"Utah teacher's Web site publishes students' books" (Daily Herald, 02/02/09)

In an age of standardized testing, elementary school teacher Chris Wilcox believes writing has become neglected and something needs to be done to motivate children to write.

"Business Brisk at Area Libraries" (Wash Post, 02/02/09)

The Germantown library, like most in the Washington area, has had a rising tide of users as patrons look for free computer access, DVD loans and activities for children during the recession. Circulation in the last six months of the year rose as much as 23 percent in libraries around the region, records show.

"Hi, I'm Jill. Jill Biden. But please, call me Dr. Biden" (LATimes, 02/02/09)

LA Times article suggests that Joe Biden's wife shouldn't use the title of "Dr." since she's not a medical doctor.

Dr. Biden earned her doctorate in education, from the University of Delaware and is currently teaching two courses at Northern Virginia Community College.

"Selfish adults 'damage childhood'" (BBC, 02/02/09)

The aggressive pursuit of personal success by adults is now the greatest threat to British children, a major independent report on childhood says. Family break-up, unprincipled advertising, too much competition in education and income inequality are mentioned as big contributing factors.

"Drunken sailors left out of rhyme" (BBC, 01/30/09)

"Drunken sailors" have been removed from the lyrics of a nursery rhyme in a government-funded books project. But the Bookstart charity says the re-writing of What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor? has "absolutely nothing to do with political correctness".

"Schools Won’t Require Online Class. Yet." (NYTimes, 01/30/09)

NEW JERSEY education officials are working on an ambitious redesign of the state’s public high schools that is intended to better prepare students for college and the work force in the 21st century. The redesign had called for every student — not just those who are college bound — to study Algebra II, laboratory sciences and foreign languages, pass more state tests and complete at least one online course in order to graduate. But education officials recently backed away from the online requirement because of concerns over the cost and whether such courses would meet state standards.

"Want to Get a Degree Online? Get Ready to Work Just as Hard." (Wash Post, 02/01/09)

One way to get an edge in this job market is to earn an advanced degree. Just don't assume that doing it online will be easy. Online master's programs are often cheaper and more convenient than traditional ones, but they also present challenges.