Cover Story
Total Living Network, a Chicago-based Christian television station, has come up with a way to post the Ten Commandments in public schools. In churches and community centers, the network is giving students book covers displaying the biblical text. “We are trying to motivate children to become better citizens and learn how to apply what is on the covers to their lives,” explains Debra Hall, TLN’s public relations officer.
Take It Off
In August, seven cheerleaders at Plainwell High School in Michigan were suspended from school for a day and prohibited from cheering after they showed up at a football game wearing tank tops with the slogan “Can’t Touch This” stitched across their chests. Team captain Sara Snow, who was sent home for refusing to either cover up her shirt or turn it inside out, says the slogan was not intended to be suggestive. “Even if you took it as having a sexual meaning, it supports abstinence,” she insists.
Frayed Ribbon
A new Brookings Institution report claims that many schools identified as exemplary by the U.S. Department of Education fail to foster high academic achievement. The Institute’s analysis of the department’s Blue Ribbon Schools winners in seven states reveals that, based on state reading and math test results, only 19 of 70 elementary schools scored among the top 10 percent in their demographic categories, and 17 schools scored in the bottom half.
Money Mistake
Arkansas’ ethics commission recently confirmed that, as state employees, teachers may not accept gifts that exceed $100 in value. Problem is, the Arkansas State Teacher of the Year award comes with a $15,000 check. Lawmakers are now working on an amendment that will allow teachers to accept the prize.
Practice Makes Perfect
Keisha Swearingen, a 7th grader at Sierra Middle School in Roswell, New Mexico, busts out of her booth after casting a vote in the school’s mock presidential election. The exercise is designed to get future members of the electorate into the habit of voting. The students will find out the winners in November.
