Week of 12/7 in a Glance

Hello all! Hope you are having a great start to December, and getting in the holiday mood. Remember to click the link above if you are receiving this by email, and to comment your thoughts! Hope you enjoy!

San Bernardino

By Owen Tucker-Smith

Two seemingly normal people, an environmental inspector and a pharmacist, carried out the deadliest mass shooting since Sandy Hook. On December 2nd, in a city near Los Angeles called San Bernardino, fourteen people were murdered by gunmen at a holiday party located at a center for those with developmental disabilities. Obama’s reaction to the attack was crystal clear: we need to defeat ISIS, and we need to create stricter gun control laws, which was a debate that came big again after the Planned Parenthood shooting.

How did it happen?1    Suspects of the attack have been identified as Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik. After Farook attended and left the party, he came back with his wife to complete the attack. In addition to the shooting, the couple left explosive devices in the center as a bombing attempt. The cops did not find them immediately. A long manhunt occurred before the two suspects were killed.

The result? As you could guess, much of the city was frozen in shock. Schools, stores, and offices were put on a lockdown order or closed, and people were told to stay in their houses. And that shock carried out around the world even after the twenty police officers involved with the shootout killed the suspects.

Where is ISIS involved? Well, the wife, Malik, who many think was the brains behind the attack, had pledged allegiance to ISIS. Furthermore, Malik mentioned “we” in her social media post, suggesting that both suspects had been radicalized. And later after the attacks ISIS, on the radio, described the two as “supporters.” As you can see, ISIS doesn’t just terrorize. It inspires others to do so too. And that’s where Obama comes in...

Obama’s Speech   On December 6th, four days after the attack, President Obama gave a speech about his plans for ISIS. Which are to defeat it. Obama showed the nation his plans step by step (which don’t include putting his troops out there) Did he say anything else? Yes. He claimed that the Syrian Civil War needed to end, that more stricter gun control laws have to be passed to stop attacks like that in San Bernardino, and that ISIS does not represent Islam, so prejudice should not be given.

In a glance? The attack in San Bernardino was a deadly one and it was influenced by ISIS. It inspired Obama to be clear about his game plan of defeat, and to say some other things.

Reference 1: Nagourney, Adam, Ian Lovett, and Richard PÉrez-peÑa. "San Bernardino Shooting Kills at Least 14; Two Suspects Are Dead." The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 Dec. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.

No Child Left Behind Gets Upgraded

By Maddy Art

Sure, you may have heard of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, but have you heard of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015? On Wednesday, Congress voted 85-12 to replace the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and President Obama signed the new law on Thursday. So what are these mysterious acts? Well, both have the same simplistic goals: to raise standards, to make sure students in grade K-12 are getting a good education, and to narrow or close the achievement gap between students. However, NCLB consisted of government (rather than state) control. Critics argue that too much time was spent testing, and that all schools and districts were given the same standards - a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach. On the other hand, ESSA gives more power to the states. States can now determine (to some extent) how they would like to tackle testing, including how to act upon the scores and how to evaluate teachers. States can now set their own goals for improvement, as opposed to the national goals set with NCLB. So how much will change around Mt. Greylock? Don’t expect any drastic changes. States are still required to test students, so MCAS is going anywhere. Apart from that, we will just have to wait to find out how Massachusetts handles this.

Beijing Smog

By Rose Gotlieb

Last week, we talked about good changes in the environment. This week, let's talk bad ones. China has always been notorious for its pollution. But now Beijing is having its worst air problems... Ever. This week, the smog got so bad, the government had to issue a red alert, shut down schools, construction sites, and limit the number of cars that could go on the road. Take a breath of fresh Massachussetts air as you look at these pictures: