Thousands of city public-school students and teachers are participating in a "Brain Education" program run by a group with ties to an alleged cult.
For the past three years, the Department of Education has shelled out nearly $400,000 for 44 schools to participate in the Power Brain Education company's lessons and workshops.
But dozens of former employees of an organization called Dahn Yoga -- whose founder developed the teachings for Brain Education -- said the school program is run by a group that is part of a vast web of interrelated companies conning participants into investing all their time and money in unproven health and healing activities.
The former workers of Dahn Yoga, which operates 130 health centers and two training retreats across the country, filed a federal lawsuit in Arizona in May charging that its activities are abusive and grow increasingly devotional over time to the group's founder and spiritual leader, 57-year-old Seung Huen "Ilchi" Lee.
"If my child was [participating in Power Brain], I would pull them out in about two minutes," said lawyer Terry Brostowin, who settled a wrongful-death suit against Dahn Yoga last year. "I would be very scared."
Foes said the organization reels people in with lovey-dovey, group-building activities before steadily ratcheting up the pressure for more involvement and money.
This includes taking expensive training courses and retreats that cost as much as $10,000 per week to become "Dahn Masters," who help operate the health centers and recruit new members under high-pressure quotas, according to the ex-workers' lawsuit.
Yoga is good. Using yoga to get rich and indoctrinate people, especially children, into a cult is bad.Thousands of city public-school students and teachers are participating in a "Brain... more
Nightmare of a Dream Student
New America Media
Commentary, Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez,
Oct 26, 2009
I’ll refer to her as Leticia X.
She is undocumented, but has been in this country since the age of three and is a top student at her high school. Yet, unless the law changes soon, she will be unable to continue with her studies. She tells my students at the University of Arizona that it is wrong that she will not be able to attend college next year: “I consider myself a U.S. citizen. It’s the only country I’ve ever known.”
Her symbolic mother is Leticia A -- a student who set the legal precedent in 1982 in Plyler v. Doe in Texas, permitting undocumented students to be able to attend public K-12 schools, without having to pay exorbitant out-of-state tuition.
Today, Leticia X struggles to change this policy to include K-16 students. If out-of-state fees are exorbitant for out of state K-12 students, the rates are stratospheric for out-of-state college students, generally costing tens of thousands of dollars yearly.
BEAR, Del. — A Delaware first-grader who was facing 45 days in an alternative school as punishment for taking his favorite camping utensil to school can return to class after the school board made a hasty change granting him a reprieve.
The seven-member Christina School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce the punishment for kindergartners and first-graders who take weapons to school or commit violent offenses to a suspension ranging from three to five days.
Zachary Christie, 6, had faced 45 days in an alternative school for troublemakers after he took the utensil — a combination folding knife, fork and spoon — to school to eat lunch last month. Now, he could return Wednesday.
"I want to get him back as soon as possible. I want to put this behind him as soon as possible," said Debbie Christie, Zachary's mother. "But I also want him to know that he has a voice, and when things are not right, he can stand up and speak out against them."
A spokeswoman for the school district said more changes to the school system's code of conduct were possible in the coming months.
The punishment given to Zachary was one of several in recent years that have prompted national debate on whether schools have gone too far with zero-tolerance policies.BEAR, Del. — A Delaware first-grader who was facing 45 days in an alternative school... more
These 10 celebrities, for example, enjoyed successful careers as musicians, actors and writers, even as they worked as teachers and instructors early in their careers.These 10 celebrities, for example, enjoyed successful careers as musicians, actors and... more
The adorable K-6th grade Navajo children during the second week of school at the Navajo Lutheran Mission in Rock Point, Arizona.
Narrated and videotaped by Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard, executive director of the Navajo Lutheran Mission
Featuring K-6 students, teachers and staff.
1-928-659-4201 (Office)
1-928-659-4202 (School)
Navajo Lutheran Mission School:
NELM School Principal Felisita Jones
Kindergarten teacher Sharon Woody
1st grade teacher Lark Pettit
2nd grade teacher Jolene Wilson
3rd and 4th grade teacher Pauline Wagon
5th and 6th grade teacher Eileen Holiday
Tara Chee, NELM Community Services Coordinator and Navajo Language and Culture Instructor
2009 Board of Directors
Navajo Evangelical Lutheran Mission
Ron Augustson, Chair
Janice Lee Jim
Roger Johnsen
Jerry Thomas
Bill Heincke
Richard Wixom
David Ulibarri
Jeannie M. Harvey
Christel Badey
Clarence Begay
Sue Vogel-Herrera
Alice Natale
Carol Buckley, owner of Arizona Flutes and Native Arts in Camp Verde, AZ (high desert in Verde Valley) and a non-native flute musician specializing in American Indian music.
She has Michigan roots - lived in Davison and taught school in LakeVille Public Schools in Otisville, where she was a Speech and Language Pathologist.
In 1994 Buckley decided to refocus her life, escape from the cold weather, and move to the beautiful Verde Valley in Arizona’s high desert.
She is a poet and writer who plays Native American style flute music and has great respect for the Navajo and other Native American tribes and their respective cultures/heritage.
Carol also teaches classes on how to play the Native flute.
Songs used from Carol Buckley's “Rhythm Keepers” and “Raindrops on Roses” CDs
Navajo Lutheran Mission Second Week of School & Photo Montage:
Carol Buckley's “Raindrops on Roses” CD
Track 4 “Living Life”
Track 6 “Dancing Moccasins”
Cal Farley's Girlstown, U.S.A.
Situated on 1,425 acres of land eight miles south of Whiteface, Texas, (west of Lubbock) http://www.calfarley.org/girlstown/pages/default.aspxThe adorable K-6th grade Navajo children during the second week of school at the... more
You can do everything from organize presentations, talk with parents, manage group projects, and help your students with research projects. Check out these 50 apps for better classroom Twittering.You can do everything from organize presentations, talk with parents, manage group... more
Fruit grower Ken Morrish was left stunned when he found a golden delicious apple on his tree split exactly half green, half red down the middle.
The fruit's striking colouring is thought to be caused by a random genetic mutation at odds of more than a million to one.
The apple has caused such a stir in the village of Colaton Raleigh, Devon, that Mr Morrish is inundated with neighbours queuing up to take pictures of it.
Mr Morrish, 72, who has been harvesting the apples from trees in his garden for 45 years, said: "It's truly amazing.
"It looks as if a green apple and a red apple has been cut in half and stuck together."
He said that he was out picking a few apples for his sister-in-law when he spotted the fruit hanging from a bough.
Mr Morrish, a retired painter and decorator, added: "I couldn't believe my eyes. The red and green split through the stem is totally perfect – as if I've painted it.
"It's a genuine one-off and none of us have ever seen an apple like it before."
Experts believe that the odds of finding an apple with such a perfect line between the green and the red are more than a million to one.
In such cases, the red side usually tastes sweeter than the green side – because it has seen more sunshine during its growth.
John Breach, chairman of the British Independent Fruit Growers Association, told the Daily Mail: "I've never seen this happen before to a golden delicious. It is extremely rare. It is an extreme mutation.
"There has been the occasional case of this type reported. If there was a whole branch of apples with the same colouring then fruit experts would get even more excited."
Jim Arbury, fruit superintendent at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey, said it was probably the "result of a random genetic mutation".
"This is known as a chimera where one of the first two cells has developed differently giving rise to one half of the apple being different," he said.
"It is unlikely to be a stable mutation but it is worth checking next year to see if it recurs. There are instances of some striped apples and pears where the mutation remains stable including one striped pear in the collection at Wisley called Pysanka."Fruit grower Ken Morrish was left stunned when he found a golden delicious apple on... more
Many ministers of the Berlusconi government do everything to be bad, up to the point of insulting the opposition. It's a typical sign of the states that are sliding towards dictatorship to see people with institutional responsibilities that seek to intimidate and threaten half the country, the half that didn't voted them. It's also a typical sign of guilty conscience. These ministers know that their policies are weak, and try to deflect attention with verbal violence.Many ministers of the Berlusconi government do everything to be bad, up to the point... more
Some of the following tools will have teachers and students exploring wikis, open courseware, Twitter, blogging, comics, videos, and incorporating plenty of other tools that will help make learning fun.Some of the following tools will have teachers and students exploring wikis, open... more
From getting started to ways to use Twitter more effectively to using Twitter tools to applications and suggestions for Twitter use in the classroom, these tutorials will provide you with tons of knowledge and ideas to get you going.From getting started to ways to use Twitter more effectively to using Twitter tools to... more
There are so many schools that are so ran down and depleted from quality accessories to properly and academically teach the curriculum needed to keep their students on level with other schools. It is good to see that Google not only saw a need, but did something to change the situation.
From the site: Two years ago, this middle school was at risk of being shut down by the city. Today it's a success story. What happened?There are so many schools that are so ran down and depleted from quality accessories... more
overseas-trained teachers are being recruited from all over the globe for 'hard to staff inner city schools.'overseas-trained teachers are being recruited from all over the globe for 'hard to... more
Over and Over we hear of “no funds available” yet if the dollars where truly accounted for, one would find just the Children alone bring in TRILLIONS of dollars.
Again, as I have said, as the REALITY goes (and there is even more)… :
1) First a Child’s name and address come up to Social Services. It could be by anyone, and more often by doctors these days....Over and Over we hear of “no funds available” yet if the dollars where truly... more
A poll amongst 3,000 teachers revealed the first names that they thought were the most troublesome. Boys called Callum, Connor and Jack (Callum Best & Jack Tweed pictured as a case in point) were seen as potential trouble makers as well as those called Brandon and Charlie
The league table of problematic girls ran with Chelsea, Courtney, Chardonnay, Casey & Crystal (what's with all the C's)
However, those with the naughtiest names were very often seen as most popular boys and girls in the class. Seems you can't win.
See the full list here, including the names of those thought the cleverest
http://current.com/15vu64cA poll amongst 3,000 teachers revealed the first names that they thought were the most... more
Micha Mosley does not have any magical potions to make her students listen to her but she does have some thoughts on what could work.
U People Stories are stories from regular everyday people, gay, straight, black, white and with varied beliefs who have had been made to feel like the "other". These are the kinds of stories that we all have carried with us; where it would make you cry if you thought about it but makes you laugh when you talk about it.
What the U People Story Archive does is build a bridge of understanding that unifies our struggles while at the same time lifting an emotional weight off the shoulders of the storyteller. These stories are humorous, moving and timeless. They are individually a testament of how discrimination and the emotions that result connect, effect and can change us all. www.iloveupeople.comMicha Mosley does not have any magical potions to make her students listen to her but... more
A group of preschool teachers in Los Angeles was sickened by marijuana this year after unknowingly eating pot brownies purchased from a street vendor by a fellow instructor, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today.
The incident took place April 7 at an unidentified preschool and was investigated by Los Angeles police, according to the CDC report.
The preschool teacher who brought in the brownies for her colleagues told investigators that she purchased them two days earlier from a street vendor who claimed to be selling them as a church fundraiser. The unlabeled brownies cost $1.50 each and came individually in plastic wrap. The teacher did not consume any of them but said her adult son had eaten some before her bringing them to the school.
Five teachers ate one brownie each; a sixth teacher took a bite but promptly spit it out, “complaining of an unusual taste,” the CDC report said. The brownies were left in a break room.
About half an hour after one of the teachers ate the brownie, the CDC report said, the preschool director and the administrator observed one instructor becoming sleepy and dizzy and suffering shortness of breath, with tingling and numbness in her face, forehead and arms.
Suspicion immediately fell on the brownie.
The preschool director contacted the pastor of the church identified by the woman who bought the brownies as having the fundraiser. The pastor said no such fundraiser existed, and called the Los Angeles Police Department. Police suspected a case of food-borne contamination and notified the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health the following day, the CDC report said.
All six people who ate the brownies -- the five teachers and the son of the buyer -- told authorities that they had never used marijuana or any illegal drugs.
The brownie was the only food commonly consumed by all six people, who all reported similar symptoms of fatigue, having poor coordination, being unable to walk straight and easily stumbling.
Two of the teachers sought medical attention. One was a breastfeeding mother, who nursed her baby about an hour and a half after eating the first half of a brownie at 7:30 a.m.; the baby, however, was not sickened. The mother ate the rest of the brownie at 1 p.m.
The mother, feeling unwell by the evening, sought medical attention at 7 p.m. She received blood and urine tests; the urine test showed she was positive for a byproduct of marijuana consumption.
None of the teachers who ate the brownies left work early that day; they continued teaching class.
A leftover brownie was later tested by the LAPD's Scientific Investigation Division Laboratory, which found chemicals in the dessert that come from marijuana.
All six people who ate the brownies felt better within three to 10 hours. Police and county health officials were unable to apprehend the sidewalk vendor.
The teacher who purchased the brownies was not charged in connection with the incident.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II- L.A. TIMESA group of preschool teachers in Los Angeles was sickened by marijuana this year after... more
Temporary school teachers protest across Italy for the cuts made by the Ministry of Education. Approximately 60,000 jobs lost, of the 130,000 that according to the Government must be cut by 2011. In part, these cuts are absorbed by retirements, but this year are just 35,000, so at least 25,000 people will remain without work. The largest mass layoff in the history of the country.Temporary school teachers protest across Italy for the cuts made by the Ministry of... more
Melissa Ann Andreini, 28-year-old special education teacher formerly at Helper Junior High School has been arrested and charged this week with engaging in sex with a 15-year-old male student. He is a ninth-grader in her school, but not one of her special education students.
Andreini faces three counts of third-degree felony unlawful sexual activity with a minor. Moreover, she allegedly paid her victim somewhere around $1500.
The victim told police and a Utah Division of Child and Family Services worker that Andreini would bring coffee to school for him and his friends two or three times a week. They would go by her classroom before school to get the drinks. He also told police that Andreini paid him money after having sex with him in her home on at least three different occasions in June 2009. She is alleged to have given him approximately $500 on each occasion.
Court documents allege she paid him between $1,400 and $1,500 after having sex with him. It does not specify whether she was paying him for sex or paying him to keep quiet about having sex with her.Melissa Ann Andreini, 28-year-old special education teacher formerly at Helper Junior... more
There are new web 2.0 tools appearing every day. We have created a list of 100 tools we think will encourage interactivity and engagement, motivate and empower your students, and create differentiation in their learning process.There are new web 2.0 tools appearing every day. We have created a list of 100 tools... more
