Dallas, Texas public schools recently implemented a new grading policy which among other things eliminates the grade'F'. If a student fails a test, they are given a chance to re-take it, throwing out the lower of the two grades. (Source: The Ithacan) The new policy is designed to de-emphasize failure in a district that has one of the highest dropout rates in the state.

I read a very interesting article this morning about the increasing number of young adults creating successful businesses using blogging and social networking. Such was the case of Elton Sherman, a student at Reynolds High School in Oregon. Once a D student who was regularly made fun of and who unsuccessfully tried to start a t-shirt business, he began taking photos of his fellow students at parties and posting them on his blog, Pretty Ugly Online.

Meet the latest trend in college note-taking...the iphone. Four university campuses, including the University of Maryland have started handing out iphones and ipods to incoming freshmen.

We're used to seeing movies about epic catastrophes: "War of the Worlds"; "Independence Day"; "Armageddon". Now imagine a horror movie about...the economy. Premiering in theatres today is a documentary that is being called the next "Inconvenient Truth." The movie,"I.O.U.S.A." features interviews with Warren Buffett, Alan Greenspan and US Comptroller General David Walker. It's message?

Beloit College in Beloit, WI recently released the 2008 Mindset List. The authors (who have been compiling this list for the last 11 years) tell us that this list is "an effor to identify the worldview of 18 year-olds in the in the fall of 2008," and promise that the purpose is not to make us all feel really old.

Just in time for the 2008 Summer Olympics, the August issue of brass is hot off the press. This quarter's issue features US Olympic soccer player Stephanie Cox. As the youngest member and first Hispanic woman to ever make the US Women's National Team, Stephanie is in Beijing to help reclaim the gold medal won in 2004.

When I glimpse the text messages people write these days, I feel like I'm looking at a new, cryptic language. AAK? FOCL? What do these code words mean? I found a website that helps define these random abbreviations; it might be something necessary to study to keep "in touch" with the way students are choosing to communicate.

A writer for the San Francisco Chronicle claims,

It's summertime and your students are probably on the road a lot more

I'm proud to announce the debut of the newly updated brass|STUDENT PROGRAM websites. All sites, including the Student Resource Center, the Student Program Home Page, The Teacher Resource Center and the Student Program Sponsor Site have been given a fresh new look. You'll notice that each new site incorporates some new features such as video.