Locally, in Hillsborso: Character Education

The newest fads at Brookwood Elementary School: saying "please" and "thank you," opening doors for others and stifling those moans when teachers assign homework.

Brookwood joins a manners movement that started sweeping across the nation a few years ago. The reason is simple, educators say: Good behavior shows respect, which in turn wards off violence and leaves more time for learning.

That sounds ok but in my book it's just another item that public schools add that takes too much time and money.

Arizona passed an English Immersion program in the 01-02 school year but the contention is just starting:

An East Valley technical school is prohibiting students from speaking Spanish in class, a move a Phoenix attorney said oversteps Arizona's English-immersion mandate while highlighting the challenges of implementing the controversial law.


The law clearly states that all instruction needs to be in "Structured English Immersion." But teachers can use a student's native language to clarify terms. It purposely omits the issue of students speaking other languages to steer clear of civil rights challenges, ....

"But many teachers still mistakenly feel English immersion means everything has to be in English, which is not the law," .

This will be interesting to follow.

Travis -

What is the difference this year compared with others? What are you doing that is so bad? Do you have the dreaded seven year itch? How can I help?