Academic self-delusion
Columbia University president Lee Bollinger is full of folly. First, he offered the world a troubling vision of the future of journalism schools that would render them more like ed schools.
Columbia University president Lee Bollinger is full of folly. First, he offered the world a troubling vision of the future of journalism schools that would render them more like ed schools.
Social studies teachers across the country routinely try to teach their students "what things were like" at particular times and places in history. Many such lessons, however, are a waste of time.
When New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg won control over the city's long beleaguered school system, we were cautiously optimistic that this move might be the long-overdue change in governance that could help turn Gotham's failing schools around.
Two examples this week of why injecting competition into the system works. In Minneapolis, word comes that the local district has lost almost 5,500 students in the past five years, mostly to charter schools and suburban schools through open enrollment plans. In response, district leaders say they are looking into making their schools more responsive to the needs and wants of parents.