“Teacher” on The Daily Caller

With the premiere of his reality show, “Teach,” tonight, actor Tony Danza says he’s nervous. (more)

SOUTH GATE, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Times should remove teacher performance ratings from its website after the apparent suicide of a teacher despondent over his score, which was published in August, the union representing Los Angeles school teachers said. (more)

WASHINGTON— A study released yesterday found that offering teachers annual bonuses of up to $15,000 had no effect on student test scores — a result likely to inflame debate about performance pay programs sprouting in schools nationwide. (more)

The Toronto International Film Festival is famous for its star-studded, Oscar-caliber lineup, but it showcases films featuring stellar turns from lesser-known performers too. Before the festival’s conclusion Sunday, The Times’ film staff caught up with some of the players poised to break out of this year’s pack. (more)

Last week was a good one for picks – 12 wins, 4 losses. So this week will likely be far worse. (more)

On Sunday, for the second year in a row, former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks organization hosted a 9/12 March on Washington in Washington, D.C. The focus of this year’s political rally was on the Contract From America, a plan FreedomWorks has been asking politicians to sign and pledge to follow. The Contract is aimed at reducing spending and government involvement in people’s lives. (more)

Teachers who may be worried that their pupils don’t have enough access to curriculum materials with a liberal slant will be pleased to know that the lefty Nation magazine is revamping their Educators Program, which includes a weekly series of teacher guides designed to influence what is taught in schools. (more)

Washington, D.C.’s mayoral race, as it turns out, revolves around one person. And she is not a candidate; she is Michelle Rhee, the district’s school chancellor. (more)

NEW ORLEANS — Gulf Coast residents tried to put Hurricane Katrina behind them on Sunday, marking its fifth anniversary by casting wreaths into the water to remember the hundreds killed. But part of the catastrophe lives on, in abandoned homes still bearing spray-painted circles indicating they had been searched and whether bodies were found inside. (more)

Over the next several weeks, 54.4 million children will go back to school. For many children, the start of school marks the ceremonial end of summer, and a return to the excitement of a new school year. (more)

Even teachers play hooky to work on their tans. More than a dozen Department of Education employees were busted in the past two years for faking illnesses to take paid vacations, records show. (more)

BEIJING (AP) — A man wielding a knife killed three children and a teacher in a kindergarten in eastern China, residents said Wednesday as the government muted information in a bid to allay public fears and forestall more school attacks. (more)

One of the heated debates taking place in Washington D.C. is whether the federal government should give states $10 billion to save teacher jobs as part of an additional stimulus package. In fact, last Thursday night the issue proved to be contentious enough to delay the passage of the war-time supplemental spending bill – the bill the teacher spending is attached to. Eleven Democrats (and Senator Lieberman) joined the Republicans in sending the House-passed bill back to the House, refusing to pass the measure unless the additional funding is removed. Debate on the issue is expected to continue this week. (more)

Economists have generally thought that the answer was not much. Great teachers and early childhood programs can have a big short-term effect. But the impact tends to fade. By junior high and high school, children who had excellent early schooling do little better on tests than similar children who did not — which raises the demoralizing question of how much of a difference schools and teachers can make. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — D.C.’s public school system will fire more than 200 employees for poor performance — 4% of its work force — and is putting another 700 employees on notice they will be fired in the next year if their performance doesn’t improve, the school system announced Friday. (more)

As teacher layoffs ripple across Georgia, the cuts mean financial stress among thousands of households, but also trouble for the larger economy. (more)

A middle school teacher facing a felony abuse charge for allegedly beating his 5-year-old son with a belt July 4 says he’s innocent, and has hired Attorney Eric Deters to defend him. (more)

An extraordinary number of public school teachers in the Chicago region earned $100,000 or more in 2009, straining school budgets and taxpayer wallets and fueling the debate over what teachers are worth and how they get raises. (more)

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistanis lashed out Friday at the U.S., blaming its alliance with their government and its presence in Afghanistan for spurring two suicide bombers to kill 42 people at the country’s most important Sufi shrine. (more)

(AP)  For the third time in as many weeks, Senate Republicans on Wednesday successfully filibustered a bill to continue providing unemployment checks to millions of people. (more)