Ideas a-plenty are bouncing around on how to improve education. Take, for instance, the recent suggestion of doing away with homework. Alas! I was born too soon.

One education specialist said that having no homework would give kids ownership over their education. Yes, in a manner. But not everyone will agree that such ownership will improve educational results.

Then there's the issue of color. A brouhaha has broken out over which ink to use in marking mistakes, when teachers grade students' papers. It seems that the traditional red pen is all wrong and thus on the way out. Purple is on the way in.

Sharon Carlson, a Massachusetts middle school teacher, says, "If you see a whole paper of red, it looks pretty frightening. Purple stands out, but it doesn't look as scary as red."

Leatrice Eiseman, author of five books on color, says, "Red is a bit over-the-top in its aggression."

"I do not use red," a Florida teacher remarked. "Red has a negative connotation, and we want to promote self-confidence. I like purple. I use purple a lot."

But you can always find a different perspective. One student divulged, "I hate red. But because I hate it, I want to work harder to make sure there isn't any red on my papers."

Hmmmm.

In addition to these latest controversies, public education continues to be dogged by longer-running debates, such as over evolution.

One current battle takes place in Cobb County, Georgia, where the school board ordered district schools to place a warning sticker on their biology textbooks. The sticker reads: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."

Sounds more like a call for critical thinking than a religious statement, but a number of parents sued the school district asserting that this sticker was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. Just recently, U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper ruled in their favor, ordering that the labels must go, because they send "a message that the school board agrees with the beliefs of Christian fundamentalists and Creationists."

The ruling is being appealed, but while we still don't know which way the courts will ultimately decide, we do know that the future decision will leave some parents out in the cold. Continued...