King works will be available for research

Martin Luther King's family and Morehouse University officials say the late civil rights leader's papers will remain available for research, not only to historians, but even for high school students.
The King family has been under criticism for years for its diligent protection of the copyright to his works, including the famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
The articles I have read on this did not mention how soon documents would be available on the Internet.

Rowling: At least two will die in Harry Potter finale

Author J. K. Rowling is not saying who, but she has said that at least two characters will die in the upcoming seventh and final volume of the Harry Potter series.

Flag-burning amendment to be debated

This week, the U. S. Senate will begin debating whether to have an amendment banning the burning of the American flag.
Those in favor of the amendment note that the flag is the symbol of our country and should be treated with respect.
Those against it note that the U. S. Supreme Court has ruled that burning the flag is an expression of free speech, protected under the First Amendment and this would be the first time the government has repealed one of the Bill of Rights. Also, opponents have noted that the only countries that have laws against burning the national flags are countries such as Cuba, China, and Iraq, when it was under the control of Saddam Hussein...in other words, countries where freedoms were strictly limited.

New York senior has never missed a day of school

Nothing, not illness, injury, skipping, or family vacation, has ever caused New York high school senior Steven Reneau to miss a day of school. His streak has reached approximately 2,160 days, according to a New York Post article.
Reneau said he never thought about having perfect attendance until it was mentioned to him when he was in the eighth grade. After that, he said, it became important to him.

"From that point, my perfect attendance drove me to keep going," Reneau said. "There were days when I didn't want to go, but after not missing any days for so long, I didn't want to mess it up."

Representative: New York Times should be charged with treason

Last week's New York Times scoop that Americans financial records are being searched by the government in its quest to stop terrorism has upset many people.
Some believe the Times did the right thing by informing Americans that their privacy might be violated. Others, including Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, believe the Times and other newspapers have tipped off the enemy to U. S. strategy.
King says the Times should be charged with treason.

Hackers target Instant Messenger

With the popularity of Instant Messenger increasing, it was only a matter of time before it became the target of hackers. A Cox News Service report says more and more computer viruses are being sent via instant messages.

Cell phones not necessary in class

New York school officials who tried to eliminate cell phones from classrooms were in for a rude awakening. It wasn't students who opposed the ban, but parents and politicians. That's not the way it should be, columnist Armstrong Williams says.

Southwest Missourian Congressmen offer views on staying the course in Iraq

The U. S. House of Representatives voted Friday to stay the course in Iraq as a means of fighting the war on terrorism. Our congressman, Roy Blunt, and neighboring Congressman Ike Skelton, spoke on the House floor, offering their views on the resolution.
Roy Blunt speech
Ike Skelton speech

Should students receive extra credit for not going to the bathroom?

In an attempt to discourage roaming in the halls, teachers at a Washington, D. C. area school are offering extra credit in exchange for not using bathroom passes. Check out the Washington Post article.

Web-based plagiarism causing teachers to abandon research papers

The 10-page research paper may soon be a thing of the past.
According to a Los Angeles Times article, teachers are abandoning them because the world wide web has made it too easy to plagiarize.

Safe social networking sites emerging

It appears that safer alternatives to MySpace, Facebook, Xanga, and other social networking sites are beginning to emerge. Some of those are featured in an article from eschoolnews.

Students sue to be allowed to air Christian views at school

High school students in Pennsylvania who want freedom of expression for their Christian group have sued their school district. Find out more in the Philadelphia Inquirer article.

Pennsylvania principal stirs controversy with underage drinking policy

A new principal at a Pennsylvania high school has the town up in arms over his new policy attacking the problem of underage drinking. See if you agree with the principal or his opponents by checking out the Philadelphia Inquirer article.

When fear is part of school

In the Joplin area, we are accustomed to having schools that, for the most part, are safe, and inviting to students. Unfortunately, that is not always the case elsewhere.
A Philadelphia Inquirer article takes a look at students who are afraid to go to school...and many of them don't, either getting nailed for truancy or transferring to charter schools or private schools.

Violence is uninvited guest at graduation

For one Pennsylvania school, graduation became a lesson about violence. The following article is taken from the New York Times News Service.

By David Kocieniewski
New York Times News Service
Published June 11, 2006

LEVITTOWN, Pa. -- For the 415 seniors at Harry S Truman High School, graduation day offered one final lesson--unplanned and most unwelcome--about gangs, violence and intimidation.

Members of the Bloods street gang reportedly threatened to kill the school's class president, who is a star athlete and honor student. And given the outbreak of gang-related shootings here in recent months, that threat transformed the annual commencement ceremony in this rough-hewn Philadelphia suburb into an odd pageant of anxiety and heightened security.

The 4,500 friends, relatives and spectators who arrived for the ceremony were forced to pass through metal detectors before they could enter the outdoor stadium, which was decorated with banners, bunting and sprays of yellow carnations. Undercover police detectives milled through the crowd.

Yet when the ceremonies began Friday afternoon, the class of '06 was missing its president, Tyrone Lewis, whom police had banned from the ceremony because they believed that he and his family were in danger from the Bloods.

Lewis' sister had agreed to testify against gang members in a New Jersey murder trial, and Lewis recently was shot at by men the police said they believed belonged to the gang.

Also absent from the ceremony was Ahman Fralin, 18, a senior who has been hospitalized and paralyzed from the neck down since April, when he was shot in the spine as he sat beside Lewis.

Despite protests from Lewis' mother, who threatened to sue the school district unless her son was permitted on stage, he delivered his speech from a secret spot via a video hookup.

After being welcomed with raucous applause by the crowd watching a large television screen in the stadium, Lewis, 18, made only passing reference to the circumstances that made him an exile at his own graduation.

He asked the crowd to pray for Fralin and suggested that the police lockdown surrounding the graduation ceremony should come as little surprise in an age when police dogs search school lockers for drugs and students have their knapsacks checked for guns each morning.

"We've had some crazy days, but we've also had inspiring days as well," he said.
(Follow this link for more information about this graduation and the audio to the valedictorian's speech.)

With text messaging, IM, teens no longer have a time to talk

Robert Frost wrote a wonderful poem, "A Time to Talk," about a man who had chores to do but gladly put them aside when a friend stopped by and wanted to talk. If a USA Today article is correct, teens are not taking the time to talk; instead, they are text messaging and instant messaging.

Officials fear websites increasing gang activity

As if there's not enough to worry about in cyberspace, the Thursday Dallas Morning News reports teen gangs are using social networking websites like MySpace.com to brag about their activities and to recruit new members.

California law requires schools to teach historic contributions of gays

California school districts are now required to teach children about the contributions of gays and lesbians to the state, country, and world, thanks to a law that was passed by the state legislature.
Syndicated writer and host of television's O'Reilly Factor, Bill O'Reilly writes about the law in his most recent column.

MySpace: a parking place for pedophiles, porn pushers

Syndicated writer Rebecca Hagelin offers a frightening look at the dangers of MySpace in her most recent column.

Chicago valedictorian can't be stereotyped

The Chicago Sun-Times posted an article earlier this week about a valedictorian who is extremely hard to label. He's into rap music, he plays on the baseball team, and he is also on the school chess team.