Here's an example of the public school you are paying for with your tax dollars:
GRADE SCHOOL SICK: Kindergartener allegedly performs sex act on classmate...
Report of sex in kindergarten investigated
Saturday, November 23, 2002
BY PETE SHELLEM
Of The Patriot-News
Harrisburg School District and county authorities are investigating allegations that a 5-year-old kindergarten girl performed oral sex on a male classmate in school last week.
City spokesman Randy King said the incident took place Nov. 15 in a classroom at Melrose Elementary School.
It wasn't clear yesterday where the teacher was at the time. She left a memo for the principal detailing the incident before she went on leave earlier this week and has yet to be interviewed. King said the teacher has a terminally ill relative and is out of town.
District officials learned of the incident after a classmate told her mother last weekend. The mother notified school district officials Monday, and they immediately launched an investigation.
Harrisburg police have turned the matter over to county social service agencies because of the age of the children.
There will be no criminal charges, King said, because of the children's age and because the act was not forced.
"However, Children and Youth Services will be investigating the matter," King said. "Children of this age who engage in such conduct don't necessarily get this from television."
The boy's mother contacted the news media yesterday, saying the school district was being unresponsive to her inquiries about the incident.
The mother, whose name is being withheld by The Patriot-News to protect the identity of the child, said that when the girl who performed the act was questioned, she admitted she had done it.
The mother said she wasn't immediately notified, and after she was, district officials told her the matter had been turned over to Dauphin County Children and Youth, told her to get her son counseling and refused to discuss it further.
She said she is concerned for her son as well as the girl, because she feels a child exhibiting such behavior may be being abused.
"This isn't kids fighting or cutting up in school," the mother said. "This is a serious matter."
District solicitor Nate Waters said that while the incident has been turned over to social service agencies, it is still not clear exactly what happened.
"Nobody that I have talked to has assured me that these things have happened," Waters said. "We don't want to keep on moving on with hearsay from 5-year-olds. We're currently attempting to contact the teacher and get some answers."
Waters said he doesn't doubt the incident took place.
"We're trying not to sensationalize 5-year-olds having sex," Waters said. "We don't want to alarm people who have 5-year-olds in classes all over the city.
"This has never happened before to my knowledge and very likely is never going to happen again," he said. PETE SHELLEM: 255-8156 or pshellem@patriot-news.com
Saturday, November 23, 2002
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
You know... I hate paying school taxes. I mean what's the point? I'm not attending a public school. I don't have any kids, and those kids that I don't have aren't attending a public school. Yahoo! has a news story which tells me that the public school system isn't up to snuff. GRRR!!
Young Americans flunk geography, according to National Geographic quiz survey
Wed Nov 20, 9:43 AM ET
By PAUL RECER, AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON - Ask young people to pick out Iraq on a map of the Middle East, and only 13 percent can locate it � despite a barrage of headlines and broadcast reports about a possible war against President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).
Same goes for Israel or Iran, according to a National Geographic (news - web sites) study that finds there has been little to no improvement in students' knowledge of geography since 1988.
The society survey released Wednesday found that only about one in seven of Americans between the age of 18 and 24, the prime age for military warriors, could find Iraq. The score was the same for Iran, an Iraqi neighbor.
Although the majority, 58 percent, of the young Americans surveyed knew that the Taliban and al-Qaida were based in Afghanistan (news - web sites), only 17 percent could find that country on a world map. A U.S.-led force attacked the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan in October 2001, and President Bush (news - web sites) has said he is prepared to use force to rid Iraq of any chemical, nuclear or biological weapons programs.
The survey asked 56 geographic and current events questions of young people in nine countries and scored the results with traditional grades. The surveyed Americans got a "D," with an average of 23 correct answers. Mexico ranked last with an average score of 21, just three points from a failing grade.
Topping the scoring was Sweden, with an average of 40, followed by Germany and Italy, each with 38. None of the countries got an "A," which required average scores of 42 correct answers or better on the 56 questions.
"If our young people can't find places on a map and lack awareness of current events, how can they understand the world's cultural, economic and natural resource issues that confront us?" John Fahey, president of the National Geographic Society, said in a statement.
National Geographic is convening an international panel of policy makers and business and media leaders to find ways to improve geographic education and to encourage interest in world affairs, the society said.
Other findings from the survey:
_Thirty-four percent of the young Americans knew that the island used on last season's "Survivor" television show was located in the South Pacific, but only 30 percent could locate the state of New Jersey on a map. The "Survivor" show's location was the Marquesas Islands in the eastern South Pacific.
_When asked to find 10 specific states on a map of the United States, only California and Texas could be located by a large majority of those surveyed. Both states were correctly located by 89 percent of the participants. Only 51 percent could find New York, the nation's third most populous state.
_On a world map, Americans could find on average only seven of 16 countries in the quiz. Only 89 percent of the Americans surveyed could find their own country on the map.
_In the world map test, Swedes could find an average of 13 of the 16 countries. Germans and Italians were next, with an average of 12 each.
_Only 71 percent of the surveyed Americans could locate on the map the Pacific Ocean, the world's largest body of water. Worldwide, three in 10 of those surveyed could not correctly locate the Pacific Ocean.
_Although 81 percent of the surveyed Americans knew that the Middle East is the Earth's largest oil exporter, only 24 percent could find Saudi Arabia on the map.
The international survey was conducted for the National Geographic by RoperASW. The results are based on face-to-face interviews with at least 300 men and women aged 18 to 24 in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, Britain and the United States.
The questionnaires were in the local language, but the content was universally the same.
Young Americans flunk geography, according to National Geographic quiz survey
Wed Nov 20, 9:43 AM ET
By PAUL RECER, AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON - Ask young people to pick out Iraq on a map of the Middle East, and only 13 percent can locate it � despite a barrage of headlines and broadcast reports about a possible war against President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).
Same goes for Israel or Iran, according to a National Geographic (news - web sites) study that finds there has been little to no improvement in students' knowledge of geography since 1988.
The society survey released Wednesday found that only about one in seven of Americans between the age of 18 and 24, the prime age for military warriors, could find Iraq. The score was the same for Iran, an Iraqi neighbor.
Although the majority, 58 percent, of the young Americans surveyed knew that the Taliban and al-Qaida were based in Afghanistan (news - web sites), only 17 percent could find that country on a world map. A U.S.-led force attacked the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan in October 2001, and President Bush (news - web sites) has said he is prepared to use force to rid Iraq of any chemical, nuclear or biological weapons programs.
The survey asked 56 geographic and current events questions of young people in nine countries and scored the results with traditional grades. The surveyed Americans got a "D," with an average of 23 correct answers. Mexico ranked last with an average score of 21, just three points from a failing grade.
Topping the scoring was Sweden, with an average of 40, followed by Germany and Italy, each with 38. None of the countries got an "A," which required average scores of 42 correct answers or better on the 56 questions.
"If our young people can't find places on a map and lack awareness of current events, how can they understand the world's cultural, economic and natural resource issues that confront us?" John Fahey, president of the National Geographic Society, said in a statement.
National Geographic is convening an international panel of policy makers and business and media leaders to find ways to improve geographic education and to encourage interest in world affairs, the society said.
Other findings from the survey:
_Thirty-four percent of the young Americans knew that the island used on last season's "Survivor" television show was located in the South Pacific, but only 30 percent could locate the state of New Jersey on a map. The "Survivor" show's location was the Marquesas Islands in the eastern South Pacific.
_When asked to find 10 specific states on a map of the United States, only California and Texas could be located by a large majority of those surveyed. Both states were correctly located by 89 percent of the participants. Only 51 percent could find New York, the nation's third most populous state.
_On a world map, Americans could find on average only seven of 16 countries in the quiz. Only 89 percent of the Americans surveyed could find their own country on the map.
_In the world map test, Swedes could find an average of 13 of the 16 countries. Germans and Italians were next, with an average of 12 each.
_Only 71 percent of the surveyed Americans could locate on the map the Pacific Ocean, the world's largest body of water. Worldwide, three in 10 of those surveyed could not correctly locate the Pacific Ocean.
_Although 81 percent of the surveyed Americans knew that the Middle East is the Earth's largest oil exporter, only 24 percent could find Saudi Arabia on the map.
The international survey was conducted for the National Geographic by RoperASW. The results are based on face-to-face interviews with at least 300 men and women aged 18 to 24 in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, Britain and the United States.
The questionnaires were in the local language, but the content was universally the same.
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Corona Coming Attractions is reporting the running time for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. All I have to say is YES! a real movie! Not one of those silly hour and a half waste of time. If TTT is anything like The Lord of the Rings, it's going to be worth my $8.00! (more than one once probably :) )
November 12, 2002... According to a scooper at TheOneRing.net, the running time for The Two Towers (credits included) is a whopping 2 hours, 59 minutes, 9 seconds! [Source: TheOneRing.net.]
November 12, 2002... According to a scooper at TheOneRing.net, the running time for The Two Towers (credits included) is a whopping 2 hours, 59 minutes, 9 seconds! [Source: TheOneRing.net.]
Someone named mstate2002 posted their NFL power rankings... http://www.sportsline.com/messages/message/5882946/1037162955-mstate2002 I don't know... it made me laugh.
Posted by mstate2002
Nov 12, 10:49 pm
1. packers
2. bucs
3. raiders
4. eagles
5. chargers
6. broncos
7. patriots
8. falcons
9. dolphins
10. steelers
11. rams
12, 49ers
13. saints
14. cheifs
15.ills
16.lioms
17.titams
18,giats
19.colts
20.ravems
21.jags
22.redskis
23.cards
24.pathers
25.jets
26.ears
27.seahawks
28.clev.
29.cowoys
30.vikes
31.hous.
32.gals
Posted by mstate2002
Nov 12, 10:49 pm
1. packers
2. bucs
3. raiders
4. eagles
5. chargers
6. broncos
7. patriots
8. falcons
9. dolphins
10. steelers
11. rams
12, 49ers
13. saints
14. cheifs
15.ills
16.lioms
17.titams
18,giats
19.colts
20.ravems
21.jags
22.redskis
23.cards
24.pathers
25.jets
26.ears
27.seahawks
28.clev.
29.cowoys
30.vikes
31.hous.
32.gals
Sunday, November 03, 2002
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