| From extortion to assault: the tide of pupil exclusions
It is a depressing litany of persistent disobedience, verbal abuse, vandalism, insolence, physical assault, drug-taking and fighting. Then there are the cases of assault with a weapon, indecent exposure, slander and spitting. There are even examples of extortion, threats of sexual violence, stalking and fire-raising. This is the shocking catalogue of offences that last year led to a rapid rise in exclusions from Scotland's primary and secondary schools. New figures from the Scottish Government show the number of pupils removed from Scottish schools in 2006-07 rose by 4% from the previous year to 44,794. The figure equates to 22,800 individual pupils, some excluded on multiple occasions, or 3% of the total school population. .
Destination bookstores worth putting on a tourist's itinerary
When it's more than just a place to buy books. A destination bookstore can make you feel like you're part of the community, whether you're grooving on the laid-back vibe at Powell's in Portland, or tuning in to the Beltway buzz at Washington's Politics and Prose. .
Florida Sen. Mel Martinez Endorses McCain
And John McCain will be in North Fort Myers and Sun City.
In his endorsement of McCain, Martinez praised his chosen candidate.
"I understand that he is ready on Day One to lead this nation, and I would trust the future and the security of this nation to this man," Martinez said in his introduction of McCain at the Latin Builders Association.
He added: "I would not endorse someone that I didn't have total confidence is going to be (Fidel) Castro's worst nightmare," repeating the sentence in Spanish.
The decision is a blow to Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor in a close fight with McCain for support of voters in the Cuban-American community -- and to keep his candidacy alive. It also is a setback for Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor in a close race against McCain.
3-Blog Lounge
Fishbone's is one of Detroit's better restaurants, and it's connected to my hotel, and when I went down to eat, there was Leyland with some family and friends. He's a huge story now, having masterminded the Tigers' run to the World Series; if this is were New York, the photographers would have been swarming, with autograph-hunters leaving the man no privacy. Remarkably, in an exceptionally large dining hall, only one man approached Leyland, who graciously stopped eating to sign. Mostly, these Midwestern folks were in awe. "Go on over there," I heard one woman tell another. "Aw, I don't want to bother the man," she answered. "But that's him," came the reply. "I know, I know, let's just leave him alone." Just a little slice of Detroit life for the man who, at the moment, is the most influential figure in baseball.
Top of the classrooms
So what does it take to be a good teacher in the midst of such complex issues? There are some answers in a new SBS television series, beginning next month, which profiles four successful teachers in their workplaces. Director Rebecca Barry says they were identified primarily through word-of-mouth and weeks of sitting in on classes. "The teachers we chose ultimately were the ones with the strongest connection with their students," she says. "And they are great performers, too." The Weekend Australian Magazine talked to two of them: Michael Parker and Tina Valassis, both of whom trained as secondary teachers and work in NSW schools. In many ways they are opposites: Parker teaches English at a Sydney private boys’ school, Cranbrook; Valassis teaches science at the co-ed and public Lucas Heights Community College.
Latest listings
Garlic Theatre present The Magnificent Flying Machine, February 10, 2pm. EASTBOURNE: Winter Garden Gold Room (01323) 412000: First Theatre, Eastbourne's children's theatre, The Selfish Crocodile for children aged 4-7, 11am and 1.30pm February 5. LEWES: Lewes Theatre Club Youth Theatre: Improvisation, mime, voice training, every Thursday. Tel. Alanagh (01273) 483580. St Michael's Church Hall, High Street: Lewes Children's Theatre group, 4.30-6.30pm Thursdays in term time. Limited places, book early on (01273) 814757. WORTHING: Pavilion Theatre, Marine Parade: The Chuckle Brothers - Indiana Chuckles and the Kingdom of the Mythical Sulk, February 16, 2pm and 5pm. Harry and His Bucketful of Dinosaurs - Half Term Special, February 18, 1pm and 3.30pm. MUSICALS EASTBOURNE: Congress Theatre (01323) 412000: Bjorn Again 19th (very nearly 20th) Anniversary Tour, 7.30pm February 8.
'What Would Jesus Buy?'
The answer to the title question is an Xbox 360, at least according to some of the knuckleheads interviewed for this pseudo-expose of America's Christmas buying habits.
Produced by Morgan Spurlock, who directed the equally fatuous "Super Size Me," this Rob VanAlkemade film has a good title and no focus: What appears at first to be about Americans' shopaholic tendencies becomes the story of the platinum blond Rev. Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping, which campaigns to curtail Christmas commerce.
Frankly, the problems of people who have enough money to shop too much aren't really that compelling. Few of the characters in the film seem real, anyway, and even if they are, what "Jesus" proves is that, if you set out to make a movie equipped with an iron-clad thesis, you can always find people to say outrageously greedy things to back it up.
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