Students

If California schools want a piece of $4.2 million in new federal education grants, they'll have to make some changes. Legislation by state Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) and several coauthors would pave the way for those changes, but the bill is so awkwardly constructed at this point, with so many unnecessary and possibly harmful additions, that it doesn't deserve the fast-track passage Romero is seeking. The bill moves in the right direction in enacting common-sense reforms that were outlined by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan as requirements for states that want to compete for Race to the Top grants.

At Hawthorne High School recently, students easily identified areas where different groups hang out: the basketball players are in a corner near the cafeteria, the rockers near the stage, ditchers and smokers near the school gates and the JV football players and cheerleaders near the field. The exercise was aimed at focusing students' attention on the many social and cultural barriers formed by cliques on campus and the stereotypes they can engender. Afterward, Hawthorne senior Naya Pierce said she hoped her classmates would begin to reach beyond their tight-knit circles but admitted it would be slow going.

Test proctor Chae Su-beom knows the drill. Twice on this all-important day, for a seemingly interminable half-hour at a time, he is required to stand completely still. No coughing, gum-chewing, breathing heavily or even making eye contact with his exam-taking students. Female minders face additional prohibitions: No excessive makeup or perfume that might give off a distracting scent. No high heels that could go clicketyclack on the linoleum floors. Today, across South Korea, 650,000 high school seniors will face the most crucial evaluation of their young lives: the national college entrance examination.

Re "In-state students may be out of luck," Jan. 4 As a parent of a son at UC Santa Barbara, I have as much personal interest as anyone else in UC's consideration of greater admittance of out-of-state students. I applaud the initiative. An influx of high-achieving out-of-state students will directly increase UC selectivity and thus the national standing of both the UC system and each individual campus. What is a boon to a university cannot be a bane to its students. Rather than being out of luck, every UC student and alumni will find the value of a UC degree enhanced.

Re "In-state students may be out of luck," Jan. 4 UC schools charge higher tuitions to out-of-state students because the families of California's in-state students have been paying for those public universities since 1869. If UC schools are going to break that long-standing promise with California residents and admit more out-of-state students at our children's expense, it makes perfect sense to me that California's taxpayers stop funding UC schools entirely. David Coffin Los Angeles :: What bare-faced disloyalty to California students and families, as preferential admittance to UC institutions may be extended to out-of-state students "for a price ... as a matter of survivability."

Re "Report cards score schools," Jan. 12 No wonder students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are not doing well, considering the money spent on programs like report cards for schools. The information would have equal value if it were made public in the media as opposed to spending $700,000 to mail it home. It's all a waste: The test does not have any significance for the students, thus few are motivated to do more than "bubble" random answers year after year. Donna Madden Redondo Beach

Teacher Alex Kajitani, known as the "rappin' mathematician," was named one of four finalists Wednesday for the prestigious National Teacher of the Year award. Kajitani, who teaches math at Mission Middle School, is known for using rap music to connect with his students " . . . but his real talent lies in his ability to reach those students who have all but given up on school," said state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, who nominated him. "Mr. Kajitani employs this cultural medium because of his deep concern about the achievement gap and what it is doing to his students and to all students who are struggling in school," O'Connell said.

A female student was stabbed to death on Virginia Tech's campus in Blacksburg, the first killing there since a deadly mass shooting in 2007. The latest incident triggered a crisis notification system that was revamped after the shooting rampage. Students were warned by text messages and other forms of communication about 7:45 p.m. that they should stay in place while police investigated. About an hour later, they were given the all clear. A male suspect was taken into custody about 7:10 p.m., according to a university news release.

Gov. Patrick Quinn joined thousands of mourners gathered at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb to mark the day one year ago when a gunman fatally shot five students in a lecture hall before turning the gun on himself. School administrators, students, and friends and families of the victims attended a commemoration ceremony and a wreath-laying at a planned memorial site near the still-closed Cole Hall, where Steven Kazmierczak, a 27-year-old former NIU student, fired dozens of shots into a geology class.

Teaching major works of English literature is becoming more difficult because students lack enough knowledge of the Bible or classical mythology to appreciate them, Britain's poet laureate said Tuesday. Andrew Motion, who teaches at London's Royal Holloway University, said English classics remain valuable because they impart useful lessons about human nature. But getting to the heart of them is proving tough for many students. "We need to think of imaginative ways to allow students to rediscover this material, in some cases to discover it for the first time," Motion told BBC radio's "Today" program.