Education News Nuggets
A chicken in every pot and a playground in every school. Along with healthy lunches, we can go a long way toward improving schools.
Quotable & Notable
?No one in the mainstream of the education debate wants segregated schools. But while such schools are not an immutable condition, they are an unfortunate fact of life.'' Andrew J. Rotherham, Co-Founder and Partner, Bellwether Education
ED bullies schools over bullying
A week before the mid-term elections, Arne Duncan and his team have taken a courageous stand: they're against bullying children. ?Bullying is a problem that shouldn't exist,?
Gadfly while it's hot!
We've got a great issue of the Education Gadfly for you this week. To whet the appetite, here's a smattering of the articles and analyses that you'll find within its wings:
Character programs lack social intelligence
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Review: Efficacy of Schoolwide Programs to Promote Social and Character Development and Reduce Problem Behavior in Elementary School Children
The welcome earthquake
Chester E. Finn, Jr.If a recent spate of Wall Street Journal articles is any clue, a week before the election we could be sitting on a tectonic fault with the potential to turn into an education earthquake?and that might actually be a blessing. It has to do with teachers, their unions, and U.S. politics?all of which would benefit from some profound movement.
To Close or Not to Close? Not a Question in Gotham
Peter MeyerIf you're following the school closure / school turnaround debate, the story in today's NY Times ? ?In Sharp Rise, 47 City Schools May Close Over Performance? ? will offer some insights, if not a great deal of , er, closure.
Trick or Treat
Peter MeyerListen to a good radio debate between Michael Kirst and William Evers (by way of Andy Rotherham) on education and the California gubernatorial race.? It's money and more.
STEM the Tide of Distractions
Peter MeyerWhile our education system obsesses over the latest socio-pathological?disease (e.g. bullying) or vacuous phrase (e.g. 21st century skills),? more of the rest of the world seems to be keeping its eyes on the education prize.?
NCLB's teeth now sinking into high-performers
Emmy L. PartinOn Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reported that more than half of the state's schools failed to meet federal testing targets.?? This isn't a widespread indictment of the performance of public schools, however.??