Sunday, September 18, 2005

SPOTTING MUSLIM EXTREMISTS IN BRITISH UNIVERSITIES

Maybe this will do some good

Muslim community leaders will be asked to help "identify and isolate" potential extremists on university campuses as students start their new term, the Guardian has learned. The move is among measures to be outlined today in a speech by the education secretary, Ruth Kelly, and comes amid concern that radical groups are using universities as recruiting grounds.

Yesterday the higher education minister, Bill Rammell, who has launched a nationwide programme of meetings with Muslim students and academics as part of the initiative, said the government was responding to issues raised by the Muslim community. "I am doing this because leaders of faith communities have approached me and expressed fears that their young people are being attracted to and converted to violent extremism," he said. "Community leaders say to us that they are worried about some students, a tiny, tiny minority, who are drawn to extremist ideas and this is about shifting the terms of debate."

In the aftermath of the London bombings in July, the Guardian revealed that the security services had barred more than 200 foreign scientists from studying at British universities on grounds of security. The National Union of Students has banned Hizb ut-Tahrir from campuses, accusing the group of "supporting terrorism and publishing material that incites racial hatred". The organisation denied the accusations.

Speaking ahead of Ms Kelly's speech, Mr Rammell said it was important to listen to the concerns of Muslim students but insisted the wider Islamic community had an obligation to help the authorities identify individuals or groups possibly posing a threat.

Last night Wakkas Khan, president of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, welcomed Mr Rammell's comments, but said the initiatives must not infringe the rights of Muslim students. "I think the concern revolves around the level of involvement of the universities and outside bodies in Islamic societies and activities. "We would find it very difficult if university authorities began investigating Islamic societies and searching prayer rooms as a matter of course. Where it is absolutely necessary it is fine, but it must not become the norm."

Mr Rammell said the government was planning to review the student vetting scheme, which relies on universities to refer suspect students from Islamic countries applying to do science courses. He said the government was working with colleges to complete guidelines for vice chancellors - to be published in November - on how to tackle campus extremism. But he said the crucial point was to establish a dialogue between Muslim students, universities and the government.

Source






GOOD GOD! INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AT LAST

And in California at that!

Parents of public school students are finally getting a chance to see how their kids did on tests they took last spring. School districts across the state are sending out the one-page STAR Student Report to the homes of the state's estimated 6 million public school students. Educators see the reports, all of which should be mailed by the end of this month, as a road map to improving each student's performance.

The report offers an evaluation of each child's progress, measured primarily by scores on the California Standards Tests, which kids took as part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting program. The multicolored report, printed on both sides of a single sheet of paper, includes a bar graph indicating a child's score on each subject-related test taken - English language arts, math, science and history-social science - and where that score falls on the proficiency scale: far below basic, below basic, basic, proficiency and advanced. The state's goal is for all students to be proficient or advanced in all subjects.

On the back page, each subject is broken down, with the percent of questions answered correctly by a child compared to the percent correct of students statewide. The percentages listed by each subject area give parents and teachers a chance to tailor their efforts to help the child. Another part assigns a reading list number that can be matched with a list of books appropriate for the child's reading ability. The books can be found on the California Department of Education's Web site at star.cde.ca.gov. So, for instance, a middle school student whose reading list number is 9 would be pointed to such books as "All Creatures Great and Small," by James Herriot, and "Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange," by Elizabeth Partridge.

Officials at the state Department of Education say they worked with graphic designers, educators and parents to design something devoid of "educationalese" that would be easy to read for all parents. "We want to foster that conversation between the parent and the teacher. They're the two experts," said Rick Miller, director of communications for the Education Department. "This would provide specifics for the conversation." Miller said parents should use the report to talk with teachers and find out what can be done at home to complement the work done at school. "You can be a participating parent without ever stepping foot in the classroom," Miller said. "It's about working with your child at home."

The reports are available in English, though the department produces translation guides in Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Hmong, Korean and Tagalog. Those guides are sent out according to a family's home language.

Source

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL schools should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the poor and minimal regulation.

The NEA and similar unions worldwide believe that children should be thoroughly indoctrinated with Green/Left, feminist/homosexual ideology but the "3 R's" are something that kids should just be allowed to "discover"


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