News Brief: April 8-12

International:

In efforts to modernize the Polish education system, a homework ban has been enacted. Critics would prefer to see learning methods that encourage critical thinking and creativity, ABC News reported. 

For students grades first through third, homework is prohibited. Students grades fourth through eighth will have optional assignments that do not contribute to the class grade. 

While the students are excited about the ban, the teachers share a different view. 

“In general, the teachers think that this happened too quickly, too hastily,” Sławomir Broniarz, the head of the Polish Teachers’ Union, said. 

The amount of homework became an issue during the “parliamentary elections last year, when a 14-year-old boy, Maciek Matuszewski, stood up at a campaign rally and told the now Prime Minister Donald Tusk before a national audience that children ‘had no time to rest,’” ABC reported. 

Education Minister Barbara Nowacka pointed to research on the mental health of children and said, “the [stressor on children] that could be removed fastest was the burden of homework.”

National:

“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” the family of infamous football star and murder suspect wrote on X, “He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.”

Simpson “won the Heisman Trophy while at USC, then set records while playing professional football for the San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Bills,” Variety wrote. 

Simpson was regarded as one of the greatest runningbacks of all time, but a darker story overshadows his career as a football player. In 1994, he was accused of a double homicide. The victims were his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

A trial was held in 1995 and a jury found him not guilty. Thirty years later, no one has been charged with the crime. 

“Goldman’s family brought a civil suit against Simpson, and he was found liable for wrongful death and battery against Goldman and battery against Nicole Brown Simpson. He was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages,” Variety wrote. 

Local:

In a Wall Street Journal ranking, Oklahoma City came in at #5 for the hottest job market in the country. 

“The Wall Street Journal’s story had Oklahoma City ranked above Dallas, Nashville and Miami,” KOCO reported. Salt Lake City, Utah, was in first place followed by Jacksonville, Florida; Orlando, Florida and Tampa, Florida. 

Will Rogers Airport reported record-high numbers for air travel into the city, which has been attributed to an increase in business travel. 

“We have one of the fastest growing metro areas, and we have some of the fastest growing counties in Oklahoma and in the U.S. So, candidly, it’s no surprise, but it’s nice to see these rankings,” Jeff Seymour with the OKC Chamber, said.

Seymour is anticipating the next steps in supporting the positive growth the city is experiencing.