2010 SUMMER PROJECT: Troublesome Higher Education Stats

The United States is still the world's superpower in many ways, but not in percentages of people with college degrees anymore. Click here to read an op-ed piece from the New York Times about this issue, and then address one or more of the following prompts:

There are many causes for the statistics on college degrees in this article. Describe the ones you think are the most important.

How might the U.S. having lower percentages of college grads than other developed nations impact our country?

What solutions can you think of to solve this problem and increase our college graduation numbers?

2010 SUMMER PROJECT: Elena Kagan Confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court

Today the U.S. Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as the 112th U.S. Supreme Court Justice, but only the 4th woman in history to serve on the highest court in the land. Click here to read an article about her confirmation, and then address one or more of the prompts below:

The U.S. Constitution stipulates that all federal judges, including U.S. Supreme Court justices, are appointed for life. Do you agree with this concept? Why or why not?

Does it matter that Elena Kagan is only the 4th woman ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court? Explain why.

Why do you think the nomination and confirmation of federal judges has become so much more political,partisan and controversial in recent years? Is this good or bad for our political system? Why?