by David Safier I tend to scoff at people who talk about good coming out of evil. ("Doesn't it gladden your heart to know that some Germans put their lives at risk to hide Jews in their homes during World War II?" No, it doesn't, when I balance it against the vast majority who condoned … Read more

by David Safier Kudos to Rhonda Bodfield for the series of investigative articles she wrote in the Star awhile back about social promotion. It's a topic worth looking into. But in today's article, which slams local school districts for not taking action on her findings, she gets a little carried away with herself. Actually, she gets … Read more

by David Safier If one conservative pundit writes a column about the hypocrisy of Obama sending his kids to private school, it's just a column. When the next day another conservative pundit writes that, to be consistent, Obama should send his kids to public school, we're seeing the creation of a new talking point from … Read more

by David Safier (TASL) I find this encouraging. Freshmen in the Sunnyside School District will get free laptops if they keep a 2.5 or better GPA and have a 95% attendance record. Will this change behavior or just reward the students who are already doing well? Single-period absences for freshmen at Desert View High School … Read more

by David Safier The Star agrees with what I wrote in an earlier post that the state shouldn't take tuition funds to shore up Arizona's budget problems: We understand the financial straits facing the state. But taking students' money from universities demonstrates the backward tendencies of lawmakers who refuse to accept that Arizona can't grow … Read more

by David Safier Looks like Russell Pearce wants to increase state revenues by taxing Arizona college tuition. He doesn't call it a tax, but that's what his proposal amounts to: Lawmakers are eyeing an extra $56.7 million collected in tuition by the three public universities, possibly to help balance the state budget. See, the universities raised tuition … Read more