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Education Tag

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) decided to strike, which began today after the union's House of Delegates turned down the latest offer from the Board of Education. Over 300,000 students did not have school on Thursday. They may not have school on Friday.

During the same congressional hearing that featured Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, lawmakers also heard from an American teenager named Jamie Margolin of Washington state. She used the same type of doomsday rhetoric we've heard from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. According to Margolin, some of her peers are wondering why they should even complete their studies since the world is ending.

Citing concerns about student mental health, a high school in Ohio decided to do away with valedictorian and salutatorians. "The class of 2020 at Mason High School will not have a valedictorian or salutatorian and will move to the Latin Honors System in an effort to reduce stress and anxiety among students, school officials announced this week," reports WJLA.

Like millions of Catholics this past Wednesday, I attended Mass and began the season of Lent by having an ash cross marked on my forehead. One student who also observed Ash Wednesday and went to school with an ash cross was forced to wash it off by a teacher, despite pleas from the boy that it was a symbol of his faith.

Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, the wife of Prince Harry, is backing a campaign to "decolonize" the British curriculum by getting more women and ethnic minorities to join the faculties instead of "male, pale, and stale" professors, the UK newspapers report. Getting endorsement from the newly-minted Duchess of Sussex is more than a publicity coup for the leftist campaigners who are calling to purge Britain of its distinct cultural and historic legacy by replacing it with their politically correct worldview. The newest member of the royal family has a great sway over the academic policy making since she is the Patron of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, with over 500 member institutions in the UK and former British colonies.

If I'd never send my children to political rallies, it's partly because I expect something like the Covington boys pile-on to be the outcome.  I protect my kids from political ephemera and encourage them to read the great works of fiction. In the minds of deep blue America, if some children can headline the anti-gun rallies in the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, surely other children can be held responsible for smirks and MAGA hats.  If David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez can organize (well, allegedly) nationwide grade school protests last year, then how come Nick Sandmann is attending March for Life?  He has to face an adult consequence.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order to end Common Core standards in the schools. From WPTV:
"One of things we would constantly hear about on the campaign trail is frustration from parents with Common Core and the testing," said Gov. DeSantis at a news conference at Ida S. Baker High School in Cape Coral.

Newly sworn in Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh recently visited Georgetown Prep, where he was welcomed with open arms. It's a feel-good story, which provides a stark contrast to the circus that played out in recent months.

The Atlantic wrote an article about teenagers protesting in-class presentations after a tweet went viral that said "stop forcing students to present in front of the class and give them a choice not to." Students said this experience can be traumatic and permanently scar them. As someone with severe anxiety, I understand where they're coming from. I refuse to use the word snowflake in this situation because there is a stigma around anxiety and it's not well understood, but at the same time, learning to speak in front of people is a valuable lesson.