American Morning
Texas textbook war continues
(CNN) – The Texas textbook war continues. In a controversial move, the state's board of education, dominated by conservative, Republican, Christian fundamentalists, has overhauled its existing social studies and history curriculum. Educators and political activists across the country are furious. On Monday's American Morning, we heard from both sides of the debate with Texas state board of education member Dr. Don McLeroy and Rod Paige, U.S. secretary of education from 2001 to 2005.
The Cost of College: Families placing premium on value
(CNN) – With college costs skyrocketing and a recession raging, it's not just about getting in to the best school these days. For many students and their cash-strapped parents, prestige is taking a back seat to price. Our Alina Cho reports for the first part of a week-long series, "The Cost of College."
Program Note: Tomorrow on American Morning, in part 2 of "The Cost of College," our Alina Cho profiles a young man who turned down a scholarship at one university to attend a more expensive and prestigious school. He says that decision left him buried in debt that will take decades to pay off.
N.J. principal wants to keep students offline
(CNN) – Kids and technology can be a tricky balance, but now one educator says when it comes to Facebook, he wants students offline.
This week, the principal of Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, New Jersey told parents, "It's time for every single member of the Benjamin Franklin community to take a stand. There is absolutely, positively no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site. None." Principal Anthony Orsini joined us Friday's American Morning.
Sarah B. Wessling is Natl. Teacher of the Year
(CNN) – Headlines about schools in America too often involve budget cuts, kids dropping out, or teachers not doing their jobs. But there are educators out there, lots of them, doing an amazing job teaching your kids.
Sarah Brown Wessling is one of them. She teaches high school English in Johnston, Iowa. Tomorrow, President Obama will name her National Teacher of the Year. She joined us on Wednesday's American Morning.
School districts warn of deep budget cuts
(CNN) – The battered economy is devastating school districts nationwide. Faced with shrinking budgets, many schools say they have no choice but to lay off teachers.
In fact, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan warns that we are on the brink of an "education catastrophe." The latest example of our schools in crisis can be seen in Illinois, where yesterday thousands rallied at the state capitol to protest deep cuts.
Dan Montgomery, an English teacher in Skokie, Illinois was at yesterday's rally. He joined us on Thursday's American Morning, along with Lindsey Burke, a former teacher and education policy analyst.
Notre Dame's 1st African-American valedictorian
(CNN) – Notre Dame's 2010 graduation will be unlike any other in the university's 168 year history.
The class valedictorian's resume might sound familiar: 4.0 GPA, aspiring doctor, mentor to young people, but Katie Washington is different because she's the university's first African-American valedictorian. Our Kiran Chetry had the opportunity to chat with Katie about her reaction to the news.
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Welcome to the American Morning blog where you can get daily news updates from American Morning's reporters and producers. Join us for "the most news in the morning," weekdays from 6-9 a.m. ET, only on CNN.
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