Obama 1, McCain 0
Michael J. PetrilliOne of Senator John McCain's most attractive virtues is his willingness to stand on principle even in the face of adversity. He promoted comprehensive immigration reform even though his own party's base hated it. He continues to support the Iraq War even though the public wants the troops out.
David Hoff strikes back
Michael J. PetrilliNot happy that the McCain campaign is using an Ed Week article he wrote last year to demonstrate Obama's thin record on educatio
Gadfly's got game
That's right, it does. This week's issue is out. Don't miss Mike's feature article, which argues that we need fewer chunky teachers in our public schools.
Obese teachers: K-12 education's $2.5 billion problem
Michael J. PetrilliWondering why all that extra federal money for "teacher quality" just seems to get absorbed by the system? Maybe this is why.
Hat trick
Reports the BBC: "A university has asked students to refrain from throwing their mortar board hats in the air to celebrate graduation in case someone gets hurt." Smart. Hat-related injuries can and do occur.
On wimps
Books like this are fine, but it's incorrect (title of book in question notwithstanding) to see them as diagnosing a "national problem." The temptation exists, of course, to find in their stories reflections of a country in which high school students don't eat lunch (no time!), in which parents w
2008 Spelling Bee
It's on. And with ESPN360, you don't have to miss a moment. A moment like this. Update: Or this!
The gift that stopped giving
Coby LoupAs part of its effort to trim $200 million from its budget, the New York City Department of Ed will take down a notch its plan to expand screening programs for gifted and talented pupils.
Back at ya, Bauerlein
Coby LoupFrom Newsweek, this article provides a well-argued and sorely-needed counterpoint to Mark Bauerlein's recent youth-bashing book, The Dumbest Generation. Some choice bits:
Everyone's special
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.I'm not a special education (SPED) expert nor will I ever claim to be one. But I do know that it happens to have one of the most mobilized and vocal constituencies in education. And that's no surprise--understandably, parents of special needs children want their kids to receive the services that they need.