Story here. Excerpt:

'As male students decline in proportion in almost every field across US undergraduate and graduate/professional schools, little attention has been devoted to systematically exploring the causes of this trend; or, in an age in which education is vitally important, its implications for men's roles in American society, culture, economics, and politics more generally. This breakfast discussion, involving practitioners and a range of academics from NYU and elsewhere, will help launch such a sustained investigation of these vital themes. The breakfast will include an announcement regarding forthcoming fellowships for scholars focusing on men's studies and related issues.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Educators are expressing concerns about the trend, which is backed up by National Education Association reports showing that only one in five public school teachers are men, with that number being even more disproportionate (one in nine) for elementary school educators.

An NEA report formulated using survey information from education departments in all 50 states estimates there are 785,151 male teachers in public elementary and secondary schools across the nation, compared to 2.4 million women counterparts.
...
She also suggests having middle and high school male students be encouraged to job shadow teachers to help steer them into a possible career in the classroom.

"It is an unfortunate truth that men commit the majority of violence in our country, often toward each other. Until we demonstrate that men can teach, be productive and help our children succeed, everyone will lose," Washington wrote.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The good news is that reading scores for 9 and 13-year-olds are the highest ever according to results released this week from the 2008 National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The bad news is that boys trail girls in reading performance at all age levels. The gap at age 9 is 8 points, at age 13 is 8 points, and at age 17 is 11 points. This is not a new trend—boys have been scoring lower than girls on U.S. Department of Education reading tests for more than 30 years.

The reading gender gap spans every racial and ethnic group, and categorically finds boys underperforming girls regardless of income, disability, or English-speaking ability.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Rather than home economics, in the minds of most people I know women's studies means militant, obnoxious feminism that is filled with man-hate and rubbish/rot academic courses preached to the closed ranks of a male-bashing all-female choir.

Unfortunately, what started as a good idea with noble aims was politicized by radical elements to become a female version of a good-old-boys club.
...
In short, women's studies programs in most U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities have become radicalized, exclusionary, impractical, and dangerously self-isolated. That is a recipe for demise. Women's studies does NOT allow us to evaluate the world through women's experience because it does not reflect the attitudes, beliefs and lives of a great majority of women in this world.'

Survey here. Main page reads:

'Thank you for agreeing to participate in this short survey, conducted by researchers from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Your participation is very important to us.

Our study examines how people choose to resolve interpersonal problems.

You are about to be presented with a short story describing a situation. After reading the story, you will be asked to answer a few multiple choice questions regarding how you would deal with the situation.

The survey is anonymous, and all your answers will be kept confidential. Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you may exit the webpage at any time. The survey should not take more a few minutes to complete.

Please only complete the survey once.

Thank you very much!'

Article here. Excerpt:

"A COURT has denied the former wife of a rich City financier all access to their three children after she was found to be turning them against him.

In an extraordinary ruling, the woman, who was also judged to be too indulgent a parent, has been legally barred from seeing her children for three years. She was jailed for approaching one of them in the street and telling him she loved him in breach of a court order. She is facing a possible return to jail this summer for posting a video about her plight on the internet.

The woman judge presiding over the case justified banning contact between the mother and her children because they were being placed in “an intolerable situation of conflict of loyalties resulting in them suffering serious emotional harm”.

During supervised visits with her, the children made serious allegations about their father which were later shown to be unfounded. Social workers believed the mother was either prompting them to make the claims or they were saying them just to please her."

Story here. Excerpt:

'PONTIAC, Michigan -- A former Holly High School vocal music teacher could spend time behind bars for having sex with two students in her home and at the school.

Ranee S. Proper, 42, on Friday pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct before Oakland County Circuit Judge Edward Sosnick.

Under a plea agreement, five counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct -- which carries a mandatory prison term -- were dismissed. Proper, 42, could still face prison time, but Sosnick will have the option of giving her a lesser sentence under this plea. Proper will be sentenced June 3 at 1 p.m.
...
"If it was a male I think a male would have gotten a more strict penalty."
...
"Leniency is a good thing in this case, although I have to say she's in a position of trust as a teacher," he said.

"The boys are old enough to have some decision making but they are still minors."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'WEST PALM BEACH — The former Jupiter Christian School teacher charged with sending sexually explicit messages to a 14-year-old student blamed her behavior on bipolar disorder.

Geneva Henry, 29, is accused of sending messages such as "I want to rip all your clothes off" and "I want to kiss you all over" to a student through a MySpace account over a two-month period beginning in December.

School administrators were made aware of the messages by at least one student.

Jupiter police said she admitted to school administrators that she sent inappropriate text messages and resigned her position as an English teacher after the allegations surfaced.

In an interview with police, she blamed her behavior on a medical condition. Her lawyer said her client told her she suffers from bipolar disorder.

Story here. Excerpt:

'BELVIDERE — A former Belvidere High School teacher and volleyball coach was sentenced to probation today for having sex with a 15-year-old student in December 2007.

Loren Leoni, 25, was sentenced by Judge Joe McGraw at the Winnebago County Courthouse to 48 months of probation. She will undergo mandatory counseling and will register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.

“Sending her to prison isn’t going to restore him to the boy he was before this happened,” McGraw said in court while detailing the factors in his decision, which included a sex offender evaluation that said recidivism was unlikely.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'TULSA, OK -- It turns out a report from a woman found under a porch was mostly false. The woman had claimed she was kidnapped and raped. Tulsa Police say much of her story was a lie and they are frustrated they spent so much time and effort on the case.

The story was heart-wrenching and scary all at the same time. A man and his mother found a woman crying out for help underneath their porch. She told them and police she'd been walking when she was kidnapped, held for two days and sexually assaulted inside a nearby house.

Police say she wasn't kidnapped. Several witnesses confirm the man picked her up at her home. Detectives say they can also prove she wasn't assaulted inside the home, either. The man involved, saw the story on the news and went to police before they even called him.
...
Advocate groups estimate only 2% are false, but police departments believe it's much higher, in some places, half or more. Detectives don't usually make a big deal out of it because they don't want real victims to be reluctant to come forward.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'IS this women-friendly car park Britain's best-kept secret?

Bolton council decided in 2002 to introduce `ladies only' bays at the town's Bow Street car park.

The ground-floor spaces are well lit and close to the multi-storey's security checkpoint.

Officials say they provide reassurance and make sure women feel safe when they return to their cars.

And customers we spoke to were quick to give them their seal of approval.

But despite their success in Bolton it appears as though the idea has failed to catch on with the rest of the region.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Supreme Court Justice David Souter is retiring, President Barack Obama will soon nominate a successor, and the cry is that it be a woman because, you know, it would be just dreadful otherwise.

Why, if Obama nominated a man, the next thing you know we would be back in the caves, yanking women by their hair, banging them on the head with clubs and forgetting every advance made against drooling, brute male oppressiveness.

Or maybe not. Some of us suspect that ours could very well continue to be a just, rights-respecting republic even if a highly qualified, capable male somehow sneaked past liberal watchfulness to fill Souter's vacancy. In our view, improvements in women's status would then shrink nary a millimeter.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Domestic violence happens to men, too. While statistics show that it is more common against women, nearly 8 percent of heterosexual men and more than 15 percent of gay men are assaulted by a date or intimate partner during their lives.

Domestic violence is also called intimate partner violence or abuse. It can occur in any relationship. A wife can abuse her husband. Same-sex partners can also be victims. This type of abuse often starts in milder forms when a couple is dating. It can continue into long-term relationships and marriages.

It's often difficult for victims of abuse to report their partner. As an abused man, you might also fear ridicule or disbelief. But domestic violence of any kind is not just personally devastating, it's also a crime.

Article here. Excerpt:

'More than two thirds of women admitted that a gossip with friends is the only time they are properly listening to what is being said.

The same percentage think they hear most intently when they are trying to eavesdrop on an argument taking place nearby.

Only half of men said they only hear properly when gossiping, while four in 10 admitted to listening closely to other people's conversations.

The poll of 2,000 people also found that more than one in five men reckon they always listen carefully to every word, and while less than one in five of women said the same.

Ladies are also most likely to switch off when listening to their work colleagues, with the average woman catching what they say just 64 per cent of the time.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Its lurid pink cars and women drivers were launched to provide a safe and hassle-free service for women of all ages worried about getting into taxis driven by men.

But the women-only cab company Pink Ladies is being threatened with closure after its founders were taken to court this week by Warrington council in Cheshire and charged with operating an unlicensed private hire company.

The Warrington-based firm, which was launched four years ago, said it could close if the council won its case because if they registered under the taxi licensing system, sex discrimination laws would force its drivers to pick up male customers.

"We will fight this all the way to the high court," co-founder Andrea Winders said yesterday. "We are not a taxi service. We are a unique organisation. We do not fit within current legislation, therefore Warrington council has decided to issue court proceedings against us personally."