Angelina Jolie Leaves Her Mark in Washington
It sounds like Angelina Jolie and her passion for humanitarian causes stole the show in Washington yesterday when she spoke out on Iraq and it’s refugees at the Council on Foreign Relations.
The actress’s appearance on a panel discussing the plight of more than 1 million Iraqi child refugees was less upbeat than that of the U.S. officials who testified before two Senate committees yesterday.
"This population we’re talking about is the future of Iraq," said Jolie, who has traveled twice to Iraq over the past year, as well as to Syria to visit Iraqi refugees. "So to reach them now, to help deal with their trauma and refocus their minds on a possible future should absolutely be one of our top priorities. We need these kids. . . . We need them to rebuild their country, to stabilize their country and eventually lead their country."
Jolie gently scolded the Bush administration for its slow follow-through on absorbing Iraqi refugees. The United States took in 374 Iraqis in January, 444 in February and 751 in March — in a year in which it has pledged to take in 12,000 Iraqi refugees, she noted.
While I can’t agree with Jolie in that the U.S. should be taking in more refugees that already heavily burdened taxpayers would have to support, I can understand a sense of anger toward our government and how we are handling a variety of situations.
Perhaps Jolie doesn’t feel the pressure that so many lower income families feel, perhaps Brangelina should take a walk through small town American in times when disaster hasn’t struck - but when jobs are being lost, groceries are on the rise, gas is unaffordable and see that we must first fix American before we can begin fixing other countries.
I’m interested in hearing from others. Do other American’s see our country as being in dire straights? Are you believing the Bush Administration in that we are not in a recession? Are gas prices too high? Can America support more refugees and immigrants?
How?
Source: Washington Post
Home Schooling is a Crime
Here’s the deal…I don’t know a great deal about home schooling or exactly what methods of accountability are used to insure children are receiving adequate education while undergoing this form of education. What I do know is, as the parent of three teens, there is plenty within their studies that make me shudder at the thought of having to teach it.
In California, it would seem that accountability and ability, for that matter, is being questioned and are becoming a heated topic of discussion and could potentially become a punishable law if the parents aren’t licensed to teach.
Parents of the approximately 200,000 home-schooled children in California are reeling from the possibility that they may have to shutter their classrooms — and go back to school themselves — if they want to continue teaching their own kids. On Feb. 28, Judge H. Walter Croskey of the Second District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles ruled that children ages six to 18 may be taught only by credentialed teachers in public or private schools — or at home by Mom and Dad, but only if they have a teaching degree.
To be honest, I think there needs to be some level of accountability when it comes to teaching. I’m a big believer in checks and balances in all things. And again, I repeat that I know little about home schooling so I have no idea what parents must do to prove they are capable of teaching their kids from home.
Locally, I’ve noticed an increased number of kids out running around throughout the day and have no idea if they are home schooled or truant. I believe that’s one real problem with home schooling.
I’m really intrigued by this topic and would be interested in hearing from home schooling parents on what accountability you hold to for teaching? How is the education your children are receiving measured against the national average to insure they are keeping up? And how many hours a day do you spend on lessons versus the hours a child spends in school?
Do you feel your child is learning more from home schooling? Are they being deprived of such things like sports and social interaction?
source: TIME
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