Quotable & notable
??children don't need another reform imposed on them. Instead, they need to be the authors of their own education.'' ' * -Susan Engle, Author of Red Flags or Red Herrings: Predicting Who Your Child Will Become
Do we really want a common curriculum?
Kathleen Porter-MageeRobert Pondiscio over at Core Knowledge wrote a very thoughtful response to my post the other day.
The $125,000 Teacher: the Day After
Peter MeyerSo, I watched Katie Couric's 60 Minutes segment about The Equity Project (TEP) charter in New York City.
The merit pay mirage
Chris TessoneMuch ink has been spilled in the past week over what the pay for performance experiment in New York City's public school system means. Roland Fryer's finding that the NYC pay scheme didn't improve student achievement does not imply that differentiated pay for teachers doesn't work, however.
A new 'No Child'
The president said today he wants a No Child Left Behind rewrite before students' summer vacations end this September. And he wants other things, too.
Teachers unions here and there
Chester E. Finn, Jr.I don't always agree with Marc Tucker but he knows a heckuva lot about how other countries organize their education systems; and it turns out that knowledge extends to how their teacher unions have evolved, what roles the unions play, and how their bargaining processes work. The differences set forth in his exceptionally interesting new paper?between the U.S.
Education Next Book Club Podcast with Dan Willingham
The Ed Next book club podcast is back for round two.
Quotable & notable
?[Teachers] are America's heroes, and they should be recognized as such. Sadly, they aren't.'' * -Joel Klein, Former Chancellor of New York public schools
Rational thinking on common curricula
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Over in the more feverish corners of the blogosphere, and sometimes even in saner locales, the Shanker Institute's call for "common content" curriculum to accompany the Common Core standards has triggered a panic attack.
Pay teachers more!
Peter MeyerI almost didn't get past the second sentence of Nicholas Kristof's brilliant NY Times essay this morning, as he opened with mention of Wisconsin and the ?pernicious fallacy? he?said the fracas there had generated: that teachers are over-paid.
Education news nuggets
Here's to hoping we can learn from other countries at the world education summit next week. Not only are more foreign-born men and women leading U.S.
School funding: Do we have to be as poor as our neighbor?
Peter MeyerIn a provocative new school funding case, a federal court judge in Kansas City ruled against parents from the suburban Shawnee Mission school district who had wanted to increase property taxes above the state mandated limit
The $125,000 Teacher: Why Not!
Peter MeyerDon't miss Katie Couric's 60 Minutes report this Sunday on a New York City charter school that pays teachers lots of money but gives them no tenure.
Education news nuggets
Even if you can spell i-o-n-i-z-e, you might be attending a high school that is failing under NCLB.
Quotable & notable
?It's not enough to teach kids how to "read hard stuff." You have to show them how reading hard stuff in AP Literature is different than reading hard stuff in biology, European history, or trigonometry.'' * -Catherine Gewertz, Writer for Education Week
Stop seeking curricular solutions to instructional problems
Kathleen Porter-MageeThere continues to be a lot of discussion around the idea of creating a ?common? curriculum to supplement the Common Core State Standards. Robert Pondiscio over at Core Knowledge applauds the move, arguing that, while the CCSS are ?praiseworthy,?
The rebirth of the education governor
Chester E. Finn, Jr.[caption id="" align="alignright" width="359" caption="Photo courtesy of the National Governors Association"][/caption]
Quotable & notable
?Taking on the status quo is no easy task.'' * -Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin
Duncan says 82 percent of schools are failing
Peter MeyerSo what else is new?? Isn't this just the statistic that confirms the message of Nation at Risk or the flat NAEP scores for the last forty years?
The case for paying most teachers the same
Michael J. PetrilliI know it's an article of faith in the school-reform community that we should "differentiate" among teachers and pay them "differentially" too.
Quotable & notable
?[Common academic standards] will end the practice of lying to children and adults that dummied down standards will prepare students for success" * -Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education
We Feel Your Pain -- and Other Good Stories from the Times
Peter MeyerThe New York Times is on a roll with its education coverage, today reporting on everything from Obama in Boston to Rick Scott in Florida and rich schools in Bronxville.?
Looking two steps ahead
Daniela Fairchild[caption id="" align="alignright" width="307" caption="Photo by Stacy"][/caption]
Hey schools: Don't charge extra for extra-curriculars
Michael J. PetrilliOf the many dumb ways to close budget holes, perhaps the one most worthy of the title "self-inflicted wound" is the move to reduce the number of extra-curricular activities offered to students (or to pass along the costs to families in the form of fees).
Get yer intellectual cotton candy here!
I don't relish piling on, but David Brooks's column today, ?The New Humanism,? timed to coincide with the release of his new book The Social Animal, is intellectual cotton candy. ?Over the course of my career,? he begins, ?I've covered a number of policy failures.?