Academics

Searching students' backpacks during a lock-down drill

By Paul Katula •
Asking students to step into the hallway, leaving their backpacks at their desks, while a police-trained dog sniffs their backpacks for illegal drugs has raised a few constitutional questions in one Missouri case.

Reading now may boost your brainpower in old age

By Press Release •
Reading or other activities that stimulate the brain, such as writing, may help your memory as you get older. Keep up with those "mentally stimulating activities" early and late in life.

Single-sex classrooms may be unconstitutional

By Paul Katula •
A W.Va. school district has agreed that forcing students to take classes where one sex is barred from participation, without their explicit permission, is a violation of federal law.

A million tons of biomass in an algae bloom

By Paul Katula •
Although algae blooms in the Chesapeake Bay are a problem, the one off the China coast is about the size of Connecticut. People seem to be loving it—for now.

Egyptian president ousted; constitution suspended

By Paul Katula •
A coup d'état in Egypt ousted Pres Mohamed Morsi and suspended the constitution. A closer look at liberty, through the eyes of the Common Core, helps us understand the coup's motives.