Jake and Taylor Make it Official!

Courtesy of usmagazine.com

After weeks of speculation Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Swift finally reveal the truth about their relationship- they are indeed dating!

Jake and Taylor have been photographed on many coffee dates, suspected of visiting each other while in London and are now supposedly in “love” (according to US Weekly). The report about being in “love” with her new beau may hold some truth. Taylor was quoted in an interview with E! News saying that the next time she is in a relationship it will be because she has “really fallen hard for someone.” She definitely deserves it!

In the photograph that confirmed it all (to the right) Taylor isn’t shying away from showing her affection for the steamy actor by wrapping her arm around him. While Jake doesn’t try to hide his feelings for the beautiful and successful country artist either by grabbing her hand in return. The pair both have humungous smiles on their faces and seem to be having an amazing time together!

Taylor Swift has been linked to many boys, all of which are very HOT, but this is the first time she has been linked to a man! Jake may be nine years Taylor’s senior but with the age differences that exist now-a-days (i.e. Demi and Ashton) nine years is nothin’! Plus Taylor is said to be very mature for her 20 (soon to be 21) years of living.

I, a ginormus Taylor fan, am so glad these two have made their relationship official and are no longer hiding it from the public. If this famous couple follows in the steps of other famous couples reports will soon break about an engagement around Christmas time.

I can’t wait to hear the song(s) that are soon to follow from this couple. Hopefully they will be joyous songs but if they are about heartbreak I guarantee I will be one of the firsts to tell you about it! Congratulations Swyllenhaal!

What do you think of the new couple? Will they last?

Welsh students to be spared tuition fee increase

Students in Wales will pay just over 3,000 for a degree from 2012, while charges in England rise as high as 9,000.

Some 90,000 students a year will have degree courses heavily subsidised by the Welsh Assembly Government following fears that fee increases could turn school leavers off higher education.

It means students from Wales will continue paying just over £3,000 to attend university while those in England are charged up to £9,000.

The move came as students clashed with police in London as part of a third major protest against fee rises.

Demonstrations also took place in Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol and dozens of protesters occupied university buildings.

Leighton Andrews, the Welsh Education Minister, said fee reforms would be funded by cutting the direct teaching grant for Welsh universities.

Devolved governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland are yet to make decisions on the future of university funding.

But the latest announcement was criticised by campaigners amid claims that English taxpayers are effectively being asked to subsidise cheaper courses elsewhere in Britain.

Funding for Wales is channelled through Westminster. But public spending per head was 14 per cent higher in Wales in 2007/8 than England, according to The TaxPayers’ Alliance.

Emma Boon, the group’s campaign director, said: “Graduates derive a significant financial gain across their lifetime from their degree and so it is right that they should contribute towards the cost of their university education.

“It’s completely unfair to expect those taxpayers who do not go to university to subsidise those who do, that includes English taxpayers funding Welsh students’ fees.”

The Coalition announced last month that the cap on tuition fees in England would soar from £3,290 this year to between £6,000 and £9,000 in 2012.

At the same time, direct funding for most university courses will be cut as responsibility for paying for degrees is transferred to individual students.

On Tuesday, Mr Andrews said universities in Wales would also be able to increase tuition fees to £9,000, but Welsh students would not be expected to bear the extra cost.

They will pay the same fees in 2012 as they do in 2010, it was disclosed, as the Government steps in to subsidise courses.

“Welsh domiciled students will not have to find either £6,000 or £9,000 to study,” he said. “The public purse will continue to subsidise higher education for Welsh domiciled students.”

He added: “Higher education should be on the basis of the individual’s potential to benefit, and not on the basis of what they can afford to pay.”

The subsidy will apply to Welsh students taking courses anywhere in Britain. Some 69,690 students currently study in Wales and another 18,475 are at universities in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

English undergraduates taking courses in Wales will be expected to pay full costs.

Fees in Northern Ireland are currently capped at £3,290 and Stormont will consult on changes early next year.

Scottish students do not pay fees although a discussion document on possible reforms to the system will be published in coming weeks.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: “I am pleased that the Welsh Assembly Government has recognised that access to higher education should be on based academic ability not ability to pay.

“It is a shame that the Coalition Government hasn’t grasped this reality and that it is persisting with its deeply flawed strategy.

“There is nothing fair or progressive about asking students to pay more for a university education and saddling them with a lifetime of debt.

“If fees are allowed to go up to £6,000 or more, England will be the most expensive country in the developed world in which to study at a public university.”

Sully’s Court: Gtown, Mizzou run it up

My viewing habits: Highly entertaining and, for these days, an unusual style of basketball as Georgetown beat Missouri 111-102 in overtime. Georgetown led by 18 in the first half but you could just feel that Missouri was going to get back into the game with its relentless, full-court defensive pressure and uptempo offense. For the most part, Georgetown did well against the pressure, making the most of the opportunities they got by beating it. The Hoyas were unconscious from behind the arc, hitting 15 and they also made all 18 of their free throws. Still, Missouri should have won in regulation except for missing three of four free throws in the final 19 seconds and not getting one defensive rebound that bounced off several people before landing in the hands of Georgetown’s Chris Wright who nailed a three to send the game into overtime. In the OT, the Hoyas just couldn’t miss. It was tremendous to see uptempo basketball being played; there’s not enough of it in college basketball. If this had been an NCAA tournament game, it would have been an instant classic.

Surprising scores, amazing margins: Illinois 79, North Carolina 67: Is it surprising that North Carolina loses anymore? No. The Heels couldn’t handle Illinois guard Demetri McCamey. Northwestern 91, Georgia Tech 71: The Wildcats are definitely an NCAA contender. Florida Atlantic 61, Mississippi State 59: Big upset for Mike Jarvis, who’s been under the radar, and is now in his third season in Boca Raton. Miami 86, Mississippi 73: Miami had a bad loss to Rutgers so I guess this evens things out. The Hurricanes led by 30 at the half. Western Carolina 66, Bradley 65: Bradley has lost consecutive games to Eastern Illinois and Western Carolina. No, Southeast Missouri is not next on the schedule. Auburn 78, Georgia Southwestern 50: Auburn finally found an opponent they can beat. Washington State 84, Sacramento State 36: The Cougars scored the first 27 points of the game. Washington 102, Long Beach 75: The Huskies have scored more than 100 points three times already. I’d like to see them play Missouri. South Dakota State 82, Nevada 65: The Jackrabbits are 6-0. Nevada has fallen on hard times at 1-5.

Put the gadgets away and go outside!

A photo taken by Michael Fisher

Back in the “good old days,” there was no such thing as cell phones, iPods, the Internet, and high definition TV with 800 channels.

Today my generation can not live without its many gadgets, whether they’re texting via cell phone, playing  Black Ops on their X-Box, or zoning out to iPod shuffle.

While technology is not a bad thing, overuse has many consequences: obesity from lack of exercise,  reduced attention spans from multitasking, and hearing loss from wearing ear phones with the volume too high.

Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press

As the Greeks say, “everything in moderation.” Instead of hours spent in front of the television or on Facebook, go outside and throw the football/baseball around with friends.  If you live in the country, go for a hike, a bike ride or go fishing. Make the activity interesting. Set up a capture the flag game, or play track the animal in the woods. Take your digital camera out and find interesting photo opportunities. Set a up your own blog site and post the photos, that way you still get your technology fix while also developing your artistic talents.

So even as the weather gets colder, get outdoors and have fun.

A photo taken by Michael Fisher

When’s the last time you  had a snowball fight or built a snow fort?  You don’t have to give up technology completely, but you’d be a lot healthier if you got some fresh air and exercise. You’d also feel better too.

Children ‘ignorant of British history’ because of trendy teaching

Pupils’ grasp of the past has been undermined because schools have “steadily downgraded” the importance of historical knowledge, it was claimed.

In a letter to Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, a delegation of academics and teachers today called for history to be made compulsory up to the age of 16 to reverse a “catastrophic decline” in the subject.

They also claimed that the curriculum should be rewritten to expose children to a more coherent narrative of British history.

It was suggested that at the age of 11, pupils should learn about the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, early medieval England and the Crusades.

At 12, pupils should be taught about medieval life, the English conquest of Scotland and Wales, the 100 Years’ War, the Wars of the Roses, the Renaissance, the Reformation, Elizabeth I and overseas exploration.

The comments came just 24 hours after Mr Gove pledged to review the National Curriculum.

An education White Paper, published on Wednesday, outlined plans to slim down the curriculum document and emphasise the key “bodies of knowledge” children should master at each key stage.

In a letter, the Better History Group said: “We share the widespread alarm at the way history has been allowed to decline in the curriculum, with increasing numbers of children receiving less history teaching than their predecessors, or even none at all.

“Our central concern is that the importance of historical knowledge has been steadily downgraded.

“In particular, we believe that the teaching of British history has been allowed to deteriorate, to such an extent that substantial numbers of young people do not have that basic grasp of this country’s history that they need in order to function as informed and active adult citizens.”

The group – which was originally formed to advise the Conservatives on the history curriculum in 2007 – set out a series of recommendations to improve history teaching in schools.

Currently, around two-thirds of pupils drop the subject at the age of 14.

But in a report, it was claimed that history should be made compulsory up to 16 to give schoolchildren more exposure to the subject.

The report suggested that children should study all main subjects, including history, geography, religious studies, music and art, throughout secondary education. But teenagers should be able to take some at a “higher level” – part of a full GCSE course – while others contribute towards half a GCSE or are not assessed at all.

It also recommended that existing “skills” based lessons, in which students are taught to analyse and evaluate primary and secondary sources without learning historical facts, should be scrapped.

“The current nature of source-based assessment in examinations, both at GCSE and at A-level, bears little relation to actual historical practice or even to actual historical sources,” said the report.

“Consequently, not only are students drilled in formulaic exercises of little practical application, but an enormous amount of time is wasted preparing them for these exercises, time which could have been better spent in extending their historical knowledge.

“Since analysis of source material is, in any case, meaningless without extensive knowledge, the lack of this renders current practice in source analysis a largely pointless exercise.”

Students Who Graduate Early From High Scool May Get State Payment To Attend College

 

Governor wants to reward early high school grads with college cash By Dan Carden, Norwest Indiana Times Gov. Mitch Daniels wants to pay Indiana high school students who graduate early. The Republican governor said the details of the idea still need to be worked out, but before leaving on an Asian trade mission last week Daniels said he’d like to make early graduation financially rewarding. Daniels said he plans to ask the Indiana General Assembly to “allow those students who can and wish, their own choice, to complete their graduation requirements in less than 12 years and do so, to have the money or much of the money we would have spent on their 12th grade year available to use for the high cost of higher education.”

Tags: Student Aid