CNN Student News Transcript: September 24, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- September 24, 2008

Quick Guide

Gathering at the U.N. - Hear one of the topics that President Bush discussed at the United Nations.

Mystery Unraveled - Discover what information researchers have uncovered about Stonehenge.

Separated by Gender - See how one school is dividing students in an effort to improve learning.

Transcript

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: From the newsroom to your classroom, this is CNN Student News! Thank you for spending part of your Wednesday with us. I'm Carl Azuz.

First Up: Gathering at the U.N.

AZUZ: First up, President Bush speaks to the United Nations General Assembly about the financial crisis facing the Unites States. During his address to the annual gathering of world leaders, the president said the world's economies are more closely connected than they've ever been. He's promising the American government is taking steps to fight the country's economic struggles. Richard Roth has more on the president's speech and some international reactionion to the current turmoil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN'S SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: President Bush told the members of the General Assembly that he understands the big financial crisis occurring in the United States, and he knows what he said would be the devastating effect on other world economies if things were not corralled. He promised bold steps; of course, the U.S. government considering the $700 billion bailout.

U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Last week, I announced decisive action by the federal government to address the root cause of much of the instability in our financial markets by purchasing illiquid assets that are weighing down balance sheets and restricting the flow of credit. I can assure you that my administration and our Congress are working together to quickly pass legislation approving this strategy.

ROTH: Countries which may not like the United States are using the economic problem to blast Washington; that's what Iran's president has alluded to. The French president, among many leaders who are condemning speculators. That's the real enemy these days at the U.N.; not terrorists, it seems. The French president saying there should be more regulation and control and punishment for those responsible for what happened.

NICOLAS SARKOZY, FRENCH PRESIDENT (TRANSLATED): Lessons that we need to learn from what has occurred. Let us rebuild together a regulated capitalism in which whole swathes of financial activity are not left to the sole judgment of the market operators. Let us rebuild capitalism in which banks do their job. And the job of banks is to finance economic development. It is not to fuel speculation.

ROTH: Dwindling and upheaval in dollars and euros of course is a big concern for U.N. leaders like Ban Ki-Moon, who worries that the aid won't be there to help in the fight against poverty, AIDS, malnutrition, which is the real goal of the leaders here at the U.N.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Spoken Word

HENRY M. PAULSON, JR., SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: I am frustrated. The taxpayer is on the hook. The taxpayer is already on the hook. The taxpayer already is going to suffer the consequences if things don't work the way they should work. And so the best protection for the taxpayer, and the first protection for the taxpayer, is to have this work.

Promo

AZUZ: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson there, taking part in a Senate hearing about the financial crisis. Paulson and several other economic advisors -- you see some of whom here -- are pushing Congress to pass that bailout proposed by the president. The economy's been in the news a lot lately, you've been hearing a lot of terminology you might not be familiar with. Our financial glossary helps explain some key economic terms for you. Check it out at CNNStudentNews.com!

Finland School Shooting

AZUZ: Officials in Finland are searching for answers after a deadly school shooting yesterday. Authorities say the 22-year-old suspect opened fire on a college campus, killing ten people before then turning the gun on himself. Tuesday's attack in the northern European country is believed to be just the second school shooting in Finland's history.

Big Bang Box Broken

AZUZ: Moving from Finland to Switzerland, where a massive science experiment is in a holding pattern. That is because the world's biggest particle collider is on the fritz! You might remember us telling you about the big bang machine, the goal of the project is to study theories about the start of the universe by smashing atoms together at the speed of light. Researchers say it should be up and running again by spring.

Shoutout

ERIC GERSHON, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! What's the name of this archaeological site? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) Easter Island, B) Mount Olympus, C) Stonehenge or D) Stone Mountain? You've got three seconds -- GO! You're looking at Stonehenge, a monumental grouping of rocks located in the United Kingdom. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Mystery Unraveled

AZUZ: Those giant stones have been standing for thousands of years, and they've been this source of mystery for almost as long. You see, no one knows who built Stonehenge or why. There have been a lot of theories claiming it was designed by sun worshippers or even a giant computer. Most experts say those ideas are nonsense. But as Damon Green tells us, new research at the site has dug up some solid facts on the famous stones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON GREEN, ITV REPORTER: Wrapped in mystery, these stones have fascinated the people of Britain for as long as they've stood. But now it seems like the mists of time have become slightly less misty with the revelation that science has pinpointed the very years that Stonehenge was built. In the first scientific dig allowed at Stonehenge in over 40 years, they probed underneath one of the ancient blue stones at the heart of the famous Bronze Age circle to retrieve animal and plant remains that could be carbon dated. The results conclusive: 2,300 B.C. Now, more controversially, the same team has linked the blue stones at Stonehenge, famously transported all the way from a mountain range in South Wales, with a series of other finds from ancient Britain. They say fragments of the Stonehenge monument discovered in graves suggest people thought it had magical healing powers.

PROF. TIMOTHY DARVILL, BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY: And I have no doubt that lots of people came to Stonehenge with the great celebrations and festivals that were held there in order for them to feel better, to, as it were, reconnect with those roots. And for those who were ill at the time, to get better as well.

GREEN: The people drawn to this place by its majesty and its mystery will still come here. After all, we still don't know exactly who built this place or why. But now that we know when, at least amongst all that majesty and mystery the scientists have one hard fact to cling on to. Damon Green, ITV News, at Stonehenge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Separated by Gender

AZUZ: Next up, we're looking at learning! You probably know that different methods work better for different people. Some of you may be visual learners, or maybe you do better in school when you hear the information. Kathleen Koch visits a middle school in Virginia, that's hoping to improve students' learning by rearranging who's in what class according to gender.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALE STUDENTS: Take stuff out. Take stuff out. That's "revise." Revise! Revise!

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN REPORTER: A 7th grade language arts class at Woodbridge Middle School.

FEMALE STUDENTS: Wow.

KOCH: And a 7th grade math class. The boys and girls are being taught not just separately, but differently. Boys don't have to sit in desks; reviews become relay races.

MEAGAN KENNEDY, LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER: They had a blast. And they wanted to be the one that had to run down with the answer. And what it does is it makes them pay attention more. They have to be involved in the actual learning.

JOEY SANTIAGO, 7TH GRADE STUDENT: It's easier to learn because we all mostly like the same stuff. And so when teachers would teach us and throw balls, we'd catch it and we usually get a little energized.

KOCH: Girls work more in groups, in less stressful, non-competitive settings. This approach springs from Leonard Sax's controversial book "Why Gender Matters." It maintains boys' and girls' brains are different, so most will benefit by being taught apart. Sax says boys in particular suffer in traditional classroom settings.

LEONARD SAX, AUTHOR, "WHY GENDER MATTERS": What happens is these boys, in particular, tune out. They're not paying attention. They need schools that understand what is best for a six-year-old girl is not what is best for a six-year-old boy.

KOCH: There is no definitive research on the merits of single-gender education. The Department of Education says it can provide some benefits to some students under certain circumstances.

SCHOOL PROGRAM PROMO: Girls, on the other hand, tend to have more success in a calmer atmosphere.

KOCH: The ACLU is suing the Education Department to stop such programs.

EMILY MARTIN, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: I think that's a real concern, that we spent a long time in this country fighting against the notion that schools should treat boys and girls differently.

KOCH: Some parents who were skeptical at first say they recognize same-sex classes may be beneficial.

LASHANDA WILLIAMS, MOTHER: Since so much focus was on it, I just kind of felt like I didn't want my daughter to be left out.

ROSHAILA WILLIAMS, 7TH GRADE STUDENT: I liked it more because I could concentrate and not be, like, annoyed by boys.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Woodbridge, Virginia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Before We Go

AZUZ: Before we go, meet one of America's most senior citizens. Walter's taking part in the festivities even though he doesn't think his birthday is that big a deal. But hey, that's what happens when you're the oldest man in America and you add on another year. Sunday, Walter turned 112! Think about that. He's seen the turn of the century twice! The birth of the airplane, two world wars, dozens of presidents: It all happened during Walter's lifetime. What's his secret? Just stay active.

Goodbye

AZUZ: Just imagine how many editions of CNN Student News he could have watched. We'll be back with another one tomorrow.