefit from Partnerships With Universities

 Resources can be very tough to come by for many rural schools throughout the nation. Often rural communities do not have the benefit of major universities being located in their community to share resources with local schools. Further, students in rural communities do not have the opportunity to visit university libraries or other educational facilities. In a recent feed from the U.S. Department of Education, they outline ways that some benefits may be extended to some of these schools.

For years universities have worked in partnership with rural schools in an attempt to give back to communities that support them. Michigan State University has research sites in the school district that I currently work in and our school benefits from access to these resources. Now, the Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture are working to further this effort. According to White, the Federal Government has provided more than $4 billion to extend this working partnership.

I believe that this type of effort is exactly what is needed to aid schools in rural communities. Sure, the world is shrinking with technology providing us access to resources that previously were unavailable. However, access through technology is only possible if you have the funding to purchase the technology. Many rural schools do not have this luxury, so this gives them an opportunity that they may not otherwise have.

This post is written in reference to:

ED and USDA Promote the Value in Rural Partnerships

Posted on July 27, 2011 by John White

(http://www.ed.gov/blog/2011/07/ed-and-usda-promote-the-value-in-rural-partnerships/)

Assistive Technology

A feed today from Edutopia includes a video on the potential uses of assistive technology within the classroom. (http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-enabling-dreams-video?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EdutopiaNewContent+%28Edutopia%29&utm_content=Google+Reader) It has some outstanding advice on how these technologies should be introduced early and can be used to benefit both the student and teacher. Leveling the playing field for all students will decrease frustration for all parties involved.

I have been using various technology tools in an attempt to accommodate the wide variety of learning levels and styles that I see in my classroom everyday. One advantage that we have is that all students in grades 6-12 have their own laptop to use for the school year that is issued by the school. With it students can access a variety of tools with a simple mouse click. One tool that has proven to be very effective is the text to speech function. Students can highlight a piece of text and the computer will read the selection to them. For some this is very helpful because they can understand and comprehend when they hear things, but they may never make it through the same passage if they had to read it themselves. Another tool that I have used this year is a recording pen that will allow me to read a test once and upload it online. Students can access the online recording at the time of the test and listen to the questions as they take it. It allows them to listen to any question or answer as many times as they need to. Since I see all levels of reading ability this has been very helpful. It also helps me because I don't have to arrange for someone to read the test every hour of the day. It is ready to go at any time, at any pace, for any student that I grant access.

If you have any great ideas for ways to further accommodate students I would love to hear them!

More Senseless Killing

Unless you live under a rock, you have heard about the bombing and shooting spree that took place in Norway today. A feed tonight from NPR covers some of the early details that outline the horrific events of the day. (http://www.npr.org/2011/07/22/138626825/police-norway-bombing-shootings-domestic-terror) While it is still early and stories tend to change with time and clarity, the initial report says that it was a domestic terrorist with a political grudge. It also claims that it was a lone individual that carried out the bombing and the shootings at the youth camp.

I don't know all of the details behind the motivation for these horrific acts, but I don't know that I have to in order to say that I just don't get it. Each time that I see an incident like this I just can't help but wonder how those who carry them out believe that this will advance their cause. I do realize that sometimes people feel like their voices are not being heard and that drastic actions may be the only way to get someone's attention. However, does it really make sense that a mass killing spree will add to your credibility? If people aren't listening to you it may be because they think you are unimportant or crazy. Killing innocent people doesn't really do much to combat this perception. There must be better ways to gain support for your cause.

The End of an Era

A recent feed from Aljazeera covered the return of the space shuttle Atlantis and the end of the NASA shuttle program. (http://english.aljazeera.net//news/americas/2011/07/20117215316421383.html) The author comments in the article that this move now leaves Russia as the only country that can travel to the space station. Further, the author mentions that the U.S. is looking to private industry to develop our next vehicle to conduct space travel.

While reading this I couldn't help but wonder how we haven't come up with something faster, more powerful, or more efficient over the last 3 decades. We have made tremendous leaps in all areas of technology and industry, yet we are still traveling to space in basically the same craft the astronauts flew in the 1980's. Cars today can tell you where you are, how to get to wherever you want to go, and even park themselves. Certainly, some of the brilliant minds that have made that happen should be able to engineer a better space craft.

The question asked by the author of the feed is why hasn't the U.S. pursued this new option before the retirement of the shuttle program? Why indeed? Has the end of the Cold War really killed our drive to be the leader in space exploration, or has it just taken a back seat to bigger issues? I really don't know. Our society has reaped the benefits of many inventions that were byproducts of the space program and I don't think we would be where we are technologically without it. I would love to hear your thoughts/comments on this topic. Please feel free to respond.

Will Alcohol Actually Solve a Problem?

According to a recent feed from Politico, (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/58867.html) alcohol sales in Minnesota may soon come to a stop because businesses need to have a state issued card to sell alcohol and they are unable to renew them due to the government shutdown. Further, tobacco sales are expected to be affected in much the same way in the next few months. According to the author, Miller Brewing Company sales in neighboring Wisconsin could also be impacted by the shutdown.

These actions are sure to motivate people to action if they weren't before. Messing with people's retirement, insurance, taxes, education, etc...isn't enough to stir the masses, but alcohol and tobacco make people do funny things. I believe that the government of Minnesota will somehow find a way to allow people to operate with expired cards even if they are unable to come to a deal to get the government up and running again in the near future. Politicians will see an unprecedented influx of letters, phone calls, and emails if they allow these sales to run out. It could be an interesting experiment though if they try to hold their ground. We may actually find out what it does take to motivate people to come to the polls.

Simulations in the Classroom

A recent Edutopia feed advocates for the use of virtual simulations in the classroom. (http://www.edutopia.org/computer-simulations-virtual-learning) I haven't personally used any virtual simulations in my classes. However, it isn't because I am opposed to them, I really just don't know where to find them. Our school has the unique privilege of having all students being issued their own laptop to use for the school year. This allows us access to a wide range of educational tools and no excuse not to try anything that may offer more in-depth learning. The feed article provides a couple of links to possible simulations that could be used in classrooms.

I am deeply interested in more information on this topic. If you have anything that you have used please let me know!

A New Nation is Born!

One thing that I absolutely love about history and geography is that its always changing. Many students take for granted the way that the world is today. While many parts of the world have been inhabited for hundreds or thousands of years, the political boundaries that shape our world today have only been in place for a short time in most cases. Even if a country has been around for awhile, the border that surrounds it almost certainly has shifted at some point over the last century. And it has happened again! According to a recent feed from Aljazeera, South Sudan has declared independence and become its own country. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/07/20117820539243358.html 

Sudan has been torn apart by civil war and unrest dating back several decades. Now it seems that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel for those that live in the region. Of course, these transitions rarely go smoothly in the beginning and this may take several decades to really materialize, but it does provide some ray of hope for citizens. After all, many Sudanese citizens have been at war most or all of their lives. Certainly the slightest possibility for peace and stability would come as welcome news to those that live there.

Google Plus

The possibilities that Google + seems to offer is incredibly exciting. According to an article by the ReadWriteWeb, social media may finally be a reality for everyday use in the classroom. (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_plus_education.php#.Tg_Gkv10fVw.blogger) Security has been a persistent obstacle to widespread use of social media for student and teacher collaboration to this point. However, Google + offers many different levels of security that may provide the privacy schools need. Social media captivates the hearts and minds of teenagers everyday and it makes perfect sense to use this to appeal to learning.

One other issue that may still present a problem for administrators is the idea of students and staff interacting through social media. Professionally this can cause issues as the lines of authority begin to blur. However, I believe that these concerns are lessening through the successful use of other sites like Edmodo. I have used this to a limited extent in my classes and have found that students really seem to like some of the advantages that it provides. Further, I have not had one parent complaint about it. Complaints regarding Facebook are filed almost daily and that site isn't even permitted on our campus. Edmodo does have some limitations that I have found cumbersome, but hopefully Google + will take classroom collaboration to the next level.

The NEA & Teacher Evaluation

A recent feed from Edutopia entitled "An Opportunity for the NEA to Redefine the Teaching Profession" covers the controversial issue of the new teacher evaluation system. According to the article the NEA has stood silent on this issue as teachers rights have been attacked all across the country. However, the author sees the NEA's role as critical in these uncharted times. The overall tone of the article is that this is an opportunity for teachers and administrators everywhere to move the profession in a positive direction.

I've had the opportunity to participate in some of the planning for what teacher evaluation will look like for our school in the future. While this new evaluation process does seem to hold some promise for improving schools, it also has some pieces that are pretty scary. One of my biggest issues with the process is the use of achievement data as part of the evaluation. I wouldn't mind so much if the achievement data was specifically tied to the subject that I teach, but it isn't. Reading is one of the scores that has been identified as an indicator of teacher proficiency. While we use reading in history and work on specific techniques for working with text within our discipline, we never specifically teach reading in class. Further, there is no such thing as a reading class beyond middle school. This is not because we do not value reading, rather reading is not included in any state mandated curriculum. 

Content expectations are handed down to us with the expectation that these items will be presented in all schools. It seems to me that if reading was one of the things that they wanted to use as a measurement tool, they would want to have classes at all levels of education to continue growth. Actually, it doesn't seem like they would...this seems like a typical move.  

I do believe that there are some teachers out there that should leave the profession. Further, if I am ever found to be incompetent and it is shown to me that I can not teach effectively I will leave the profession with no questions asked. Student growth is our primary objective and I would never want to compromise that regardless of the circumstances. However, I do want to be fairly and not based on something that a legislator (who may have never worked a day in education) dreamed up.

Where is the Line for Privacy?

Should the FBI or any other organization be able to secretly install GPS tracking devices on our vehicles without obtaining a warrant or permission first. That is exactly what happened to a college student in California. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/43619018#43619018 This seems to me at first glance to be a tremendous invasion of privacy.

I realize that we are living in a world today that requires vigilant pursuit of individuals that may be involved in terrorist activities against the United States. However, where does it end? I don't want to flush all of our rights to privacy down the drain because we are afraid of future attacks. The FBI didn't provide any reason for why they chose to track this young man's car. There should at least be some requirement or justification for such action. 

According to the video, the FBI and many of the courts contend that "they don't need permission due to the fact that cars travel on public roads and there is no guarantee of privacy" there. Others would say that we give up our privacy every day by choosing to use wireless devices and computers, which track our position anyway. However, this just seems scary to me. Our forefathers risked their lives years ago to escape tyranny. I would hate to see us return to it by choice as a result of fear.

Here we go again! Gas prices on the Rise.

Just as gas prices finally began to come down from the $4 mark, we had to have a holiday which inevitably makes them go back up. (A 30 cent increase in my area over a couple of days) To make things worse, an oil pipeline in Montana ruptured on Friday according to a feed from the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/us/03oilspill.html?partner=rss&emc=rss The article stated that all oil companies that had pipelines in the area were ordered to shut down immediately. Of course this is a good thing because we don't want to see local drinking water supplies polluted or wildlife harmed. However, how much is this going to cost me? We all know that even the slightest hiccup in the oil world can have staggering effects on the prices that we pay at the pump.

I would guess that we will be feeling the effects of this one for the rest of the summer. The oil spill was small, but the shut-down and repairs should give the oil companies enough of an excuse to keep prices jacked up for months to come...at least until the Labor Day price hike rolls around.

Teachers only work 9 months per year!

A recent feed from the Department of Education covered some of the work that schools are doing as a part of the Race to the Top program. http://www.ed.gov/blog/2011/07/school%E2%80%99s-on-for-summer-states-engage-teachers-in-race-to-the-top/ According to the feed, this work is aimed to “fundamentally redefin[e] the education landscape in America.” I'm not exactly sure that it will have such a dramatic impact. Nonetheless, our school is working through the summer in an attempt to jump through the bureaucratic hoops set out by the government.

To kick off the summer our school improvement team attended a leadership conference focused on the new evaluation process. Charlotte Danielson came and spoke about her work related to school improvement and ways that it could possibly be turned into components of evaluation. Our next step is to work through a professional committee to use what we have learned to design a new evaluation that will be used for all teachers and administered each year.

The one thing that I found truly interesting about Ms. Danielson's perspective was the goal of evaluation. Typically, evaluations have been viewed as punitive tasks that are used to punish teachers. It was sort of the administrator's tool to "get" teachers that they didn't like. However, according to Ms. Danielson evaluations should be used to help teachers grow in their professional development. While there will be some things in the evaluation that maybe didn't go well, these should be viewed as areas for growth rather than negatives.

In order for this to happen there needs to be a great deal of trust between teachers and administrators within a school district. Further, those performing evaluations need to be trained to conduct them properly and effectively. This may be a tall order for local school districts as they continue to cut administrative staff.

Relief at the pump

According to a feed from Reuters, there are mixed opinions concerning President Obama's decision to release 30 million barrels of U.S. oil reserves. As gas prices continue to soar, the decision was made in hopes of relieving some of the economic strain that Americans face in their daily lives.

Some speculate that the move was purely political as President Obama hopes to garner support for the 2012 election. Others express little concern for the motivation behind what prompted the move. Personally, I couldn't care less why gas prices are going down. I am just glad that they are. Currently, I drive 65 miles round-trip to work each day and the cost of travel significantly impacts our household budget. Even if this move only lowers gas to $3/gallon, it will be a tremendous help to us.

A culture for learning

Celebrating academic success is one area that unfortunately is often overlooked in public education. Walk into any school in the state and you will undoubtedly see cases of trophies proudly on display to showcase athletic success. Granted, some schools do have academic awards displayed somewhere in their schools, but they generally are overshadowed by athletics. Also, you will never see 3,000 people show up to cheer on a quiz bowl team yet, it is standard practice for the football team.

One blog post from the U.S. Department of Education highlights 2011 graduates who received the Presidential Scholarship Award. This award is open to applicants throughout the United States and is one of the highest honors a student can receive. I believe that awards like this should be more publicly celebrated. Further, academic awards should become more numerous in order to inspire more students to pursue them. Students push themselves to unbelievable levels in order to earn top honors in sports, but few really drive themselves to reach the top levels of academia. This is most unfortunate due to the fact that most of them will never earn a dime from their athletic skills. Their brains however will be a necessary tool regardless of the field they pursue.

Justice?

Long overdue, individuals in Rwanda are finally being held accountable for atrocities committed while they were in positions of leadership during the 1990's. Several individuals, including one female, were charged and sentenced at a court in Tanzania.

Their sentences range anywhere from 25 years to life in prison. Depending on your personal perspective on capital punishment, your view of these sentences may vary widely. I believe that these punishments are far too light considering the charges. Many of the accused were found guilty of genocide, ordered rape, mutilation, and amputation. I'm not exactly sure what a suitable punishment for these crimes would be, but 25 years in prison seems like a slap in the face. If I was a Rwandan resident I would be outraged that someone who tortured or raped my wife and children would ever see the light of day again. Life in prison seems like the minimum penalty that I could find acceptable.