education

PITTSBURGH -- Entering his senior year at Pittsburgh Allderdice High School, Seth Weidman felt there was demand for an Advanced Placement economics class.So he decided to supply one.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The first clue that this isn't your average math class comes when instructor Skyler Shenk breaks out the violin and starts playing "Viva Mexico" in feisty, lilting mariachi strains, the students whooping and applauding the faster he goes.

The weak dollar, already prompting world travelers to think twice about visits to pricey Europe, is forcing college students to reconsider favorites like London. Instead, students are increasingly opting for nontraditional destinations in Asia, Africa and South America.

MINNEAPOLIS -- University of Minnesota researchers say they have discovered educational benefits of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.The same study also found that low-income students are in many ways just as technologically savvy as their counterparts. The university says this goes against what results from previous studies have suggested.

Christina Le sat down with a phone book the first week of school and began cold-calling local businesses.As the yearbook business manager at Oxnard High School in Oxnard, Calif., the senior hoped selling ads would keep the yearbook class afloat. "They listened to my spiel," Le said, but it has gotten harder to persuade them to buy.

Can a good stereotype be bad?That's the question addressed in a new report from the College Board and New York University investigating the academic performance of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Austin Howard just turned 16 and is excited to get his driver's license.That may be one of the few things this Wichita Falls, Texas, teenager accomplishes at the same time as his peers.Last month, he crossed a milestone that most people don't reach until they're 22 or 23 -- if they get there at all.

Dear Dr. Fournier:

In a groundbreaking move, Wake Forest University will no longer require applicants to submit SAT or ACT test scores for admission, school officials announced Tuesday.Wake Forest will become the only top 30-national university in the U.S. News & World Report ranking to make the entrance exams optional. The policy change takes effect with the freshman class starting in 2009.

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Dr. Larry Johnson made no secret that, upon his death, he would give his alma mater, Juniata College, enough money to create full-ride scholarships.What was not as clear was what else he planned to leave behind -- a refrigerator with food, a .38 caliber Harrington and Richardson handgun, and a native America purse made from dried buffalo scrotum.