People—in the Valley, in California, in the United States—are talking about education. Laws, learned reports and studies, studies and more studies by experts declaim opinions and declare solutions. But what of those who spend time with children? What of those who stand in the classroom, trying to put hands and feet on educational policies and the love of education into children's minds and hearts?

Linda Hoff, director of the teacher education in the School of Education, suggests we ask teachers about education, and show our appreciation for their success, in this week's Scholars Speak.

"Everyone agrees" is a rare phrase in the education debate, but when it comes to reading support does seem universal. Parents, teachers and experts of all stripes tout the benefits of reading and offer ways to encourage children.

Rene' Mendel Lebsock suggests ways to get—and keep—children reading this week in Scholars Speak.

Labor Day Weekend means so much. Let's toast the ceremonial end of summer with burgers and dogs on the grill. Let's enjoy the last long weekend before Thanksgiving, or at least Veteran's Day.

Let's honor the sacrifice of the many who sweated, and the some who died, giving the rest of us working stiffs the day off. That's Hope Nisly's job this week in Scholars Speak.

Not all is fun and games on school playgrounds. Many children, often the physically smallest and least socially successful, find they get the most attention not from friends, but from bullies.

Bullying has been around as long as children have gathered together, but does that make it unstoppable? Scott Key, professor in the Fresno Pacific University School of Education, doesn't think so, and presents ideas on how to make school safer in this Scholars Speak.

McDonald's—its billions served give it influence way beyond burgers and fries. Lovin' it or hatin' it, few among us have not at some point found it our kind of place.

But can Ronald & Co. bring world peace for all time as well as a break today? Duane Ruth-Heffelbower, a member of the Fresno Pacific University School of Business and Center for Peacemaking & Conflict Studies, has cooked up some tasty ideas on the subject for this Scholars Speak.

We've got problems here in the San Joaquin Valley. Everybody knows that, but how do we solve them?

As simple, or crazy, as that sounds, it's FPU President D. Merrill Ewert's suggestion in this special summer Scholars Speak.

Here's a dumb question: What is the purpose of public schools? To teach, obviously. But to teach what? American public schools were created to teach the knowledge and values immigrants and their children were thought to need to be part of society. Long before character curriculum, education was more than readin', 'ritin' and 'rithmetic. Is this enough? Scott Key, education faculty at Fresno Pacific University, shares his thoughts in this week's Scholars Speak.

Americans like their government close to home, serving those who pay their leaders' salaries and vote them into and out of office. That said, most agree, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, that at times the country must risk George Washington's warning against "foreign entanglements" and fulfill a duty to the world. The nitty-gritty of when, where, how and how long we should be involved in a given situation—especially with troops—stretches the tightest coalition. Not to mention the question of whether big powers do more harm than good when they try to help. One person's mercy mission is another's colonial meddling. In Scholars Speak this week Fresno Pacific University Professor Scott Key makes an impassioned argument for intervening in some form in the crisis in Darfur. Like Somalia and Rwanda before it, the country's name has become shorthand for death and suffering.

Something horrible happened at Virginia Tech University and people want to do something. Preferably something that will keep this from happening again. A natural reaction. A laudable goal. But not an easy one. Duane Ruth-Heffelbower, an experienced counselor and faculty member at Fresno Pacific University, looks at the situation in this week's Scholars Speak.

The subject is timely, the question is timeless and the options are the same as they ever were:

Global warming What can one person do?

1. Disbelieve
2. Deny
3. Despair
4. Something

For those who answered D, Ken Marten's Friesen, political science and history faculty at Fresno Pacific University, presents a series of practical suggestions and a touch of historical context in this week's Scholars Speak.

Cell phones - they call, we answer. It's like living with a cat. Annoying and indispensable, do they say something about us beyond what each of us think is the best ringtone we can buy commercially to most capture our unique personality? Jay Pope thinks so, and shares it with the rest of us this week in Scholars Speak. Pope is a professor of psychology at Fresno Pacific University; a user of cell phones and an observer of the culture they define and encourage.

Milk, cream, ice cream, cheese—what's not to love about the bounty from dairy cows? Unfortunately, cows produce other products not sold in stores. Those creations circulate freely through the air, however, and can damage lungs if not contained and controlled. Fresno County needs to find ways to do just that, says Cynthia Ovando-Knutson in this week's Scholars Speak, and the time to speak out is now.

IM in MySpace, but you Digg YouTube? Del.icio.us! Let's Sykpe over to eBay. Don't get it? Ask your local teenager to find out just how bad those puns are. If all the multitasking going on around you is giving you a headache, you're not alone. Ken Martens Friesen sees it all every day in his classroom at Fresno Pacific University and gives us his take in this week's Scholars Speak.

So students don't read—so what? If anyone is hurt, it's just them, right? Wrong, according to this week's Scholars Speak. Richard Rawls, director of Fresno Pacific University's Hiebert Library and member of the history and philosophy faculty, has a whole list of people who suffer when students slack off in their reading, from classmates to taxpayers.

Air is the ultimate natural resource. Gender, class, age, skin color, political party have no bearing on who needs it or how much they need. So it just seems fair that everyone who breathes air has a role in making it and keeping it clean. Scott Key, FPU faculty member, explores what each of us can do in this week's Scholars Speak.

When it comes to education, plenty of people have questions, arguments and accusations. One thing all the critics have in common—all the problems in education are clearly someone else's fault! But what if we all have a role to play in educating our children? What if their success is our success, and their failure is our failure? Jo Ellen Misakian, interim dean of the Fresno Pacific University School of Education and veteran Valley educator, examines that unsettling thought in the week's Scholars Speak.

When it comes to education, plenty of people have questions, arguments and accusations. One thing all the critics have in common—all the problems in education are clearly someone else's fault! But what if we all have a role to play in educating our children? What if their success is our success, and their failure is our failure? Jo Ellen Misakian, interim dean of the Fresno Pacific University School of Education and veteran Valley educator, examines that unsettling thought in the week's Scholars Speak.

Divorce is painful for not only the couple involved, but their children, family and friends, as well. People who once looked for ways to show their love can become equally ingenious in finding ways to show their hate. Nice follow-up to Valentines Day, right? Still, this week's Scholars Speak finds hope even in the darkness of divorce. There are ways for couples splitting up to cooperate instead of litigate, and many, many people are using them: some even encouraged by lawyers. See what Duane Ruth-Heffelbower—lawyer, minister, mediator and faculty member at Fresno Pacific University—has to say.

Valentine's Day. St. Valentine himself might scratch his head over all the romantic hoopla—roses, chocolate and diamonds, diamonds, diamonds—associated with his name, but this third-century Christian martyr would pull his beard to think of the modern-day cruelty involved in mining, cultivating and harvesting these symbols of love.

Scott Key illuminates the lesser-known heartlessness behind the heartfelt gifts and offers some alternatives this week in Scholars Speak.

Warriors sacrifice for country and cause—no question about that. But what of the loved ones who stand and wait? What of the children not yet born who will tend the scars of battle without ever having met the healthy parent who went to war? Duane Ruth-Heffelbower speaks to those questions powerfully from a personal and professional perspective in this week's Scholars Speak.