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      in World Politics

      When Sustainable Development Goalkeepers Fail To Make A Stop

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      The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media. More

    • 138 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      Pennsylvania school district accused of banning Girls Who Code book series

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      Pennsylvania school district accused of banning Girls Who Code book seriesPen America says Central York school district banned the books but officials strongly deny it in statement A school district in Pennsylvania has banned the Girls Who Code book series for young readers, according to an index of banned books compiled by the free expression non-profit Pen America.The books are four of more than 1,500 unique book titles that have been banned by schools across the country after conservative pushes to censor books. According to a report released by Pen America in April, 138 school districts across 32 states have banned books from their classrooms and school libraries.A recent update to Pen America’s banned book index said the Central York school district last year banned the books The Friendship Code, Team BFF: Race to the Finish!, Lights, Music, Code! and Spotlight on Coding Club!. The school district has over 400 banned titles on the index.A statement from officials in that district on Monday strongly denied that they had banned the book series.“The information published in this article is categorically false,” the district’s statement said while linking to a Business Insider interview with the founder of Girls Who Code which reported the ban. “This book series not been banned, and they remain available in our libraries.”The Central York district last year received national attention after it banned resource materials listed in 2020 by its diversity committee, including children’s books and documentaries. A coalition of students and parents successfully pushed the district to rescind its ban after public pressure.In a statement explaining the ban of the diverse resources, the school district’s board president at the time, Jane Johnson, said: “What we are attempting to do is balance legitimate academic freedom with what could be literature/materials that are too activist in nature, and may lean more toward indoctrination rather than age-appropriate academic content.”The Girls Who Code series features a group of girls who become friends in their school’s coding club. The series is in partnership with Girls Who Code, a non-profit that runs computer coding clubs and programming in schools for girls.How to beat a book ban: students, parents and librarians fight backRead moreThe CEO and founder of Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani, expressed her anger over the series being banned.“We use these stories to teach kids to code,” Saujani told Business Insider. “It felt very much like a direct attack on the movement we’ve been building to get girls coding.“This is an opportunity to realize how big this movement is against our kids and how much we need to fight.”Saujani said that the group Moms for Liberty, a conservative non-profit formed in 2021 that has been pushing book bans through local chapters across the country, was responsible for the Central York district’s ban on the series. The organization has advocated for banning books on race – including ones on the civil rights movement – and on LGBTQ+ themes, saying the volumes are “sexually explicit”, according to media watchdog Media Matters.Aggressive campaigns to ban books in schools and libraries across the country have flared up over the culture wars of the last two years. While campaigns to ban books have always existed in the US, the movement gained momentum in 2021 when conservatives took aim at the academic “critical race” theory and turned it into a buzzword to stoke fears of liberal ideals being taught in classrooms.According to Pen America’s banned books report, many of the titles being banned deal with LGBTQ+ themes or have non-white characters. The organization estimates that more than 300 groups, including local chapters of national organizations like Moms for Liberty, have been pushing for book bans. The groups have gained large traction through social media, where lists of titles have circulated.The campaigns try to deflect accusations of racism and bigotry by claiming they are targeting material that is offensive or inappropriate for children.Pen America estimates that 41% of banned books deal with LGBTQ+ themes while 40% have protagonists or secondary characters who are people of color.An author of one of the Girls Who Code books, Jo Whittemore, said on Twitter: “Some people choose not to focus on how awesome and empowering and inspiring these books are but instead choose fear.”TopicsPennsylvaniaUS politicsLibrariesnewsReuse this content More

    • 150 Shares99 Views

      in US Politics

      Biden unveils plan to cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for millions

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      Biden unveils plan to cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for millionsPresident delivers on campaign promise and outlines debt relief measures for those on lower incomes in White House speech01:15Millions of Americans received welcome news on Wednesday when Joe Biden delivered on a campaign promise to provide $10,000 in student debt forgiveness.Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year will be eligible for loan forgiveness, with those whose low incomes qualified them for federal Pell Grants receiving up to $20,000 in relief. About a third of US undergraduate students receive Pell Grants.Biden also extended a pause on federal student loan payments through the end of the year. The White House said it would be the last pause, and borrowers should expect to resume payments in January.If it survives probable legal challenges, Biden’s plan could offer a windfall to many Americans in the run-up to midterm elections in November. More than 45 million owe a combined $1.7tn in federal student debt. Almost a third owe less than $10,000, according to federal data.Biden also proposed a new income-driven repayment plan that would cap loans for low-income future borrowers and introduce fixes to the loan forgiveness program for non-profit and government workers.“Twelve years of universal education is not enough,” Biden said, announcing the plan at the White House. “How do we remain the most competitive nation in the world with the strongest economy in the world with the greatest opportunities?“That’s what today’s announcement is about. It’s about opportunity. It’s about giving people a fair shot. It’s about the one word America can be defined by: ‘possibilities’. It’s about providing possibilities.Biden noted that the federal government gave loans to small businesses during the Covid pandemic.“Now, it’s time to address the burden of student debt the same way.”Biden added that “an entire generation is now saddled with unsustainable debt.“The burden is so heavy that even if you graduate, you may not have access to the middle-class life that the college degree once provided. The burden is especially heavy on Black and Hispanic borrowers who, on average, have less family wealth to pay for it.”Biden said more information on the plan would soon be released and borrowers who qualify for forgiveness could expect a “short and simple form to apply for this relief”, sent by the Department of Education.The US has a long history of student debt, the vast majority owed to the federal government, which has been offering loans for college since 1958. US student debt has more than tripled over the last 16 years.Senior Democrats on Capitol Hill cheered Biden’s announcement. The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, and the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime advocate of the policy, issued a joint statement.They said: “With the flick of a pen, President Biden has taken a giant step forward in addressing the student debt crisis by cancelling significant amounts of student debt for millions of borrowers.“The positive impacts of this move will be felt by families across the country, particularly in minority communities, and is the single most effective action that the president can take on his own to help working families and the economy.”The senators added that Democrats would continue with efforts “to help close the racial wealth gap for borrowers and keep our economy growing”.Biden has faced pressure from liberals to provide broader relief. The cancellation falls short of the $50,000 many activist groups wanted. Some groups have called for full student debt cancellation.“If we can cancel $10k, we can cancel it all,” the Debt Collective, a union of debtors, tweeted on Wednesday.Administration officials claimed the plan could reduce inflation. The top Senate Republican, Mitch McConnell, argued that it would worsen the problem.McConnell said: “Biden’s student loan socialism is a slap in the face to every family who sacrificed to save for college, every graduate who paid their debt, and every American who chose a certain career path or volunteered to serve in our armed forces in order to avoid taking on debt. This policy is astonishingly unfair.”Biden’s continuation of the pandemic loan payment freeze came just days before millions were set to find out when their next student loan bills were due. The end of the payment freeze extension was set for 31 August.During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden was initially skeptical of student debt cancellation as he faced progressive candidates including Warren and Bernie Sanders, the democratic socialist senator from Vermont.On Wednesday, Sanders hailed “a great step forward” but said: “We have got to do more.”New York special election victory gives Democrats hope for midterms – liveRead moreAs he tried to shore up support among younger voters, Biden unveiled a proposal for debt cancellation of $10,000 per borrower, with no mention of an income cap. That campaign promise was narrowed in recent months by embracing the income limit.Democrats pushed the administration to go as broad as possible, seeing debt relief as a galvanizing issue, particularly for Black and young voters.‘There’s been a dramatic shift in how Americans think about the role of government in helping people out for college,” said Brian Powell, professor of sociology at Indiana University Bloomington who co-authored a book on the student loan crisis.Powell noted that support for debt cancellation and college affordability has grown. Those who go to college make on average $30,000 more a year than those with just a high school degree.TopicsUS student debtJoe BidenUS politicsUS educationUS domestic policynewsReuse this content More

    • 188 Shares179 Views

      in UK Politics

      ‘Serious talks’ needed to ease university demand so poorer students don’t miss out, Ucas warns

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      Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter The government needs to have a “serious conversation” about how to tackle soaring demand for higher education to make sure poorer students don’t miss out, the university admissions […] More