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Policy

Photo by Igor Ferreira on Unsplash

Florida principal fired after showing statue of "David."

If you ask most teachers why they went into education, they'll share that it had nothing to do with the money and everything to do with their passion for teaching. Even with rapid changes in curriculum and policies, teachers who remain in the classroom are lovers of education and are doing their best to help kids learn.

Hope Carrasquilla, the former principal of Florida's Tallahassee Classical School, was one of those teachers who simply enjoyed teaching. As the principal, Carrasquilla was required to teach two classes. During her sixth grade lesson about Renaissance art, which is also a requirement of the school, Carrasquilla showed a picture of Michelangelo's "David" statue.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, three parents complained about their children being shown the picture. Two of those parents were mostly upset that there wasn't sufficient notice given before the photo of the sculpture was shown. The third parent reportedly complained that the statue of the Biblical figure was pornographic.

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Education

Princeton just made college more affordable by ditching student loans and covering tuition

This sounds radical but it's actually life-changing for students who qualify.

Photo by Joshua Jen on Unsplash

Princeton just made college more affordable.

Many parents know the excitement and apprehension that comes with college application season. We encourage our children to reach for the stars and then sticker shock sets in when they get into their dream school. It's a feeling that will quickly apply the gravity of Jupiter onto any excitement you might have been feeling as a parent, but Princeton, an Ivy League university, is about to change lives. The prestigious school recently announced that it has removed student loans from its financial aid packages and will cover the tuition including room and board for students whose families make less than $100,000 a year.

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Education

Incredible news: Child poverty in America has fallen 59% since 1993

Increases in the social safety net played a big role.

via Pixabay

Siblings holding hands and looking toward a bright future.

A wonderful piece of news has come out of the blue that will change a lot of people’s perceptions about America’s future and how we tackle complex economic issues. A new report by The New York Times and Child Trends shows that child poverty dropped a whopping 59% percent in the United States between 1993 and 2019.

The poverty rate dropped an additional 10% in 2020 due to aggressive, albeit temporary, COVID-19 aid measures. If those numbers were included in the study, the child poverty rate would be 69% lower.

“This is an astounding decline in child poverty,” Dana Thomson, a co-author of the Child Trends study, said according to The New York Times. “Its magnitude is unequaled in the history of poverty measurement, and the single largest explanation is the growth of the safety net.”

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Education

I escaped generational poverty by  amassing college debt. Loan forgiveness will change lives.

My own children have never experienced coming home to no lights or running water. They will never have to escape from poverty because they don't come from it and I don't know that I'd be able to say the same if I didn't make the choice to accept student loans.

Photo by Jasmine Coro on Unsplash

I escaped poverty by going into debt.

I don't come from money. In fact, I come from the stark opposite. My mother was one of nine children who grew up in an abusive household that was well below the poverty line and her mother grew up poorer than she did. This cycle of poverty goes back as far as I can trace, so it's no surprise that I also grew up poor. There were days when the only thing we had to eat was peanut butter on a spoon during the day to keep us satiated until dinner because it was the only meal that day.

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