Education

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In this Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013, photo, Syrian students gather in the playground of Hassan Shuaib School in Damascus, Syria. Facing extraordinary challenges, millions of Syrian children in government-controlled areas returned to school this week to the backdrop of a raging civil war and an international debate over Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. (AP Photo)

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VCU goalkeeper Emma Kruse thought her soccer days were over after playing at Forest Park High School, but she ended up starting for the Rams. (VCU Athletics)

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David Schaffner, father to 16-year-old David Schaffner III, talks to a reporter after his son was suspended from a Pennsylvania high school for willfully turning in a hunting knife he forgot to take out of his pocket before a football game. (CBS News Pittsburgh)

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First lady Michelle Obama is joined by actress Eva Longoria at Watertown High School in Watertown, Wis. on Thursday at an event to encourage people to drink more water. Her claim that it increases energy raised eyebrows. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

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In this Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013, photo, Virginia Tech wide receiver Kalvin Cline runs with the ball during an NCAA college football game against Western Carolina in Blacksburg Va. The freshman tight end from Boca Raton, Fla., didn't play football until his senior year of high school. Now, injuries have him pressed into duty for the Hokies, and he's learning on the job. Cline caught four passes for 46 yards last week in his college debut against Western Carolina. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Matt Gentry)

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Memphis elementary school student Erin Shead was told that she couldn't write about God for a school project, but she could write on Michael Jackson as her idol. (WREG 3 Memphis News screenshot)

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Frances Hena of Bakersfield, Calif., stands by her 11-year-old daughter as she holds a sign designed to shame her for "twerking" at a school dance. (ABC News screenshot)

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Former CIA Director David H. Petraeus is heckled on the streets of New York while on his way to teach a class at the City University of New York on Monday, Sept. 9, 2013. (YouTube)

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** FILE ** First lady Michelle Obama joins exercises with pupils at Orr Elementary in Washington, Friday, Sept. 6, 2013, during a visit for a back to school event highlighting healthy changes happening in schools and across the country. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Over objections of students and alumni, former President George W. Bush received the Global Service Award from the University of Denver's Korbel School of International Studies for his work in combating HIV, cervical cancer and malaria in Africa. (Associated Press)

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Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, who is now attending Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Va., speaks to The Associated Press during an interview at the campus coffee shop, Aug. 13, 2013. To an outsider, the bikini-clad, Vegas-savvy Scanlan, mixing with fellow students at ultra-conservative Patrick Henry College, that caters to homeschoolers and regulates the private affairs of its students, may be a jarring contrast. But it’s proved a good fit for Scanlan. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)