To Groom Good Teachers, Look to Quarterbacks

Alabama's Shadrack McGill: But lawmakers should definitely get raises

(NEWSER) - Teacher pay shouldn't be increased, an Alabama lawmaker explained at a prayer breakfast this week, because the Bible says so. "If you double what you're paying education, you know what's going to happen?" asked state Sen. Shadrack McGill. "I've heard the comment many times, 'Well, the quality of education's going to go up.' That's never proven to happen, guys. It's a Biblical principle. If you double a teacher's pay scale, you'll attract people who aren't called to teach. And these teachers that are called to teach, regardless of the pay scale, they would teach. It's the ability that God give 'em." More»

By 3 yards on his final throw of game

(NEWSER) - Drew Brees tossed for 307 yards and four touchdowns last night, securing his New Orleans Saints' place in the playoffs and his own in NFL history by shattering a 27-year-old season passing record held by Dan Marino. On his final pass of the game, Brees threw a nine-yard TD pass to put him over the top with 5,087 yards for the season—just three yards more than Marino's 5,084 in 1984, notes the AP . Marino himself was gracious, minutes later tweeting, "Great job by such a special player." More»

Sports analysts agog after Denver Broncos' latest victory

(NEWSER) - After a stunning performance in yesterday's last-minute 13-10 victory against the Chicago Bears, sports commentators are wondering if Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow really is capable of miracles.

• Declaring Tebow his "personal quarterback and savior," Jeff Neuman at RealClearSports catalogs five miracles made in last night's game. "Zero points on his team's first 11 possessions—and then three scores on their last three, aided by a coach's weird strategy, thin air, a fumble, and a total brain cramp by a veteran running back. Truly, Tim Tebow works in mysterious ways."
• Writing for the Montreal Gazette , Ed Willes also drops the M-word, wondering if "we've ever seen a run like this in the last 50 years of sports: an athlete who's at once both divisive and irresistibly charismatic; an athlete who's in the miracle business every week; an athlete who transcends everything around him."

School administrators wrestle with how to teach character

(NEWSER) - Traditional measures of success in high school—GPAs, standardized-test scores—aren’t always good predictors of a successful future. That’s why the heads of two very different schools in New York City are searching for a way to mix character into the education equation. In a lengthy New York Times Magazine feature, Paul Tough examines each administrator’s approaches. While one has instituted a Character Point Average report card, the other wants his affluent students to experience failure on the road to success. More»

Colts QB has more neck surgery, will be out months if not longer

(NEWSER) - Peyton Manning's season is in jeopardy after he had to have his third neck operation in two years, reports ESPN . The Colts QB will be out at least two to three months, though the team is downplaying the seriousness and says it expects him to return at some point. At Sports Illustrated , however, Will Carroll says the recovery time for this procedure—something called a "single level anterior fusion"—is typically up to a full year, and he suggests it's possible the great No. 18 has played his last game. More»