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.

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.