The Wall Street Journal and countless media outlets reported Education Week’s best and worst school systems by state in the United States last month, and the report on Yahoo.com is below:

Top 10

1. Maryland ranked at the top for the fifth straight year
2. Massachusetts
3. New York
   
4. Virginia
5. Arkansas
6. Florida
7. Georgia
8. New Jersey
9. West Virginia
10. Kentucky
    

Bottom 10:

1. South Dakota
2. Nevada
3. Idaho
4. Alaska
5. Mississppi
6. Nebraska
7. Montana
8. Arizona
9. Oregon
10. Missouri

But it’s not the only study. Michelle Rhee, has her own report, according to Huffington Post. She is the former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor and chair of StudentsFirst. Click on that link for a map of the U.S. with grades per state. Pennsylvania gets a D.

Frankly, I am way more interested in education reports than in daily national media coverage of Notre Dame All-American linebacker Manti Te’o's creation of a virtual girlfriend debacle and whether or not Beyonce lip synced the national anthem. It’s time we all made education a priority.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one.  

So, is this real or Photoshop? Real!

Odd houses around the world are often art. This one is called Fallen Star. See the story here. It is Do Ho Suh’s reflection on how he felt when leaving South Korea to study in the U.S., “as if he was dropped from the sky.” The installation is at the University of California at San Diego. It is a real cottage and sits seven stories off the ground on the Jacobs School of Engineering at UCSD. It even has a front yard, garden and patio. Take a peek at the impressive interior photos in Do Ho Suh’s ‘Fallen Star’

The seven-year, $1.3 million project was funded by private donors and a National Endowments of the Arts grant. Get this. It also meets California code and is earthquake resistant. Do Ho Suh has degrees from Seoul National University, Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University. He has exhibited around the world and lives in New York, London and Seoul. Learn more about the exhibit on the Stuart Collection’s website.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa.

It’s Fashion Friday, but I had to tell everyone about something that goes way beyond fashion. Esurance brought it to my attention that Mary Anderson patented the windshield wiper in 1903. So, to close out March and Women’s History Month, here’s a salute to women and  Esurance’s research into female automotive pioneers:

• Alice Huyler Ramsey is the first woman inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. She drove 3,600 miles across the country and was her own mechanic.
• Silent film star Florence Lawrence (who grew up in Buffalo, New York) invented  turn signals and brake lights.
• On New Year’s Day 1915, Wilma K. Russey became the first female New York City taxi driver.
• In 1943, Helene Rother became the first female automotive designer. A successful career as a French jewelry designer landed her a job with General Motors to craft elegant interior designs.

Esurance pointed out that women didn’t have the right to vote when the first vehicles rolled off the assembly line, but we were ready to improve them. For more great fun, visit the Esurance blog. It’s some great stuff on women and cars. Special thanks to Anne May Navarrete of Esurance for letting me know all this great stuff. And to Kate Rezucha for researching and sharing.

Something else I learned this month on CBS “Sunday Morning”:  Actress diva Hedy Lamarr had a role in creating wireless phones, torpedo launchers and much more . She even has a patent. Yes THAT Hedy Lamarr. Check out her story.

Take a few minutes to salute all the women who paved the way for the rest of us.