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    Education Friday: 5 Stories You May Have Missed This Week

    To all of our readers interested in education, here are five intriguing and though-provoking stories you may have missed this week.

    Coursera Enrolls 1 Million Students in Just 4 Months

    Education from top-notch universities such as Duke, Princeton and Stanford is now available to people all over the world through Coursera. Although students don't get a degree with Coursera, they are given an opportunity to take online classes for free from well-respected professors. It was officially launched four months ago and already, over 1 million students are enrolled across 196 countries.

    Can Technology Replace Teachers?

    The decision to cut three foreign-language teachers and replace them with online instruction in Eagle County, Colorado, has not been well received. Ian Quillan of Education Week takes a deeper look at the role technology plays in the classroom and if it will eventually replace valuable teachers due to budget cuts.

    To Increase Learning Time, Some Schools Add Days to the Academic Year

    The New York Times takes a deeper look at the debate over whether a longer school year will help kids succeed. According to the article, education advocates are in favor of an extended school year to help boost achievement, but "teachers' unions, parents who want to preserve summers for family vacations, and those who worry that children already come under too much academic stress argue that extended school time is not the answer."

    California Lawmakers Want to Know if Anti-Bullying Laws Actually Protect Gay Students

    Each year, 200,000 kids are harassed in California schools because of their sexual orientation. According to KPCC, "California lawmakers plan to request a state audit on how schools and local education agencies apply anti-bullying and harassment laws in response to recent incidents in which students were targeted for their sexual orientation."

    Pilot Program Targets Gifted Rural Students

    Low-income, rural students are attending a three-week program this summer to boost academic achievement. Education Week reports, "Rural advocates have long been concerned about what they see as limited attention and research given to academically adept students in America's rural schools, compared with their gifted and talented peers in urban settings."

    Are there any stories that you found interesting this week that we left off the list? Share the link with us in the comments.

    Related Stories on TakePart:

    Obama's Next Move: Reduce the Dropout Rate Among African American Students

    Michigan Schools With 10% Literacy Rate Have Been Taken Over By Charter Operator

    Hershey School Crumbles Under Pressure, Allows Admission to Student With HIV

    Jenny is the Education Editor at TakePart. She has been writing for TakePart since 2009 and previously worked in film and television development. She has taught English in Vietnam and tutors homeless children in Los Angeles. Email Jenny | @jennyinglee | TakePart.com

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    • Why We Can't Forget That Oklahoma's Senators Voted Against Sandy Relief

      Nearly four months ago, Oklahoma Senators Tom Coburn and James Inhofe both voted against H.R.152, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act that eventually sent $50.5 billion in relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy. And in the flurry of last night's devastation in Moore, Oklahoma. it was impossible not to forget that fact, knowing the federal government would soon rally to the cause.

    • BREAKING: Subway Just as Unhealthy as McDonald’s!

      If you watched the London Olympics last summer, you saw a parade of top athletes touting the nutritional qualities of their favorite eatery: Subway. Watching Apolo Ohno or Robert Griffin III bite into a veggie footlong with avocado or hearing that Subway is “the official training restaurant of athletes everywhere,” you might get the idea that the food served at the chain isn’t that bad for you—that it’s even healthy.

    • Judge: Hollister clothing unfriendly to disabled

      DENVER (AP) — A federal judge in Denver is contemplating an injunction against Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and J.M. Hollister LLC after ruling earlier that nearly 250 of their clothing stores that cater to a hip, young clientele are unfriendly to the disabled.

    • Sergio Garcia invites Tiger Woods over for fried chicken

      Well, the previously lame fight between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia just took one big “Anchorman”-sized step up a notch with a racially-charged remark from Garcia.

    • Dancing With The Stars: Kellie Pickler Talks Emotional Win

      Kellie Pickler might not have won her season of "American Idol," but the country singer was the best dancer to strut across the floor on Season 16 of "Dancing with the Stars" - something she was still in shock about when she chatted with Access Hollywood .

    • Republicans’ Hatred of Obama Blinds Them to Public Disinterest in Scandals

      Red-faced Republicans, circling and preparing to pounce on a second-term Democratic president they loathe, do not respect, and certainly do not fear. Sound familiar? Perhaps reminiscent of Bill Clinton’s second term, after the Monica Lewinsky story broke? During that time, Republicans became so consumed by their hatred of Clinton and their conviction that this event would bring him down that they convinced themselves the rest of the country was just as outraged by his behavior as they were. ...

    • 18-year-old’s invention can recharge a cell phone in 30 seconds

      A teenager from Saratoga, California took home one of the top prizes at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair late last week after showing off her invention, which can fully charge a cell phone in 30 seconds or less. Eesha Khare was given the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award and a $50,000 prize for being runner-up in the competition, which was won by a 19-year-old who unveiled a new spin on self-driving car technology. Khare’s battery technology requires a new component to be installed inside the phone battery itself, and Intel notes that it also has potential applications for car batteries.

    • Soccer-Real president under scrutiny after Mourinho exit

      (Corrects billion to million in fourth par) By Iain Rogers MADRID, May 21 (Reuters) - Florentino Perez's record as Real Madrid president was under scrutiny on Tuesday after the construction magnate's latest coaching project ended in disarray with the premature departure of Jose Mourinho. Perez, who is up for reelection next month, announced on Monday Mourinho would be leaving at the end of the season, three years before his contract expires. ...

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