Monday Matters #20
Bill Gates states that the top 20% of students have gotten a good education. These students have gone on to become some of the best in the world at what they do. Although these students have been extraordinarily successful, Gates suggests that the education quality has gone down and is continuing to go down. Gates also states that because of the economy's conditions, opportunities are being offered to only those who have received a better education that many other people. Bill Gates wants to change this to allow people from all walks of life to have better opportunities and to keep the United States at the forefront of things driven by education. Click here to watch the video.

Monday Matters #19

Sir Ken Robinson suggests that high school graduates have a better time trying to find employment rather than a high school dropout. High school graduates are more likely to go to college and are more involved in their community and is less likely to depend on social programs. Sir Ken Robinson suggests that there are those who say that we can't afford to personalize education to every student. The fact is that we can't afford not to. Click here to read the article.

Monday Matters #18
Throughout the article that Diane Ravitch writes about why Democrats are acting like Republicans in Connecticut, she includes a quote from Joseph Ricciotti, a retired educator. In Ricciotti's quote, he offers an explanation as to why many Democrats lost in the most recent mid-term elections. Ricciotti explains that Democrats will not win elections if they continue to govern like Republicans. He questions why President Obama and Connecticut's Governor Dannel Malloy are taking the teachers, one of the Democrats largest supporters for granted. Click here to read the article. 

Monday Matters #17
In this political cartoon, a mother is yelling at her teenager for being more focused with technology than their education. The mother tells her that she is no longer allowed to text her friends until her grades improve. The teenager responds by saying that she is going to text her lawyer due to the unfair punishment. This shows how in the present day teenager focus on social media and technology and less on grades. Click here to view the cartoon.

Monday Matters #16
There are many different educational issues in many schools today. The way these issues are handle vary from school to school. Throughout my past three Monday Matters posts, there have been many different problems throughout schools. In one situation, students were not performing their best and their test results were poor. Then the school decided to change their system and the students improved. In another situation, technology was taking over children's reading development and skills. Less children were reading and more children were spending too much time on many technology devices. In the last situation, parents were concerned about their children's focus and determination while completing homework. These parents were looking for solutions so that they can help their child. These three articles tie into one another. These problems tend to be the major problems a school can face. In many schools, students are performing poorly and it is due to lack of motivation and lack of skills. These articles compliment each other quite well in proving the problems in many schools.

Monday Matters #15
Throughout the past year, parents have been concerned about their child's motivation and attention span while completing homework. Many parents are looking for a solution on how to fix this problem so that their child could perform, learn, and understand the best. In the article below, the author offers some solutions to the problems many parents are having with their child.

Monday Matters #14
Due to the evolution of technology, young children would rather watch TV or play on a tablet than reading. Less children are being read to and are relying on technology for entertainment and other purposes. The child's parents or guardians are not doing their job in implementing reading at an early age and studies have shown that children from all ages are reading less. Many children have said that being read to by a parent helps strengthen the bond between a child and a parent. Click here to read the article from the New York Times. 

Monday Matters #13
Carlin Springs Elementary's students were poorly performing. The students' reading, math, history and science test scores were very underwhelming. After learning about the results, teachers of Carlin Springs were stuck trying to figure out a solution that could improve the test scores of their students. The solution of teaching up to the tests was implemented the next school year, and the students' test results shocked the staff. Click here to read the article from the Washington Post. 

Monday Matters #12
Over the past three Monday Matters I have organized sources that state the opinions of many article writers. Although I agree with most of the articles, the last article included in Monday Matters #11 stands out to me. Many people have been freaking out about Ebola. Finally we get a person, Shep Smith, who calmly tells us the honest facts about Ebola and to stop worrying so much about it. Hopefully Smith's message reaches many Americans and convinces them that Ebola is not a huge controversy and that it is not a major thing to worry about. 

Monday Matters #11
People are leaving their jobs due to the frightening rumors about Ebola. 75 airplane cabin cleaners quit their jobs due to the fact that they were afraid that they were going to contract Ebola. A woman vomitted in the Pentagon parking lot which led to the Pentagon being shut down and quarantined. A health worker from Texas was quarantined on a cruise ship for days even though the person did not show any signs of Ebola. Many people are freaking out about the Ebola virus. Click here to read an article that attempts to state the facts about Ebola. 
Fox News anchor Shep Smith held a 4 minute segment on a program of Fox News. As he calmly looks into the camera, he urges Americans to not have fear about Ebola. Later in the video he urges people to get flu shots and he states that thousands of people have died from flu and pneumonia related symptoms. Click here to watch the video.

Monday Matters #10
As the Ebola controversy moves on, many people have still developed their own opinions towards the disease. Many people are still very scared for their health and well being. It is not their fault that they are so afraid. Things that we read in newspapers and watch on the news tend to frighten many people. Many places in the United States ordered quarantines for health workers who have helped Ebola patients. The president of Liberia is saying that she is concerned that people in the United States are extremely overreacting about Ebola. Click here to read the article. 
A nurse named Kaci Hickox returned to the United States from Africa after caring for patients who were suffering from Ebola. Even though Hickox's Ebola test came up negative, she was quarantined. The news of this frightened many people because a person who tested negative for Ebola still ended up being quarantined. Many people blame hospitals for their fears, such as the hospital in Dallas that released an Ebola patient too soon. This situation was a mistake and many people learned from it. These hospitals have realized that this was as major mistake, and that people should not have fear. Click here to read the article. 

Monday Matters #9
In the fall, an epidemic was rumored to be spreading around. That epidemic was Ebola. Ebola originated in Africa and is known for making infected people suffer and eventually die. Rumors have developed claiming that Ebola has spread to the United States. Many people are preparing for the worst. Hospitals throughout the country have developed Ebola care sections. Many people believe that Ebola will kill many people.
Many people claim that Americans are overreacting due to the fact that many people have died from Ebola. In the United States, a person can count the amount of people infected with Ebola on two hands and still have fingers to spare. It is not a realistic threat in the United States according to CNN. According to the article, people should be more concerned about getting a flu shot than about Ebola.
It is said that the fear of Ebola is an irrational fear to begin with, but the media has blown it up to extreme proportions. There are honest and true facts about the Ebola epidemic, and there is the media's interpretation on it. Although the media may display the truth about Ebola, they tend to question the facts and claim that experts are not telling the truth. Click here to read the article.