Free Republic

Seattle public high schools this fall will use new math textbooks that have stirred controversy for their less-traditional teaching methods. The Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors on Wednesday put an end to what have come to be known as the "math wars," approving a school district committee's recommendation for high school math textbooks in a 4-3 vote. "We really see this as Step 1," said Anna-Maria de la Fuente, the district's K-12 mathematics coordinator. "The hard work is really coming."

When a friend told coach Stu Gorski in 1995 that Mount Adams School District had hired "a phenomenal wrestling coach," Gorski froze. "Tell me you didn't hire Randy Deming," he pleaded. The district had. Gorski, a football and golf coach in Whatcom County, knew Deming for years as a rival coach at nearby Blaine High School. Gorski also knew of Deming's reputation as a groper of girls who had even been charged with child molestation. When Gorski learned Deming would also be teaching girls, he warned: "You're putting him back into the fire." GORDON KING / YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC Randy Deming...

TO: Terry Bergeson, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction FROM: Bob Williams, President EFF RE: Teachers' fake degrees Dear Terry: Research recently conducted by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) and KIRO 7 News discovered that some teachers are using fake degrees to cheat taxpayers by obtaining undeserved pay increases. EFF strongly recommends you take immediate action to remedy these abuses. In your recent re-election campaign, you stated you were committed to high education standards; your attention to this problem would help demonstrate your intentions. When we began our investigation earlier this year, we learned the Office of Superintendent of Public...