Public Education

"The board had moved to forge ahead with a controversial plan to change the names of 44 schools that honor figures [allegedly] linked to historical racism or oppression. But on Tuesday, the board voted unanimously to suspend the effort when it approved a resolution saying it 'wishes to avoid the distraction and wasteful expenditure of public funds in frivolous litigation.'" - NPR

"In an address of sweeping historical breadth that quoted everyone from T.S. Eliot and Ronald Reagan to Russell Kirk, Secretary DeVos corrected two widespread misconceptions about U.S. education. First, she exposed the dichotomy between government-run education and family empowerment through choice.

"Some schools are preparing for the worst. Los Angeles and San Diego are opting for a completely virtual start to the year. ...Other districts are working on hybrid plans....Uncertainty, it seems, appears to be the only certain thing around." - WORLD

"In a new study from the American Enterprise Institute, however, researcher Lyman Stone finds a different answer. After consolidating data from a 400-year period, he identifies 'two compelling explanations: the expansion of secular education and the decline in marriage.'" - Acton

"In observance of National Religious Freedom Day, President Donald Trump hosted a gathering today (Jan. 16) of students from different religions to affirm the right of students to pray in school." - BPNews

"... our public schools and universities cannot be places where virtue is taught, primarily because we as a society can hardly agree on the meaning of the word. Most of our schools no longer recognize character formation as 'being the ultimate end of all instruction.'" - Intellectual Takeout

"As children, they didn’t think to challenge the new adult rules, the new adult ideas of justice. Instead, they found a way around this difficulty that the grown-ups had introduced into their lives. It was a quiet plea to be left alone." - Mark Ward

"As is made clear in the presentations, TM is a Hindu-based religious practice. Along with individual ‘mantras,’ which are the names of Hindu deities, Quiet Time requires each student to participate in a Hindu ceremony known as a ‘puja.’ which TM describes (incorrectly) as a secular ceremony." - RNS