Abstract
This paper reviews the 1994 "Gaskin v. Pennsylvania Department of Education" case and its effects on education. The paper explains that the Gaskin case was a class action lawsuit filed against the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and was started when a kindergarten student with Down's syndrome was denied access to a regular education classroom. The paper adds that the purpose of the case is to ensure all students a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment, which is known as inclusion. As the paper notes, the court ruled that supportive services most be provided for these students to succeed in regular education classrooms, and that teachers must be provided adequate on site training to deal with these circumstances. However, the paper concludes by questioning whether the Gaskin verdict closed the door to letting professionals make a decision and opened the door for parents to claim their child has been wronged despite a school district's greatest effort to do what is best for the child. The case revolves around the idea that every child, regardless of ability or disability is entitled to a free public education in the least restrictive environment. Furthermore, the case challenges the Pennsylvania Department of Education to provide the supportive services necessary for every child to succeed.

Outline:
Abstract
Summary of the Issue
Legal Questions
What is a class action lawsuit?
What is considered to be the "least restrictive environment," and is every child entitled to an education in this environment?
What proper supports must be provided by the school district to insure that students with special needs will be able to succeed?
What is an IEP and what students have rights to have one?
Summary of the Verdict
Application to Instructional Practices
References

From the Paper
"The Gaskin case directly affects every teacher and student in the state of Pennsylvania. The enormous ruling is both eye-opening and game-changing. I firmly believe that every child is entitled to an education in the least restrictive environment. However, I fear that we are misidentifying this environment all too often and jeopardizing the educational needs of both the special needs student and that of his or her classmates. The proposal states that a student who disrupts the education of others should not be kept in the classroom. However, this is not often the case.
"Because of the Gaskin ruling, children with severe autism and drastic behavioral issues are often being kept in the regular education classroom. Is this really serving the best interests of these children, or rather, is it serving their parents who strive to cling to a feeling of normalcy from their children? If the later be the case, who are we to judge? I personally do not have a special needs child, and if I did I cannot begin to tell you how I would feel or fight for that child. However, has the Gaskin verdict closed the door to letting professionals make a decision and opened the door for parents to claim their child has been wronged despite a school districts best effort to do what is best for the child? If so what is the cost? I fear the cost may be many of the regular education students in the classroom. Furthermore, and as far fetched as it may seem, I fear the cost may be national supremacy."

Tags:IDEA inclusion IEP, special education

Abstract
The constitutional responsibility of the provinces for education has long been delegated to local school boards. Unfortunately, there is a perception among many observers that these school boards, certainly in Manitoba, have wasted money, have been bureaucratic nightmares, and have been generally dilatory in seeing to it that the needs of Manitoba's young people are looked after. In November of 2001, under a previous government, this province amalgamated many of the provincial school boards in an effort to save money and to streamline the educational process. It is the contention of this paper that Manitoba needs to move away from the amalgamation of school boards towards a more decentralized policy that places control over curricular matters in the hands of the local citizenry - albeit with the Ministry of Education providing direct oversight so that public dollars are not misused.

From the Paper
Department of Education, Training and Citizenship Cabinet Submission Subject (future of Manitoba school boards) The constitutional responsibility of the provinces for education has long been delegated to local school boards. Unfortunately, there is a perception among many observers that these school boards, certainly in Manitoba, have wasted money, have been bureaucratic nightmares, and have been generally dilatory in seeing to it that the needs of Manitoba's young people are looked after. In November of 2001, under a previous government, this province amalgamated many of the provincial school boards in an

Tags:department, education, citizenship

Abstract
This paper focuses on the 2008 Apollo Group fraud case, in which a federal jury ordered the Apollo Group to pay $280 million to shareholders, or $5.55 per share, as a result of a finding of fraud in 2004. The paper explains that Apollo, which runs the University of Phoenix, had misled investors by not divulging a report that found that Apollo systematically tried to keep its recruiting practices hidden from the Department. At the time, the paper reveals, the Apollo Group was paying its recruiters solely on commission based on the number of enrollments they secured. Although the judgment was later reversed, the paper goes on to examine the effects of the judgment, noting that the company's stock price is deteriorating at least in part due to the scandal. The paper recommends that Apollo focus on international markets, which are not impacted by the recruitment scandal, will allow Apollo to continue its current high growth rate while simultaneously reducing the cost to attract each new student. The paper concludes that the fraud scandal is more of a speed bump than a major impediment to future success, and management's strategy should be guided by that fact.

Outline:
Introduction
The Situations in 2004
The External Environment
Recommendations and Conclusion
References

From the Paper
"The economy was on the upswing, which was a positive indicator for the Apollo Group. Demand for western-style education was perceived as increasing around the world (Symonds, 2005). Moreover, with the rapid growth in wealth in developing nations such as Mexico, China and India offered seemingly limitless growth opportunities for the Apollo Group. Operations in those countries would be difficult for the DoE to scrutinize, which indicated that strong expansion without changing the existing business model was a possibility."

Tags:fraud, scam, recruiting, commission

Abstract
In this article, the writer outlines the ideology that most exemplifies the attitude toward education portrayed by the writer's own provincial Department of Education. The writer discusses to what extent can a shift toward a more neo-conservative perspective be identified.

From the Paper
"The Federal government's prosperity initiative (1991) has placed the spotlight on the role of education and training in the country's future economic success. This has put the onus on all of the provinces to reform their educational systems. It is argued that this is all part of globalized neo-liberalism, which has a simple but implication-laden premise: "global developments are making us truly one world, and as we ..."

Tags:education, neoconservative

Abstract
The paper argues that while Rod Paige's defense of the Department of Education's implementation of the NCLB Act appeared to be thorough and detailed, it did fail to address several important issues. The paper discusses his failure to fully come to terms with the complexities and enforced uniformities of the Act, which themselves were the primary motivating force behind the DOE's many attempts to assist states with guidance, on-site visits, and so forth.

From the Paper
"Rod Paige served as Secretary of the United States Department of Education from 2001 through 2005, a critical time frame, during which the controversial No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 was passed by Congress and first began to be implemented on a nationwide basis. Secretary Paige himself was a controversial figure during his term in office, and he came under criticism for his often outspoken views. He wrote a book that severely criticized the National Education Association (NEA) and was forced to apologize after a 2004 statement, in which he called the NEA a "terrorist organization" ("Paige Calls NEA Terrorist...)"

Tags:education, nclb, paige

Abstract
This paper explains that Title IX of the civil rights statute for education banned all gender-based discrimination in education, except under extremely limited exceptions, such as physical contact sports. The author points out that single-gender schooling, which has a relatively successful model in the private sector, is one possible resolution to encourage academic achievement. The paper relates that, although there has been no conclusive research on the effectiveness of single-sex schooling experiments in limited public school districts, President George W. Bush, as a component of his "No Child Left Behind Act", has arranged a three million-dollar endowment for the establishment of single-gendered schooling. The author argues that it is most important that the quality of education and curriculum remains uniform to both sexes.

From the Paper
"George W. Bush's plan to allocate almost three million dollars in an effort to create more single-sex classes necessitates a great deal of restructuring that will undoubtedly affect both the teachers and students within public school systems. Under Bush's plan, however, single-sex vocational at the K-12 level would remain outlawed. Bush's revision of Title IX is contingent upon the notion that schools will remain "evenhanded," which indicates that boys and girls must be treated equally with respect to the courses that are offered to them."

Tags:options, restrictions, discrimination, private, bush

Abstract
This paper presents the writer's findings from a research project undertaken on behalf of the New York State Education Department (NYSED). The paper reviews the department's Web-based services to assess whether NYSED's Web site (www.nysed.gov) was following commonly accepted best practices and to determine how NYSED e-services compared to those of other states. The paper also looks at current teacher salaries in New York in order to gauge whether New York teachers are being compensated fairly compared to teachers in other states.

Table of Contents:
Introduction and Executive Summary
External Factors in e-Services: What are they, and how does New York stack up?
Teacher Salaries
How do New York's e-Services Compare?
E-service Recommendations

From the Paper
"Finally, I would recommend that NYSED improve its Web services through a redesign of its Web site to make it easier to use. In particular, the home page needs to look cleaner by offering less text and more white space. This can be accomplished in a couple of different ways. First, NYSED can stop running extensive summaries of the current events pieces that currently dominate the middle of the home page. By simply offering clickable headlines, without accompanying text, NYSED can greatly reduce the amount of space that current events occupy on the home page. The headlines could perhaps even be placed into a small box, which would allow a great deal of content that currently runs at the bottom of the page to be bumped "above the fold." That includes valuable content, such as links to the state Board of Regents Web site and a site for individuals with disabilities. In fact, many of these links that currently appear at the bottom of the home page could be placed in a drop-down menu that could be accessed without having to scroll down the page."

Tags:salaries, teachers, students

Abstract
This paper explores Patricia Benner's theory regarding the evolution of a novice nurse to an expert gave form to the learning process critical to comprehending nursing education. The paper explains that expert nurses in the emergency department are indispensable repositories of operational knowledge, changed and refined over the years as well as invaluable teachers and coaches for nurses aspiring to become expert emergency department nurses.

From the Paper
"Patricia Benner's theory regarding the evolution of a novice nurse to an expert has both been widely accepted and criticized since its inception in 1984. The theory gave form to the learning process critical to comprehending nursing education: how nurse students slowly progress not only in terms of information accumulation, compartmentalization, processing and task organization, but also in terms of the changes in how complex and numerous sources of information are interpreted and integrated to provide a holistic picture of a patient's condition and how he and his environment interact to produce this condition."

Tags:medical, career, holistic

Abstract
This paper explains that, for generations, nearly every fire department especially in more rural areas in the United States was volunteer; however, within the last fifty years, coinciding with the advent of automobiles, fire departments were able to cover a wider radius and became paid, professional civil servants. The author points out that, with organization, centralized training and government involvement, firefighting changed from dowsing flames to covering a wide array of emergency situations, rescues, code enforcement and public education. The paper stresses that the fire departments across the nation form a very close brotherhood dedicated to saving lives and are committed to making use of whatever resources are available to accomplish their goals of providing for the public's safety in all types of emergency situations.

From the Paper
"Congress established the United States Fire Administration in 1974 within the same bill that created the National Fire Academy, which is managed by the USFA. Facing a dismal record of fire related deaths both to the general public and to the firefighters themselves, lowering the death rate became a primary objective. Almost thirty years later, the number of fire deaths has been reduced by half. The mission of the USFA continues to be "reduce life and economic losses due to fire and related emergencies." This mission is accomplished by providing public education, training to fire personnel, technology development, and data initiatives. The USFA is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and works with other federal agencies and community fire protection and emergency services to protect the public. They maintain the National Fire Data Center and operate the National Fire Academy, which offers both residential and distance education classes."

Tags:volunteer, organizations, training, emergency, brotherhood

Abstract
This paper focuses on the role of technology in education, leaning toward concern that many young Americans are convinced that a higher education is not necessary in today's technological world, due to already possessing the skills needed for a huge selection of technology-based jobs. On the other side of the argument, the paper continues, almost every corporation in the United States that manufacturers and distributes computer-based technology equipment and software agree that technology is a necessary part of today's complicated world and that technology will help to advance education rather than destroy or erode young people's interest in obtaining a traditional education. The paper concludes with the claim that a number of American educators are convinced that the U.S. Department of Education and its affiliates are currently involved in a massive conspiracy to purposely cause young people and students to lose interest in obtaining a traditional education at the university level.

From the Paper
"With these two aspects of the question in mind, it is quite obvious that students, particularly in the United States, are losing interest in an education. The reasons for this trend are simple yet also complicated, due to the many changes that have occurred in the American public school system and to the great advances in technology over the last thirty years or so. For instance, as Tom DeWeese asserts in the article "The Fix That's Destroying Education in America," beginning around 1990, the American educational system "has been completely restructured to deliberately move away from teaching basic academics to a system that focuses on training students" for the technological jobs of today and the future (American Policy Center, Internet). As a result of this restructuring, the American educational system deliberately "dumbed-down the children" which has affected the academic strength "to make them the smartest students in the world" (American Policy Center, Internet)."

Tags:advances, teaching, classroom, computer