Yesterday, NPR profiled a rural school in Halifax County, North Carolina (thanks for the fact check, commenter Matt Liles), that according to its students’ test scores shows evidence that it’s falling behind. That’s despite the fact that all of the teachers at Northwest Halifax High School are certified. A Superior Court judge that’s in charge of keeping tabs on failing schools has a name for the dire situation there (where 70 percent of students are lagging in both reading and math, and the graduation is at 60 percent): “academic genocide.”The situation raises a quandary in the education system: the fact that properly trained and certified teachers do not necessarily make for students who see improvement in their test scores. “Unfortunately, for us in the teaching profession, we don’t know whether you’re good at it until you actually get into it,” Andre Stewart, a social studies teacher who appears in the piece. He is one of the few successful teachers at the school who have consistently raised test scores.The NPR story is asks some of the same questions as a commentary that appeared this weekend in The Chronicle of Higher Education, which discussed the formation of Teacher U at New York City’s Hunter College. Conceived of by two owners of charter school networks and the recently elected education commissioner of New York State, the two-year masters program puts most of its focus on making sure that its graduates are ready to succeed in the classroom by focusing their training on that environment.The burgeoning educators spend five days a week in schools and receive instruction on Saturdays-mostly in the form of analysis of their classroom performance. And for a test score-driven education culture (whether or not that’s the best model), these students cannot graduate until their show gains amongst the students they are teaching.I’ll admit that training to teach in a charter school is probably not directly applicable to teaching at a school in rural North Carolina. But, if you’re looking for teachers who can create real, data-driven results in the classroom, you may as well fold that into their own training–and eliminate as much of the risk as to how effective they’ll be upfront.Photo via
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Man’s dog suddenly becomes protective of his wife, Internet clocks the reason right away
The online community came through in a big way.
Reddit user Girlfriendhatesmefor’s three-year-old pitbull, Otis, had recently become overprotective of his wife. So he asked the online community if they knew what might be wrong with the dog.
“A week or two ago, my wife got some sort of stomach bug,” the Reddit user wrote under the subreddit /r/dogs. “She was really nauseous and ill for about a week. Otis is very in tune with her emotions (we once got in a fight and she was upset, I swear he was staring daggers at me lol) and during this time didn’t even want to leave her to go on walks. We thought it was adorable!”
His wife soon felt better, butthe dog’s behavior didn’t change.
Otis knew before they did. Canva Girlfriendhatesmefor began to fear that Otis’ behavior may be an early sign of an aggression issue or an indication that the dog was hurt or sick.
So he threw a question out to fellow Reddit users: “Has anyone else’s dog suddenly developed attachment/aggression issues? Any and all advice appreciated, even if it’s that we’re being paranoid!”
The most popular response to his thread was by ZZBC.
Any chance your wife is pregnant?
ZZBC | Reddit
The potential news hit Girlfriendhatesmefor like a ton of bricks. A few days later, Girlfriendhatesmefor posted an update and ZZBC was right!
“The wifey is pregnant!” the father-to-be wrote. “Otis is still being overprotective but it all makes sense now! Thanks for all the advice and kind words! Sorry for the delayed reply, I didn’t check back until just now!”
Redditors responded with similar experiences.
Anecdotal I know but I swear my dog knew I was pregnant before I was. He was super clingy (more than normal) and was always resting his head on my belly.
realityisworse | Reddit
So why do dogs get overprotective when someone is pregnant?
Jeff Werber, PhD, president and chief veterinarian of the Century Veterinary Group in Los Angeles, told Health.com that “dogs can also smell the hormonal changes going on in a woman’s body at that time.” He added the dog may “not understand that this new scent of your skin and breath is caused by a developing baby, but they will know that something is different with you—which might cause them to be more curious or attentive.”
The big lesson here is to listen to your pets and to ask questions when their behavior abruptly changes. They may be trying to tell you something, and the news may be life-changing.
This article originally appeared last year.
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14 images of badass women who destroyed stereotypes and inspired future generations
These trailblazers redefined what a woman could be.
Throughout history, women have stood up and fought to break down barriers imposed on them from stereotypes and societal expectations. The trailblazers in these photos made history and redefined what a woman could be. In doing so, they paved the way for future generations to stand up and continue to fight for equality.
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Why mass shootings spawn conspiracy theories
Mass shootings and conspiracy theories have a long history.
While conspiracy theories are not limited to any topic, there is one type of event that seems particularly likely to spark them: mass shootings, typically defined as attacks in which a shooter kills at least four other people.
When one person kills many others in a single incident, particularly when it seems random, people naturally seek out answers for why the tragedy happened. After all, if a mass shooting is random, anyone can be a target.
Pointing to some nefarious plan by a powerful group – such as the government – can be more comforting than the idea that the attack was the result of a disturbed or mentally ill individual who obtained a firearm legally.
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