Archive for the 'Education' Category

School Shooting in Ohio Injures Five

By: alex.chrum, February 27, 2012 in Crime, Education and News. Closed Tags: , .

Tragedy unfolded around 7:30 this morning in the small Ohio town of Chardon, as an armed gunman entered the city’s high school and began firing shots in the cafeteria. The suspect, believed to be a student at Chardon High School, is currently being held in police custody. Five people were injured, including at least four students, the names of whom have not yet been released. The suspect is currently in police custody.

Students evacuating Chardon High School after the shooting

Student Heather Ziska said she and other students began hearing popping noises in a nearby hallway shortly before the day’s classes were about to begin. Next, she said she saw a boy she recognized as a student enter the cafeteria with a gun and begin shooting. Students and teachers attempted to flee the school or find shelter in nearby buildings and classrooms. The suspect was chased from the school by a teacher before being apprehended by law enforcement officials.

An FBI SWAT team is currently on the scene at Chardon High, which remains on lockdown. The identity of the shooter has not yet been released, but students report that he posted a threatening message on Twitter before the shooting. “I think he said that he was going to bring a gun to school, and I think that everyone just blew it off like he was joking,” one said.

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Ronan Farrow Named 2012 Rhodes Scholar

By: alex.chrum, November 21, 2011 in Celebrities, Education and News. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Despite my own accomplishments, the perfectionist in me has always been jealous of those uber-smart, ridiculously talented, full-ride-to-Harvard-at-age-12 type of people. Ronan Farrow, the son of Woody Allen and actress Mia Farrow, is one of the most famous of these so-called child prodigies. Perhaps due to his luck-of-the-draw genetics, he has accomplished quite a bit both intellectually and in the social sector. Farrow graduated from Bard College at a remarkable 15 years of age, and then went on to earn his law degree from Yale. He also presently serves as a special adviser to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton for global youth issues.

Ronan and Mia Farrow with activist Majora Carter at a recent awards ceremony

Yesterday, my envy and respect for Ronan Farrow surmounted what I even thought possible. At 23 years old, he has been awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University in the U.K. The Rhodes Scholarship is considered to be the most prestigious scholarship in the world, and famous former recipients include Rachel Maddow, Bill Clinton, Naomi Wolf, and Bill Bradley. The intellectual and activist responded on his Twitter page with an enthusiastic and admirable statement. “Rhodes,” he said, “is a great honor and opportunity. But for now very focused on fostering youth jobs and voices.”

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50 Year Anniversary of Russian Yuri Gagarin Being The First Man in Space Before Immediately Being Overshadowed By Neil Armstrong, America

By: Zack Stovall, April 12, 2011 in Education, News, Politics and Technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Not Neil Armstrong.

April 12, 1961 was a historic day for all mankind. Not even a half century prior, man (specifically two men, the Wright Bros.) had just begun to defy gravity by creating the first manned flying vessel in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. But on this day, man was finally able to break free of our terrestrial shackles, through the firmament and into space for the first time ever. Russian Yuri Gagarin, a 27-year-old flight major, whose journey from a farm west of Moscow as the son of a carpenter became the stuff of folk lore, ascended into space for just under two hours, the first to ever do so.

Of course, this was vehemently cursed in the United States, and then quickly overshadowed by the American space program, NASA, most notably Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 crew moonwalking on the moon after having gone through space and landing on the moon. Did I mention it was on the moon? Moon. Moon landing. Moon moon moon.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we were in the middle of the Cold War with Russia at the time. I knew I left something out. At the time, the United States was full of nail-biting tension, fretting that Russia was aiming nuclear weapons at the United States, and with Russia worried about the same thing from the United States. At the same time, the Space Race, a marathon of aeronautic innovation from the two sides determined to get their man in space, have him stay there for awhile, then get him on the moon, was at a dead sprint. While the Russians won this first battle, beating NASA by a couple of weeks, America is thought to have won the Space Race by landing on the moon and firmly planting the Stars and Stripes in its soil, which as we all know, is the only official way to claim any sort of land.

So today, we commemorate the accomplishments of all mankind, made 50 years ago by Gagarin and, yes, the Russians. Let’s just not forget who won the Race though.*

*It was America. We won it. We so won it! Neil Armstrong, baby! WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER. MOONWALKIN’.

Obama Says “More Money” is Needed for Education Reform

By: Suzanne Obszanski, March 9, 2011 in Education. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

During a presentation at a technology school in Boston, President Obama stated, in response to educational strategy nationwide, “People started to realize what is needed is not either, or — not either more money or more reform, it’s both and. Both more money and more reform.”

Thank you, Captain Obvious!  Aside from the ridiculously worded quote, I’d say he hit the nail on the head.  Problem is, people didn’t just start realizing this; it’s been coming down the pipe for years.

Let’s take a look at the state of Illinois as an example, former home of Mr. Obama himself.  The state government is over $15 billion in debt and owes most public schools statewide hundreds of thousands of dollars and, in many cases, millions.  Teachers are being laid off, forced into retirement or reassigned duties as a result.  Schools are cutting extracurricular programs, including sports, the arts and more to compensate.  What’s worse?  Students are being herded like cattle into classroom sizes of 30 or more.  That, my friends, is not teaching; it’s glorified babysitting.

Aside from the state deficit itself, government officials have long been delving into the teacher retirement system (TRS), a system so crippled that many worry whether or not there will be funds there at all.  I suppose this is no different than the social security system in America.

The prioritization of school systems is no different than Wall Street, or America in general.  On Wall Street, the fat cats keep getting fatter.  The administrators (fat cats) in public schools have inflated salaries, often times equaling the cost it would take to hire 3 or more teachers, a move that would decrease class sizes dramatically.  Speaking of prioritization, we live in a country where it’s the law to have automobile insurance, but health insurance is optional.

Golly Gee, Beaver, School systems sure aren’t the same as they were back when I went to school….

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

By: Max Turnier, January 17, 2011 in Education, Holidays and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

A quote from Martin Luther King, Jr:

“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will,” wrote King in a letter while in jail in Birmingham, Alabama.

President Ronald Reagan signed this federal holiday into law in 1983 and it was first observed on January 20th, 1986.

King was a prominent leader of the African American civil rights movement  through the 1950′s and 1960′s. He was shot and killed as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4th, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Read about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his influence in the civil rights movement at Juggle.com. Also,  read about the Letter from Birmingham Jail.

Busywork-Related Google Trends Reveal Little Actual Teaching Going on at US Schools this Week

By: Sam, November 23, 2010 in Education. 0 Comments Tags: .
A mind-numbingly boring Thanksgiving math worksheet of questionable educational value.

Happy Thanksgiving, schoolchildren of America! Try not to learn anything today!

As you may have observed, here at Juggle we try to keep abreast of what’s hot on the Internet via Google Trends. Usually this means something Justin Bieber-related, but occasionally something really interesting comes up, and today is one of those days.

Just about 4 hours ago, right around 8 am eastern time (7 am central!), several phrases shot to the top of the trends list. These searches include phrases like “Thanksgiving games,” “Thanksgiving word search printable,” “Thanksgiving math worksheets” and “Thanksgiving trivia.”

What’s going on here?

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The Case of the Mysterious Astoria University SkyMall Ad

By: Sam, October 4, 2010 in Education. 11 Comments Tags: , , .
A rendering of a black T-shirt with the Astoria University Logo

A T-shirt bearing the comically-dated Astoria University logo is the only thing that's actually offered in the Astoria University SkyMall ad. Join us as we investigate this mysterious T-shirt granting institution.

Over the weekend, one of us had the privilege of flying on Southwest Airlines. Since some ridiculous agreement between the FAA and airlines means that we’d be yelled at if we broke out our iPad/iPod/Kindle or anything else fun or informative, we were forced to brave whatever content Southwest had decided to put in the seatback pocket in front of us. Boy are we glad we did. Among the usual staggering array of crap in the typical of the SkyMall catalog, we found a true gem, an ad so mysterious and non-sensical that we simply had to find out more. Join us after the jump as we delve into the mystery of the Astoria University SkyMall ad.

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James Franco Has Been Seeing Other Schools

By: Sam, March 30, 2010 in Celebrities and Education. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
A dashing James Franco, clad in an artist's black turtleneck, stares dreamily into the camera, and your soul.

Don't fall for this dreamy stare, colleges! He's already seeing four other schools!

Though he pulled out of his gig as UCLA‘s commencement speaker just one year after his 2008 graduation, James Franco‘s thirst for knowledge is remains unquenchable. The Yale Daily News reports that the Spider-Man frenemy has been accepted to Yale‘s PhD program in English. All of this would be well and good, if not for the fact that the article also reveals that Franco is currently enrolled in MFA programs at both Columbia University and Brooklyn College, as well as New York University film school.

Despite Fanco’s no-doubt-honorable intentions, with so many schools and classes to attend, one or more of them is bound to get hurt. And while we won’t weep when he ends up ditching Columbia and/or NYU for the shiny newness of Yale, we can’t help but feel a little sorry for Brooklyn College. While the other schools have seen their fair share of celebrity students, Franco was a big get for Brooklyn, which hasn’t had much to crow about since Alan Dershowitz graduated in 1959. Yale, Columbia and NYU could all easily move on from the loss of Franco, who’s just another notch on their celebrity student bedposts, but Brooklyn College might never recover.

It’s time to do the right thing and settle down, James. Didn’t you learn anything from your star turn in 2000′s Whatever It Takes?