Education

Today National Council of La Raza gathered local community leaders and non-profit directors to discuss what they can do to "protect and defend the advances the Latinos have made in this country thus far," according to Rafael Collazo, Director of Political Campaigns.

Focusing on ensuring that they remain inclusive of all political leanings, the group came together to decide what the high-line items were and how they can enact change on a real level in the community. 

The approval of a new Law on Crimes of Human Trafficking, which identifies prostitution with exploitation, plus the closing down of tolerance zones where prostitution is permitted, have forced sex workers into dangerous areas. One of the darker aspects of the trade is police persecution, since cops have been known to abuse their authority over women working illegally.

Moms and dads: Do you know what your teen is doing on the internet right now?

It’s never easy to tell with kids always on their phones and plugged in to the newest social media platforms, but they could be tuned in to alcohol advertising.

Political donor and philanthropist Charles Koch has donated $2.2 million to the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s research and policy center created four years ago to promote long-term structural improvements to the U.S. criminal justice system.

In 2011, billionaire Peter Thiel made headlines when he announced that he would pay 20 teenagers $100,000 each to drop out or delay college and start businesses in biotechnology, finance, energy and education.

Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, a venture capitalist and early investor in Facebook, wanted to underscore his belief that college costs too much, isn’t as intellectually rigorous as it once was, and leaves recent grads burdened with student loans that keep them from taking the entrepreneurial risks needed to spur the economy.

My two sons used to come home from a day at high school complaining that ludicrous accusations of racism were as common as the desks in the classrooms. I chalked it up to adolescent exaggeration.

After having spent the current academic year as a teacher surrounded by rowdy high-schoolers, I can attest that they were right.

In the hallways, at assemblies, in my classroom, “That’s racist!” was a common refrain for most of the early fall.

Aleksander Ceferin, the president of UEFA, has said the United States bid to host the 2026 World Cup could be hampered by travel restrictions put in place by the Trump administration, as reported in The NY Times.

Two-year institutions across the country are getting creative with Latino student recruitment as Hispanic populations grow, reports "Inside Higher Ed"

My students know I care deeply about them. They know I love to joke around and keep things interesting as we investigate topics they might find dry. But they also know I am waging a one-woman crusade against “fun.”

It’s not that I don’t like to have fun, it’s just that young people moving from high school to college and, ultimately, into adult life have to understand that achievement -- be it academic or career-related -- is hard work. And hard work is many things, like character-building, but rarely is it giggles-all-day fun.

What do you suppose would happen if an education reform advocate who spent decades throwing bricks at the public school system from the outside suddenly became the ultimate insider: secretary of education?

Well, much to the horror of self-serving teachers unions that sprinkle money throughout the Democratic Party to protect the status quo and make sure the interests of students who attend public schools don’t interfere with those of the grown-ups who work there, we’re about to find out.

There is an emerging education trend I’ve noticed that will hopefully sweep the nation: Asking the adults in children’s lives to not bad-mouth themselves about math.

The first time I noticed it was several years ago at an orientation for parents at my younger son’s new middle school. The principal was trying to explain that the math standards on the statewide achievement test were going up and that it might be noticeable in work that was coming home at night.

A new study by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights advocacy organization, says that more than two-thirds of 2,000 teachers surveyed reported students -- mainly immigrants, children of immigrants and Muslims -- expressing concerns or fears about what might happen to them or their families during a Trump presidency.

Since the election, more than half of teachers have seen an increase in uncivil political discourse in their schools or classrooms, and more than one-third report having observed an increase in anti-Muslim or anti-immigrant sentiment.