Best of News Cut 5x8

1) HOW WAS YOUR SUMMER? (posted Friday, Sept. 21)

Another instant classic from Leif Enger...

Today is the last full day of summer.

2) THE ART OF RECOVERY (posted Thursday, Sept. 20)

An exhibition has opened in St. Cloud featuring the art of Minnesota's victims of crime. They're victims of arson, burglary, robbery, impaired driving, domestic abuse, sexual assault, kidnapping, incest, rape and murder, the St. Cloud Times says.

"They're making a public statement; it's healing for them," said Lee LaDue, the gender violence prevention coordinator at St. Cloud State's Women's Center. "It's also very healing for other survivors to see that kind of art ... the courage of others speaking out about what happened to them."

The State Arts Board, which underwrites the effort, has a gallery of images, and the compelling stories of the artists.

3) TURNING GOOD INTO GREAT (posted Wednesday, Sept. 19)

What if teachers were penalized for poor student performance?

NPR reports on research that gauges whether giving teachers money upfront, and taking it away if students fail to achieve, works.

"Teachers who were paid in advance and [were] asked to give the money back if their students did not perform -- their [students'] test scores were actually out of the roof: two to three times higher than the gains of the teachers in the traditional bonus group," a researcher claims.

4) THE BLAME GENERATION (posted Tuesday, Sept. 18)

No matter what's wrong, it's always someone else's fault, the Boston Globe's Farah Stockman writes today:

We want to do whatever we want whenever we want to, and when it goes awry, it's somebody else's fault.

We want all the freedoms, with none of the responsibilities. We don't want to join the military or pay taxes or even be told to refrain from posting idiotic videos on YouTube. We sucked the equity out of our homes and took out irresponsible loans, and when it all went wrong, we got outraged that the government let us do it.

We expect more and more, faster and faster. What do you mean, incomes have stagnated? They are always supposed to go up. What do you mean home prices have fallen? They are supposed to double in five years. What do you mean there isn't a job out there with my name on it? I'm supposed to be better off than I was four years ago. Who's to blame for the fact that I'm not?

Related: And yet there are still plenty of people digging in to take charge....

5) THE HOME CONCERTS (posted Monday, Spet. 17)

Why go out to a concert when the concert comes to you? The Fargo Forum reports today on a growing trend: more people are hosting concerts in their homes. "You actually get to hang out and talk to people," says singer Jeremy Messersmith,