WAMC: The Best of Our Knowledge # 858 (2007-02-26)

The Best of Our Knowledge

The Best of Our Knowledge # 858

(2007-02-26)

Listen Now:

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ALBANY, NY (WAMC) - NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND REAUTHORIZATION -
The five year old No Child Left Behind law is really just a continuation
of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). That
Act first passed in 1965 as one of President Lyndon Johnson's great
society initiatives. During the past four decades, emphasis has mostly
been on the elementary grades. But in this new 2007 No Child Left
Behind proposal, we are beginning to observe a swing towards the high
school grade level. The plan wants to change the way high schools
prepare students for college and careers. To get more details on the administration's NCLB reauthorization hopes, and how Congress might
be expected to react, TBOOK spoke with U.S. Secretary of Education,
Margaret Spellings.
Glenn Busby reports. (11:48)

A Programming Note. Now that the proposed 2008 Department of
Education Budget is published, next week we'll spend some time
dissecting that to determine what's been cut, and what's been added.

**(Attention Program Directors. The website mentioned at the
conclusion of the above story for listeners interested in finding
out more details on NCLB, or the new budget proposal is:
www.ed.gov.)**

ORIGINS OF LIFE - SCIENCE RESEARCH IN EDUCATION SERIES
BACTERIAL STRUCTURE AND GEO-REACTIVITY:
COULD MICROFOSSILS' BE THE ANCIENT REMNANTS OF PROKARYOTIC CELLS? -
Prokaryotes are Earth's smallest life form and, yet, have the largest
surface area-to-volume ratio of all cells. They're also the most ancient
form of life, having endured on Earth for as long as 3.5 billion years in
some of the most extreme environments imaginable. Just how are
they able to do this? That's what we talk about today with one of the
world's leading researchers in this field. He holds the Canada Research
Chair to Study the Structure, Physical Nature, and Geobiology of
Prokaryotes. Dr. Terrance Beveridge is a Professor in the Department
of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph in Ontario,
Canada.
Glenn Busby reports (7:33)

The preceding material is supported by the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration.

**(Attention Program Directors. For interested listeners, more
information about this story, or any of the other nearly 140 stories
featured in this exclusive radio series, or would like to hear them
again via their computer, the website mentioned at the conclusion
of the above story is www.origins.rpi.edu, then click on Seminar
Program.)**

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