Mosques and Mount Rushmore: The debate over what’s sacred

http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/opinion/Mosques-and-Mount-Rushmore-The-debate-over-whats-sacred-101640768.html

This is a good opinion piece relating to the Muslim community center controversy in NYC and the carving of Presidential busts in the Black Hills (Mt. Rushmore).

Award-winning teachers dole out advice on fixing public schools

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/30/award.teachers.advice.fix.school/index.html?hpt=C1

"Almost every teacher has thoughts on how to improve schools. So this month, as students began to trickle into classrooms, CNN listened to the ideas of award-winning teachers at public schools across the country."

Teaching culture through comic books

http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/living/Teaching-culture-through-comic-books-101171824.html

HighWater Press has just published “Stone,” the first comic book in the graphic novel series “7 Generations,” by author David Robertson and artist Scott Henderson. The ongoing “7 Generations” is a four-part graphic novel series that spans three centuries of an aboriginal family.

GAO finds major federal NAGPRA snafus

http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/home/content/GAO-finds-major-federal-NAGPRA-snafus-101155324.html

A new Government Accountability Office report centering on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is casting doubt on the ability of key federal agencies to follow the letter of the law. And the federal office charged with overseeing implementation was found to have a plethora of problems of its own.

'L.A. Times' Teacher Ratings Database Stirs Debate

Why do people still think that standardized tests can measure anything other than how good students are at cramming?

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129456212
The Los Angeles Times has promised to release the names of elementary teachers in Los Angeles, along with data showing how much their students improved on standardized tests. Reporters say the intent is to help parents measure teacher effectiveness, but the database has sparked a national debate on how to evaluate teachers.

90 years ago today, the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution went into effect, giving women the right to vote in this country.

Oldest evidence of arrows found

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11086110

"The scientists unearthed 64,000 year-old "stone points", which they say were probably arrow heads."
"Because of the shape of these "little geometric pieces", Dr Lombard was able to see exactly where they had been impacted and damaged. This showed that they were very likely to have been the tips of projectiles - rather than sharp points on the end of hand-held spears."

First Cannibals Ate Each Other for Extra Nutrition

http://news.discovery.com/human/first-cannibals-nutrition.html

The world's first known human cannibals ate each other to satisfy their nutritional needs, concludes a new study of the remains of cannibal feasts consumed about one million years ago.

Neolithic oar found in Changnyeong, South Korea

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/TechandScience/Story/STIStory_567405.html
‎
South Korean archaeologists said on Tuesday they have unearthed a rare neolithic period wooden boat oar, believed to date back about 7,000 years but still in good condition.

Navajo language software hits the market

http://www.daily-times.com/ci_15886128

FARMINGTON — Rosetta Stone, creator of the renowned language learning software, on Tuesday released its Navajo version, the first large-scale language revitalization project for the dialect.

24 August 410: The beginning of the end for Rome

1600 years ago today, the Visigoths, led by Alaric, sacked Rome. The pillaging lasted for 3 days. Some argue this was the beginning of the end of the empire.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11066461

Are We Underestimating Mt. Vesuvius?

http://news.discovery.com/earth/are-we-underestimating-mt-vesuvius.html

A new study, led by vulcanologist Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo from the Naples Observatory in Italy, shows that the residents killed in Pompeii and the neighboring towns located on the slopes of the volcano died from an extreme heat surge produced by the volcano, not suffocation

Major archaeological find at site of Civil War prison

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/14/georgia.civil.war.camp/index.html?hpt=T2

The discovery of the exact location of a stockade and dozens of personal artifacts belonging to its Union prisoners is one of the biggest archaeological Civil War finds in decades, federal and Georgia officials said Monday.

New find pushes age of stone tools back a million years

Hominins have been using stone tools for at least 3.4 million years, about 900,000 years longer than previously thought.

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/08/new-find-pushes-age-of-stone-tools-back-a-million-years.ars?comments=1#comments-bar

Here's the article in Nature. Subscription required.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v466/n7308/abs/nature09248.html

Tennessee student scores plunge in new proficiency test

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jul/31/student-scores-plunge-in-new-test/

Some Oklahoma City Schools Begin Year-Round Class

http://www.koco.com/education/24473039/detail.html

Starting Monday, the traditional summer vacation will be a thing of the past for some Oklahoma City students.

The Human Edge : NPR

This is a good series. It may be useful to the Biology and Science crew. There's a lot I see that will work for those of us in Social Studies, too. It includes some of the NPR stories I've already posted links to.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128245649

"As humans, we share most of our genes and body design with apes. But around 6 million years ago evolution began tinkering with this basic tool kit. Many versions later, modern humans finally emerged. Scientists are piecing together how, bit by bit, evolution brought about the physical, mental and cultural changes that made us the most versatile -- and arguably, the most powerful -- species on the planet."

Armed And Deadly: Shoulder, Weapons Keys To Hunt

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128830458

The human shoulder altered the course of human evolution by giving us survival skills we never could have imagined without it. The shape of the joint allowed us to develop tools and weapons we could throw, like rocks and spears. And advanced weaponry meant better meals.

Colonialism and the human rights of indigenous peoples

http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/archive/Colonialism-and-the-human-rights-of-indigenous-peoples-99624319.html

"During and shortly after World War II (1939-1945), a number of anthropologists were writing about the topic of indigenous peoples and what was then being referred to as the “colonial administration” of various empires. Looking back at those writings today enables us to shed some additional light on the historical context of what are now commonly referred to as “indigenous peoples” and the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 13, 2007."

Food For Thought: Meat-Based Diet Made Us Smarter

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128849908

Our earliest ancestors ate a diet of raw food that required immense energy to digest. But once we started eating nutrient-rich meat, our energy-hungry brains began growing and our guts began to shrink. Cooking that food not only made it safer, but also easier to digest.

Drama of French education falling flat

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8868935.stm

In Paris, Hugh Schofield considers how watching a school play revealed the merits and failings of the French education system.