On Our "Virtual Route 99" (Special Month-End Edition)

 Our team pulled together the following courtesy EdSource & Education Next, as a new month is before us: 

Money is tight and campus fees are rising at Cal State

By Amy DiPierro, EdSource

On some campuses, mandatory student fees increased hundreds of dollars this school year. "College is expensive enough," one student said.

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COMMENTARY Investing in child care is investing in California's future By Maisha Cole, executive director of the Child Care Law Center Read more

COMMENTARY California governor’s budget cuts threaten dental care for low-income kids By Estella Kessler, a trustee of the Selma Unified School District Board. Read more

Education news in brief from EdSource

California State University maintenance workers on strike, demand pay increase Los Angeles Unified School District could issue 3,200 layoff notices to staff

Number of the week Happy Chinese New Year 118,000 Students speaking Chinese languages at home

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Secondary students sit for their General Certificate of Secondary Education exams

 in Rugby, England, in 2012, two years into the tenure of Minister of Schools Nick Gibb, 

who enacted sweeping reforms in English schools.

By many measures, contemporary Britain is a grim place and getting grimmer. The economy is stagnant, joblessness and welfare dependency are surging, and the population is increasingly despondent and restive. Shabbiness and disorder are the default settings. It’s even raining more. But one indicator of national vitality that has risen in recent times is the quality of England’s schools.

According to the last round of PIRLS testing, English children are the best readers in the Western world. On the most recent round of PISA testing, England ranked 11th in the world for mathematics, up from 26th in 2009, with similar improvements in reading and science.

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On Our "Virtual Route 99" (Special Edition) : Why We Began & Why We Persist

 

On Our "Virtual Route 99" Around the World (Weekly Edition): A Look at History

 Ray Dalio reflects upon History: 

View of the Week (Special Sunday Edition): On Iran & #IranRevolution2026

 Stanford University's Hoover Institution convened a panel on the Iranian Revolution of 2026, recently as the World was also witness to Marches in Munich, Los Angeles, Toronto, and many other cities by the Iranian Diaspora this weekend:

On Our "Virtual Route 99" Around the World: On this Valentine's Day 2026

 On this Valentine's Day 2026, please enjoy courtesy of the Team at The Mental Floss.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!!

HOLIDAYS

7 Valentine’s Day Myths Debunked

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View of the Week (Weekly Edition): The Islamic Republic’s War on the Iranian People

The Middle East Institute hosted Emad Shargi on Iran and the Iranian Revolution of 2026.

View of the Week (Special Edition)

 

On Our "Virtual Route 99" With Month-End #RandomThoughts

Our team chose this UNESCO Concert from 2025, led by the Iranian Composer Arash Fouladvand for this month-end close-out as we look forward to the continued privilege to serve:

On Our "Virtual Route 99" With #RandomThoughts On #IranRevolution2026

Our team pulled together a sampling of the discourse on Iran as it is in the midst of #IranRevolution2026 with reports of over 16,000 deaths and over 300,000 people who have been injured:

 

 

 

 

 

On Our "Virtual Route 99": On Iran as it is in the midst of a Revolution

 Iran is in the midst of a Revolution.   Our team pulled together a snapshot of Iran courtesy the team at Al Jazeera:

On Our "Virtual Route 99" (Special Edition): A Tribute to the Iranian People

 

Iran is one of the world’s oldest civilizations and the birthplace of human rights, first articulated over 2,500 years ago by Cyrus the Great. However, Iran’s enduring importance and resilience have always flowed from something deeper: Iranians and Iranian culture. Across centuries of hardship, upheaval, invasion, and injustice, Iranians have always prevailed, not because of power or politics, but because of our art, poetry, music, philosophy, language, and collective memory. Iranian culture has been the vessel that has carried our values forward when institutions have failed. It has always preserved our identity when freedom was denied and has paved the way to self-determination, keeping meaning and coherence alive in the darkest times. Thank you to the Iranian people for what you have given the world through culture, literature, art, and for your enduring belief in human dignity. May you always shine brightly as the true representatives of our culture.

On Our "Virtual Route 99" : A Tribute to Medal of Honor Winners

 

The Medal of Honor is our Nation’s highest award for valor in action, above and beyond the call of duty, against enemies which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Since its inception during the American Civil War, only 3,508 brave service members have distinguished themselves and been awarded the medal, and as of today 66 are living.   The Army Heritage Center Foundation was honored in 2020 to present a seven-part webinar series that focused on the shared values and qualities of all recipients - courage, commitment, sacrifice, citizenship, integrity, and patriotism. Seven Medal of Honor recipients discussed how these qualities and our American values can be practiced and how each can be exemplified in daily life.   During the series, these American Heroes shared lessons of personal bravery and self-sacrifice.  They defined leadership, leadership traits, how they overcame obstacles, and reflected on different experiences that demonstrate commitment and understanding sacrifice to others.    Recordings of these videos are now available online thanks to a donation from the Pritzker Military Foundation.  Dedicated to honoring the Citizen Soldier, the Pritzker Military Foundation makes these recordings available so the general public and students across the country can learn that there are still heroes among us, and ordinary people can meet significant challenges and make the world around them a better place. Sergeant Gary Beikirch, U.S. Army Topic: The Medal of Honor and applications of core values in our lives Beikirch

Corporal Hershel (Woody) Williams, U.S. Marines Topic: Courage        Williams 1st Lieutenant Jack Jacobs, U.S. Army Topic: Citizenship Jacobs Private First Class Sammy Davis, U.S. Army Topic: Patriotism Davis Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, U.S. Army      Topic: Commitment Bellavia Specialist Four Robert Patterson, U.S. Army Topic: Integrity Patterson 2nd Lieutenant Walter (Joe) Marm, U.S. Army Topic: Sacrifice Marm