EDUCATION

Ed Board members want high school kids to take more math and science, complete a senior project and devote more than half of their electives to career development.

John Chambers, chief executive of Cisco agreed, saying it was embarrassing that the K through 12 public education system is broken in Silicon Valley.

"Now India means the world’s best software services, and increasingly, pharmaceuticals and auto parts."

The students, their families and outraged supporters say authorities are overreacting, punishing the kids not for any heinous behavior — no malicious acts are alleged — but rather because they outsmarted the district’s technology workers.

Research from as far back as the 1960s demonstrates that 3- and 4-year-olds who get high-quality education before entering kindergarten do better in higher grades and are more likely to finish school and stay out of prison, says Sherry Cleary of the University of Pittsburgh.

Idaho Arts Charter already has a waiting list and is part of a growing wave of support for arts-based teaching in the Treasure Valley. Parents say they like having the choice of an academic program for their artistic children. Teachers and administrators believe the arts are a creative and effective way to teach traditional subjects.

One of the museum exhibit’s 17 attractions is the Tour du Nose, which visitors enter through a giant pair of nostrils. They learn about nose hairs, sinuses and the wonderful world of mucus production. But watch out: The nose could blow at any minute, emitting a sneeze with a rush of air through the tunnel. (No liquid is sprayed.)