Free Republic

Superintendent of Grand Rapids Public Schools Bernard Taylor is looking for ways to improve after an instructional audit showed high rates of failure in high schools. The audit shows more than 50 percent of students at all four high shools did not meet district standards on writing assessments. Also, more than 65 percent of freshmen are failing classes. (snip) Other numbers in the audit indicate the number of freshmen with a grade point average below 2.0 increased and more than 40 percent of high school students missed more than 10 days of school in core classes. Taylor said he won't...

Okay, I went to plug my USB flash drive into the computer (just like I always do), only the computer didn't recognize it. I've tried it on several different computers, same result - either the drive does nothing, or the light comes on and fades off again. The first computer once said something about a "power surge to the USB port" (or something like that), and then nothing. It's only about a month or two old, so I'm hoping it didn't die already, but does anyone have any ideas on what I can do with it, either to get it...

Superintendent Bert Bleke criticized Gov. Jennifer Granholm and state leaders for not correcting a school financing system he said short-changes city schools. "You can make changes, but you have to stop running for governor and stop running for office and do something to show you care about kids," he said. "We're headed off the cliff as quickly as anyone. We are a state-run system, and the lack of action coming from Lansing is nothing short of laughable. They don't even talk about it. We're doing our share and Lansing is not." City educators still are steamed at Granholm for criticizing...

A bipartisan group plans to launch a petition drive this summer to place a proposed state constitutional amendment before voters to eliminate the state Senate, creating a a one-chamber Legislature. The group, Unicameral Michigan, wants the measure on the 2006 ballot, the Lansing State Journal reported Saturday. "There's simply no reason for two chambers," said Bob Dwyer, of Hastings, who is a leader of the effort. "It's a luxury we can't afford and don't need." Supporters say the change is needed to reduce government size and cost. But arguments against moving to a unicameral system include that such a system...

Would the 900,000 visitors who annually swarm the fudge shops, horse-drawn carriages and scenic vistas at Mackinac Island still come if the state charged a fee to go there? The head of the commission overseeing the Mackinac Island Historic Parks doesn't think so. But Gov. Jennifer Granholm said it's one way the state could raise money to cover the parks' $3 million in annual expenses without taking $1.5 million a year from the state's financially strapped general fund. (snip) Dennis Cawthorne, chairman of the seven-person Mackinac Island State Parks Commission, worries that any kind of additional fee could decrease the...

I went to log on to AOL Instant Messanger the other day, only to have it tell me I was banned from signing in. I had done nothing that I know of that would cause them to suspend me, and never got anything from AOL explaining why this had happened. I was able to create another account and sign on with that, but would prefer to use my old one (since that's the one all my friends have).

During a 1997 debate on CNN's "Crossfire," Sen. John Kerry, now the Democratic presidential nominee, made the case for launching a pre-emptive attack against Iraq. (snip) (T)he candidate who now criticizes President Bush for ignoring French and Russian objections to the Iraq war blasted the two countries, claiming that they were compromised by their business dealings with Baghdad. "We know we can't count on the French. We know we can't count on the Russians," said Mr. Kerry. "We know that Iraq is a danger to the United States, and we reserve the right to take pre-emptive action whenever we feel...