Hey guys!
Here are a list of the sources I am using for my Probe Paper. Hopefully you find them useful or at least interesting!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/study-single-sex-education-may-do-more-harm-than-good/2011/09/22/gIQABAQOoK_story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/magazine/02sex3-t.html?_r=1&ref=singlesexeducation&pagewanted=all

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/education/23single.html?ref=singlesexeducation

Mael, Fred, Alex Alonso, Doug Gibson, Kelly Rogers, and Mark Smith. Single-Sex Versus Secondary Schooling: A Systematic Review. Publication. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, Policy and Program Studies Service, 2005. Policy and Program Studies Service. American Institute for Research. Web. 24 Mar. 2012.

Building Gender-Sensitive Schools. Working paper. International Congress of Single-Sex Education, Apr. 2007. Web. 24 Mar. 2012.

Although I do value proper grammar and a talent for writing, I very respectfully disagree with the question you posed, Rachel. I do not in any way support the idea of paying someone to do your work for you, however, I do not believe that doctors, lawyers, financial consultants, etc. need to have adept writing skills. From my studies, I have learned that our minds can often be wired differently to give us natural abilities in particular areas. For example, financial analysts clearly must be gifted with numbers and higher level math. I see no reason to fault them for not taking time to fully develop their writing abilities when their focus, interest, and time lies in the mathematical/financial field. Doctors, lawyers, and consultants can greatly enhance society by contributing in their respective fields, and I would rather them enhance those skills then ensure that they have perfect grammar. Just as writers have doctors and lawyers when they need legal or medical assistance, doctors and lawyers can have writers when they need assistance in writing. On another note, as a business student myself, I happen to know that we do have a large focus on writing skills. Business is about communication and although we do not have an artsy knack for writing like other majors, our writing can contain succinct, profit-enhancing reports that can highly contribute to a business.

Secondly, I find the prevailing problem with this article not to be a lack of writing skills in our students (although the writing of the students using that service were appalling)
but a lack of morals and ethics. The fact that "60% admit to cheating" and that paying someone else to write an essay is so common is a tragedy. I feel that the biggest issue this poses is the laziness of students and the lack of ethical standards in their work, not the major or grammatical abilities.

You know Rachel, my parents, who are both lawyers, would kill me for overlooking the fact that lawyers write so much and so well. My mom actually went to law school because she thought she could do better than my Dad's horrible writing which he was submitting to law school. So I completely agree with you there. :)

I was actually moderately surprised by this article. I knew that there was an issue and inequality between races in our school system, however I had no idea that it was as far reaching as the punishment of school children. I have heard about the disparity in discipline from our criminal justice system that more black people seem to be put in jail for a crime. I was stunned to see our schools mimic this outlook on race. It seems like complete racial equality is a growing process and has indeed advanced over the years, but it also has room for exponential growth. It is my hopes that with each progressive generation that follows, we as a society become more open, loving, and non-judgemental towards other races. The article brought up so intriguing and compelling data and it was an enjoyable read.

In this section of the book, a central theme is how the curriculum being taught is limited by standardized testing in schools. In several instances, the teacher is limited in her lessons and the students answers are limited in their creativity because of the need to focus on standardized testing. The article we chose discusses creativity and imagination in current students and explores the idea that creativity is dwindling. Page 197: "But butterflies had been off the official schedule in the past few years. Each fall, Ms. Luddy imagined suburban elementary school students rambling around apple orchards on field trips, picking fruit, creaking about on hayrides. Her kids couldn't do that, not with all the mandatory test practice." ^Reflects limits in curriculum due to standardized testing Page 235: "Now can anyone tell me what a journey is, in your own words. Is a journey just a trip? Or is it something more? Can you think of examples of journeys?" "The CMT!" Jeremy yelled. "That's like something we work at a little at a time ^Reflects limits in student response due to standardized testing

Although I find the article and interesting one and a great read, I do wonder if the way we find and measure creativity is entirely effective. It seems that testing for creativity is a very difficult and subjective test and I question its validity. I also wonder if the standard of creativity or the perceptions of creativity has changed over the past few decades. This would mean that our creativity styles would be different than those of generations before. I am always skeptical to think my generation is better than the ones that follows, and in the same way, that older generations have abilities that I can't or don't have. However, this is coming from a girl who is a naturally excellent test taker. I am good at information recall and application, but I am one of the most uncreative people I know. So I could be wrong. Either way, the author cites TV watching and standardized testing as two reasons for our less creative society. I see TV watching as the greater of the two evils as I feel it has more of an impact and that it is wasted time, unlike testing which, to me, is necessary.

I found this article to be very interesting and enjoyed reading about the Finnish schooling. Maybe this is the patriotic American in me, but I found some of the Finnish practices to be impractical for America and I feel that American schools face problems that Finnish ones do not face. As the melting pot of the world, American schools are comprised of a highly diverse set of backgrounds, ethnicities, and most importantly, languages. As a result, we spend a lot of time and effort getting students on the same page so that everyone can be taught the same things. Thus, a universal curriculum is far more difficult for a geographically spread out and densely populated nation like the US. However, I do enjoy the Finnish ideas of creativity and socialization in young students and think that this is something that we could easily implement.

When considering all of the articles that we have read in class lately, I could not help but to think of Jefferson's theory of free public education for all and of common morals to instill in everyone. This seems to be overlooked when it comes to special needs students. The consensus seems to be free public education, unless you are more trouble than the average kid, then we need to stick you somewhere else to deal with you. I believe special needs could co-exist in schools with regular students and that the two could utilize mutual facilities while maintaining specifically needed ones in order to cut costs. I do appreciate the fact that this issue is being very talked about and is in the spotlight for celebrities and politicians alike. The more Americans care about this issue, the more government funds will be allocated for its benefit, and the more private and corporate funds that will be donated to help solve this issue. I think all of this press and debate is a good thing and that the efforts that are being made are fruitful even when they fail. Failure shows us what didn't work and allows us to try a new strategy, and from this I think that we can grow and find a solution.

Page 35-36 "The families claimed that extreme racial and classic segregation in schools enabled and sustained by state-enforced school district boundary lines, denied them the equal educational opportunity guaranteed by Connecticut's Constitution." We feel that this article underlines the book's main focus as it parallels the inequality between economic classes. This book's theme is focused on the inequality between economic and racial education in Connecticut.

This is an issue that I am very concerned with, and I have gone as far as considering participating in Teach For America to help solve this problem and eliminate the education gap. What I do like about this article is something that is buried in the middle of it and could be easily overlooked. It says "now catching the attention of a broader audience, in part because income inequality has been a central theme this election season." It then goes on to say "focus of President Obama as well as some of the Republican presidential candidates." Although so far this is all talk and no action, I feel like the first step in changing this movement is spreading awareness of the problem and generating interest in a solution. I am glad that this is an issue that is being talked about and openly discusses, because that means we are at least one step closer on the road to solving the problem. I have high hopes that if Americans make it an important issue and make that fact known to our law makers, then we will eventually see change and progress in the system to help solve this problem.