Did They Vote For Kids?

Well, did they?

That's what the Children's Alliance wanted to find out, and you can, too when you download their 2008 legislative scorecard. The group analyzed the votes of Washington state lawmakers on children's issues during the 2008 legislative session. Each legislator received a score of 1 to 5 stars based on the percentage of votes cast "for children."

And yes, there were some perfect scores.

Let's Put Some Responsibility on the Students

So says Kelly Flynn, an education columnist with the Flint (Mich.) Journal.

Her column, which appeared in her paper over the weekend, comes at time when Washington state students are on the cusp of graduating with the most rigorous graduation requirements in state history (though some take issue with that, too). Says Flynn in her column:

Let's put some responsibility back on the student.

See, what we seem to forget is that it's all there for the taking. If you want an education in this country, you can have it. The information, textbooks, workbooks, journals, reference books, videos, technology and lab equipment are available, to one degree or another, in every single school.

Is this up-by-the-bootstraps, tough love approach on the mark or off the charts?