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<p>Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender literature are included in the California Department of Education's newest reading list for students,prompting complaints from critics who say a leftist agenda is being pushed on kids, the San Jose Mercury News reported.</p> <p>Controversial topics have been introduced to California students in the past, but this is the first time the state has put forth works celebrated by the Stonewall Book Awards, which since 1971 has recognized LGBT literature, according to the newspaper.</p>

PHILADELPHIA — Like many of his third-grade classmates, Mario Cortez-Pacheco likes reading the “Magic Tree House” series, about a brother and a sister who take adventurous trips back in time. He also loves the popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” graphic novels. But Mario, 8, has noticed something about these and many of the other books he encounters in his classroom at Bayard Taylor Elementary here: most of the main characters are white. “I see a lot of people that don’t have a lot of color,” he said.

I have a 16 year old grandson that spends too much time on the computer and playing X games. He doesn't read books. So, I am thinking of giving him a couple of books for his christmas present. Two books I am thinking of is; 'The Richest Man In Babylon' by George Clasan and 'Anthem' by Ayn Rand. I would like suggestions from other writers that counter act the teaching he is getting in his school, and still be interesting for a 16 year old.

In record numbers, they're struggling to find work, shunning long-distance moves to live with mom and dad, delaying marriage and raising kids out of wedlock - if they're becoming parents at all. Young adults are the recession's lost generation in the U.S. The unemployment rate for them is the highest since World War Two, and they risk living in poverty more than others - nearly one in five. There are missed opportunities and dim prospects for a generation of mostly 20-somethings and 30-somethings coming of age in a prolonged period of joblessness.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Getting a degree used to be a stepping stone to limitless career opportunities. Now it's more of a hiatus from living under your parents' roof. Stubbornly high unemployment -- nearly 15% for those ages 20-24 -- has made finding a job nearly impossible. And without a job, there's nowhere for these young adults to go but back to their old bedrooms, curfews and chore charts. Meet the boomerangers.

Can fart jokes save the reading souls of boys? You better hope so. Boys have lagged behind girls in reading achievement for more than 20 years, but the gender gap now exists in nearly every state and has widened to mammoth proportions -- as much as 10 percentage points in some, according to the Center on Education Policy. "It certainly should set off alarm bells," said the center's director, Jack Jennings. "It's a significant separation." Parents of reluctant readers complain that boys are forced to stick to stuffy required school lists that exclude nonfiction or silly subjects, or have teachers...

The Real Trouble with Twilight … The Vampire Craze Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga has a very dark side, according to the author of a new book 'The Trouble with Twilight.' On the eve of the release 'Eclipse' Television producer, occult researcher and bestselling author Steve Wohlberg says “...The real trouble with Twilight is that real teenagers

Several earlier posts have evolved into “50: Leading Boys To Reading,” a new section on Improve-Education.org. It’s of interest to parents who have a boy in school. There’s a list of books that most boys would like; some simple diagnostics to use when someone is avoiding books; and a column that first appeared on CanadaFreePress titled “Our Schools Are Skilled at Keeping Boys From Reading.” (The Left’s greatest victory may be that they were able to undermine reading so successfully for so many decades. Almost nobody can learn to read using sight-words, but that has been the official technique since...

A lot of us have what is known as an “adult child.’’ It sounds like an oxymoron, but for those of us with offspring in their late teens and early 20s, the emphasis is more on the “child.’’ During the holidays, when my son (18) and daughter (23) were home, the house was full in most ways but empty in others. Empty tank of gas in the car. Empty roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. Empty pitcher of juice in the fridge. Out of fairness to my daughter, I should note that much of this was her brother’s doing....

For more young adults, there is no place like home for the holidays, and for the rest of the year, too. Ten percent of adults younger than 35 told the Pew Research Center that they had moved back in with their parents because of the recession. They also blamed the economy for other lifestyle decisions. Twelve percent had gotten a roommate to share expenses. Fifteen percent said they had postponed getting married, and 14 percent said they had delayed having a baby. In the Pew study, 13 percent of parents with grown children said one of their adult sons or...

Even as he fends off Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic nomination contest, Senator Barack Obama is already turning his attention to the general election, and to an ambitious plan to reshape the American electorate in his favor. Bringing new voters to the polls "is going to be a very big part of how we win," said Obama's deputy campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand, in an interview. "Barack's appeal to independent voters is also going to be key." Hildebrand said the campaign is likely to turn its attention and the energy of its massive volunteer army this fall on registering African-American...

Ashley Qualls doesn't sound like a typical high school student. Maybe that's because the 17-year-old is the CEO of a million-dollar business. Ashley is the head of whateverlife.com, a website she started when she was just 14 — with eight dollars borrowed from her mother. Now, just three years later, the website grosses more than $1 million a year, providing Ashley and her working class family a sense of security they had never really known. It all started with capitalism 101, the law of supply and demand. Ashley became interested in graphic design just as the online social networking craze...

New England is losing young adults at an alarming rate, according to a recently published report from the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute. The study found that each state in New England has experienced at least a 20 percent decline in its population of 25-34- year-olds between 1990 and 2004. Massachusetts is at the low end of the spectrum and has lost 20 percent of its young adults. Rhode Island has lost the same proportion, while Vermont and New Hampshire have lost 27, Maine 29, and Connecticut 30 percent during the period. "The decline of the young adult population...

Rock for Life Report 6-23-04  1. C-stone NC 2. Summer Tour 04 3. Volunteers needed 4. In the news 5. New addition 1. C-stone NC Cornerstone NC was a blast.  We got to hang out with some cool bands, see some old friends and make new ones.  The O.C. Supertones, Cool Hand Luke, the Rock n Roll Worship Circus and Headnoise were our favorites. More importantly C-stone NC was a time to spread the pro-life message.  Even though this festival wasn’t heavily attended, we had opportunities to minister to people.  We spoke to a couple of kids who weren’t pro-life.  I...

CatholiCity PollShould the Vatican reject the Bishop's proposed "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People"? No. It is fine the way it is.Yes. Parts need to rewritten.Yes. It should be scrapped in its entirety.I don't know.