Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Rosa Parks, one of America's greatest women, titled the "mother of the civil rights movement" died on Monday, 10.24.05 of natural causes. She was 92.



To teach students her place in history, try these themed lesson plans from Education World.com. The plans are geared to grades 3-5, 6-8 and 9 - 12.

Parks challenged the nation's concious simply by saying no. The Montgomery, Ala., seamstress, an active member of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was riding on a city bus Dec. 1, 1955, when a white man demanded her seat. Parks said "no" and was subsequently arrested for violating a law forbidding blacks to sit on a bus if a white wanted the seat.

Her arrest sparked an organized response from blacks and whites alike as very quickly some fifty leaders of the black community (among them was the young minister, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) met to discuss the issue. The leaders organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott that would continue until the bus segregation laws were changed. The citywide boycott of the bus system by blacks, in which they refused to use the bus for transportation, lasted for 382 days. It caused the bus company to lose a huge amount of money -- and changed America forever.

In December of 1956, the Supreme Court decided that bus segregation violated the constitution. The Civil Rights Movement was put into motion, which led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Today all Americans, whatever their race, nationality, or religion, must be given equal treatment under the law.

Parks actions happened when she was 42 years old and she remained committed to community and civil rights causes for years after, retiring at age 75.

In 1987, she cofounded a mentoring organization for teenagers, the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development in Detroit, where she still lives. Morris Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, sums up her act of defiance this way: "When the history of the civil rights movement is written 100 years from now, there are only going to be two significant names–Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks...."

Thoughts from the if: Book Blog

On the If:Book Blog Kim White wrote on 10.27.05 "...can there be great textbooks without great authors? Jimmy Wales believes that the Wikibooks project will do for the textbook what Wikipedia did for the encyclopedia; replacing costly printed books with free online content developed by a community of contributors. But will it? Or, more accurately, should it? The open source volunteer format works for encyclopedia entries, which don't require deep knowledge of a particular subject. But the sustained examination and comprehensive vision required to understand and contextualize a particular subject area is out of reach for most wiki contributors. The communal voice of the open source textbook is also problematic, as it lacks the power of an inspired authoritative narrator..."


Read more.

New e-learning course teaches profit-making strategies

DUBLIN, Ireland, October 25 - - Research and Markets announced the addition of an E-Learning Course called Strategic Management.

The course includes examples of companies drawn from various sectors which have been successfulin creating value. The course investigates the methods, with examples, that a company must follow to be profitable and includes an exploration of strategies for a company to increase its value in the long term.

For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c26580

Laura Wood
Senior Manager
Research and Markets
press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax: +353-1-4100-980

Darwin 2000 Website

What is Darwin2000?

Answer: A Web Site for Student Research in Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology, and Evolution

Created by: Dr. Rick Hershberger

Overview: Understanding the process of evolution requires an appreciation for its underlying molecular mechanisms. The model of natural selection Darwin proposed can now be explained by, and is entirely consistent with, what we've learned since Darwin's time about how genes work to encode the structure of proteins, and how the structure and function of proteins determine the physiology, and thus the traits, of any organism. Using the Darwin 2000 series of online exercises, you may explore how genetic variation and selection for protein function together represent the forces driving evolution at the molecular level. In addition, you may explore how the proper function of a protein is related to its three-dimensional structure, which in turn is determined by its sequence of subunits.

Bioinformatics Online Course

Excellent primer from an Israeli university.

Can An Online Learning Degree Really Help You Land a Job?

Online degrees are becoming more popular as non-traditional students balance work and higher learning but writes Katharine Mosher in the Nashville City Paper, are employers ready for this type of credential on a resume?

Have online degree programs overcome remnant stigmas of correspondence courses in the eyes of employers regarding the quality and rigor of a virtual education?

Area human resources professionals report acceptance of online degrees is growing daily and employees who balance coursework with a full-time job are highly regarded.

Denis Blackwelder, president of the Middle Tennessee Society for Human Resources Management, said an online education demonstrates a track record of accomplishment

“I do think the online education shows me a certain amount about their character,” Blackwelder said.

More important than whether a degree is earned online or on ground, he said is how well the individual fits the requirements of the job.

The more common online degrees become, the more widely accepted they will be, Blackwelder said.

Online education professionals are working to improve upon what their field can deliver. In one case, researchers at Columbia University are even developing an odor box to allow virtual detection of smell during online courses.

John Rhone, who earned an MBA and PhD from the University of Phoenix, argues his online coursework was harder than his undergrad years at the University of Tampa.

“I am a traditionalist,” Rhone said, “but the online education is so much harder than a traditional education. The only thing about the online education is it’s convenient for you.”