Around the Web

by Ashley Fantz and AnneClaire Stapleton(CNN) When Ahmed Mohamed went to his high school in Irving, Texas, Monday, he was so excited. A teenager with dreams of becoming an engineer, he wanted to show his teacher the digital clock he’d made from a pencil case.Read the rest of the story at CNN.com

Photo credit: Bill de Blasioby Kate Taylor and Claire Cain MillerTo ensure that every child can learn the skills required to work in New York City’s fast-growing technology sector, Mayor Bill de Blasio will announce on Wednesday that within 10 years all of the city’s public schools will be required to offer computer science to all students.Read the rest of the story at The New York Times.

By Sean Coughlan, Education CorrespondentInvesting heavily in school computers and classroom technology does not improve pupils’ performance, says a global study from the OECD.Read the rest of the story at BBC News. 

Photo credit: The Crunchiesby Harriet TaylorThis week, children across the country went back to school, and many are going into pilot programs started, sponsored or aided by Silicon Valley.The goal is to better equip the next generation with the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills needed for the high tech jobs of the future.Read the rest of the story at NBC News.

Photo credit: Christopher Webbby The Takeaway’s T.J. RaphaelA dozen parents and community activists in Chicago are on hunger strike over by a proposal from Chicago’s public schools to turn their community high school into an arts magnet. Read and listen to the story at WBEZ.org.

by Debbie Cafazzo and Melissa SantosA week after the state Supreme Court declared Washington’s charter schools unconstitutional, the outlook for salvaging the voter-approved system of privately run, publicly funded schools is unclear.Read the rest of the story at The News Tribune.

Photo credit: futurescienceleaders.orgby Karen KaplanAmericans get a D in science.So says the Pew Research Center, which issued a report Thursday on the state of the nation’s knowledge regarding some basic scientific facts.Read the rest of the story in the L.A. Times.

Photo credit: WoodleywonderworksSchool children have to carry a heavy load of notebooks, supplies and textbooks, resulting in a bulky backpack that can affect their posture and cause chronic pain. The American Chiropractic Association recommends that a child’s backpack should weigh less than 10 percent of the child’s body weight, so here are some things you can do to lighten the load.Read the rest of the story on The Literacy Site Blog.

by Andy Sullivan, ReutersWASHINGTON (Reuters) – On the campaign trail, Republican presidential candidates vow to roll back new U.S. education standards known as the Common Core.In the classroom, the multi-state guidelines increasingly look like they’re here to stay.Read the rest of the story at Yahoo! News.