Statesman Journal: No Child Left Behind rations education [Opinion]
--"We need to look closely at the act’s impact on the lives of real kids and educators. Both the co-author of “The Bell Curve,” Charles Murray, and the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University (strange bedfellows indeed) have recently argued that the losers in a system based on passing percentages are minority students. It is an approach that not only creates perverse incentives to focus on students close to passing but also underestimates the size of the achievement gap, creating the illusion of progress where none exists. Duke University economists have shown that when schools focus narrowly on passing rates, the gap between high-achieving white students and African American students grows."

IRNA: UN high commissioner for human rights lambasts violence against children
--"After more than three years of work, World Report on Violence against Children, a United Nations study, which will be released on October 11, provides a comprehensive account of the root causes and effects of the problem."

Boston Globe: A child's garden
--"Children now have their own poet laureate. Jack Prelutsky, 66, was given the title last month by the Poetry Foundation, the Chicago publisher of Poetry magazine. The foundation was formed in 2003 thanks to a $100 million gift from pharmaceutical heiress Ruth Lilly."

Sunday Times: Dentists abandon children on NHS
--"Up to two-thirds of children in some areas of England are failing to get regular dental treatment as thousands of youngsters have been dropped by dentists no longer willing to provide free National Health Service care."

Boston Globe: Summary Box: Lawyers for abused and neglected children
--"Federal law requires judges to appoint guardians to represent the child's best interests, but does not say they must be lawyers. In many states, most children are represented by non-lawyer volunteers known as Court Appointed Special Advocates."

Bloomberg: Bush Seeks Better Teachers, More Transfers With `No Child' Law
--"President George W. Bush proposed strengthening the No Child Left Behind law, saying he wants to further improve the quality of U.S. teachers and give parents more options to flee failing schools."