Students Literally Stack Chairs To Stop Speaker

A Wisconsin college canceled a speech by security company Blackwater’s founder Erik Prince after students banged drums and stacked chairs on the stage to prevent the speech Wednesday.

Beloit College interim dean of students Cecil Youngblood said the college canceled Prince’s speech, which was already delayed by at least 40 minutes, according to Inside Higher Ed on Friday.

Protesters responded with cheers, according to video shared on Twitter by Gazettextra staff photographer Angela Major.

“I believe that if a critical mass of students object to a speaker’s presence or a speaker’s platform, they should have a say in whether or not that speaker is welcome in our home,” student Rose Johnson said, Gazettextra reported.

The college condemned the protesters and will investigate the situation, it said in a statement Wednesday.

“Due to disruptive protests and safety concerns, the event hosted by the Young Americans for Freedom featuring speaker Erik Prince had to be cancelled to ensure the safety of all participants,” the college told The Daily Caller News Foundation over email. “As an institution of higher learning, open dialogue on all topics is one of our core principles. Wednesday’s events fell unacceptably short of this core principle, and we condemn the behavior of those who disrupted the event.”

Blackwater, now Academi, has received backlash for its role in the United States’ involvement in the Middle East, Inside Higher Ed reported. Four Blackwater contractors were convicted in 2014 for a 2007 incident in which 14 Iraqis were killed.

Prince was invited by Beloit’s chapter of Young Americans for Freedom.

He is the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, according to Inside Higher Ed.

“It’s sad the president and the administration of this college lacked the moral courage to enforce free speech and to defend free speech,” Prince said, the Beloit Daily News reported. “Fortunately, President (Donald) Trump will defend free speech and I think the college will be hearing from the court soon on this because enough is enough.”

Trump signed an executive order to require colleges to protect free speech if the institutions want federal funding. The president first announced the idea at the Conservative Political Action Committee in early March and signed it March 21.

“People who are confident in their beliefs do not censor others,” Trump said.

YAF spokesman Spencer Brown said the group is keeping a close eye on the college to see how it handles the situation, Inside Higher Ed reported.

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Reading Print Books To Children More Beneficial To Child’s Development Than E-Books

It’s easier than ever to buy and download just about any book we want, but when it comes to story time with the little ones, we’re better off staying old-fashioned. A new study finds that parents reading print books to their children is much more beneficial when it comes to the child’s development compared to using digital books.

Researchers from the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital say that when parents read electronic books on a tablet or other digital device to toddlers, there’s less interaction and conversation, and the child may be more distracted by the device’s bells and whistles. Previous research has shown that children’s language development and literacy skills benefit tremendously when their parents read to them, but little has been done on how those benefits differ per book format.

“Reading together is not only a cherished family ritual in many homes but one of the most important developmental activities parents can engage in with their children,” says senior author Dr. Jenny Radesky, a developmental behavioral pediatrician at the hospital, in a news release.

Radesky and her co-authors recruited 37 parent-toddler pairs for the study, and had them read together print books, e-books on a tablet, and enhanced e-books that included sound effects and animations.

“We found that when parents and children read print books, they talked more frequently and the quality of their interactions were better,” says lead author Dr. Tiffany Munzer, a fellow in developmental behavioral pediatrics at Mott.

What’s more, while there was less conversation when e-books were read, much of the chatter that did occur often revolved less around the story and more around the technology, such as parents reminding children not to press the buttons. That type of conversation does little to promote literacy and expressive language skills, the authors say, whereas such distractions weren’t prevalent with print books.

Nonverbal bonding between parents and children was also seen more  more warmth, closeness, and enthusiasm from nonverbal gestures

Munzer adds that nonverbal interactions, including warmth, closeness and enthusiasm during reading time also create positive associations with reading that will likely stick with children as they get older.

Munzer suggests that parents can help their child’s development by asking open-ended questions about the characters or experiences in the book, and making them relatable to the kids. That could include pointing to an animal in a picture and asking the child what sound the animal makes, or comparing an event in a book to something the child or family has experienced, such as, “Remember when we went to the beach?”

“Parents strengthen their children’s ability to acquire knowledge by relating new content to their children’s lived experiences,” says Munzer. “Research tells us that parent-led conversations is especially important for toddlers because they learn and retain new information better from in-person interactions than from digital media.”

Interactions were especially disrupted with the enhanced books because it was harder for the parents to engage the children in conversation. If e-books are used during story time, researchers say that parents should focus on finding additional ways to encourage engagement based on the story, and avoid interaction revolving around the technology.

“Our findings suggest that print books elicit a higher quality parent-toddler reading experience compared with e-books,” says Radesky. “Pediatricians may wish to continue encouraging parents to read print books with their kids, especially for toddlers and young children who still need support from their parents to learn from any form of media.”

The study is published in the journal Pediatrics, an American Academy of Pediatrics publication.

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Revealed: The ridiculously easy test designed to weed out poor student teachers in Australia - but those who fail are STILL being allowed in the classroom

Now why would that be?  It's because they would not be able to staff their classrooms otherwise.  After the Leftist destruction of discipline, Australian classrooms are not an attractive environment for work

A skills test to weed out student teachers who can't multiply two numbers or read a simple graph is failing to stop them graduating as universities side step the system.

The Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE) is a compulsory test that was brought in to remove incompetent student teachers from the system before they graduate and enter classrooms.

It is supposed to guarantee that student teachers have a literacy and numeracy level equivalent to the top 30 percent of the adult population in Australia.

Sample questions to prepare students for the test include problems as simple as multiplying 3.2 by 100.

'The weight of a box of stationery is 3.2 kilograms. What is the weight of 100 such boxes?' reads one sample question.

Another question asks students to look at a table of gym memberships and compare the monthly fee to the yearly upfront fee and work out the difference.

One in ten students fail the 130-question test the first time. 

Student teachers have three chances to sit the LANTITE test administered by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER).

If they fail on the third attempt, ACER says on its website that it will not allow them to try again without a formal recommendation from the university.

Students are instead trying up to five times after receiving study support and coaching from their universities who back them, the Daily Telegraph reports.

In a separate issue, universities are admitting below-average students directly into teaching degrees using a gap in the rules, according to the report.

After a scandal in 2015 where it was revealed that students with Australia Tertiary Admission Rank (ATARs) as low as 30 were becoming teachers, the NSW Government changed the rules to require students to have a minimum of at least 80 per cent in three HSC subjects, at least one of which had to be English.

The rule was intended to keep poor academic performers out of teaching degrees.

A provision was made to allow students who don't make the grade capable of entry after enrolling in an accredited degree and passing one year of studies in the subjects they will teach. 

The University of Newcastle, University of New England and the Australian Catholic University are using this provision to allow students who otherwise would not qualify directly into teaching degrees on the basis that completing the first full year of the teaching degree meets these requirements, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Australian Catholic University Executive Dean of Education Professor Elizabeth Labone said all entry pathways for enrolling in their initial teacher education course had been approved and were monitored by the NSW Educational Standards Authority (NESA).  

'ACU continues to ensure we meet the relevant accreditation requirements,' she said via an emailed statement.

A University of Newcastle spokesperson who declined to be named said ATAR was 'but one narrow indicator' for entry to university.

'It is in no way a predictor of whether a person will go on to successfully complete their degree or be a great teacher,' the spokesperson said via email.

 The University of New England was unable to respond by time of publication.

Federal opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek told Daily Mail Australia that in 2005, about a third of teaching entrants had an ATAR above 80 but by 2015 it had dropped to only one in five.

 'It is also a waste of students' time and money to allow them to complete a teaching degree if they are unsuitable to teach,' she said via email.

Ms Plibersek said if elected she would cap places in teaching degrees and pay cash bonuses of up to $40,000 to encourage 'top achievers' into teaching by way of 1000 bursaries per year.

Daily Mail Australia contacted the NSW Educational Standards Authority, Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan and the NSW Teachers  Federation but they were unable to respond by time of publication.

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