Naming names
The Jay Mathews contest to name the high-flying schools in David Whitman's book has come to a close. The winner?
The Jay Mathews contest to name the high-flying schools in David Whitman's book has come to a close. The winner?
I just got off the phone with a reporter wanting names of the primary contenders for the Secretary of Education spot if either Barack Obama or John McCain wins in November. Here are my thoughts: John McCain
This week's Gadfly is up. In the editorial slot, on this day of reflection, we present excerpts from our 2003 report, Terrorists, Despots, and Democracy: What Our Children Need to Know. You'll find offerings from Richard Rodriguez and William J.
Remember when Ed in '08 hired Kanye West to say that education needs to be a top priority?
It's often the case that this blog inspires the most audience participation (via comments) on issues directly relative to teachers.
Liam takes to the pages of the Washington Times to explain why paying children cash to behave in school is nothing more than bribery. In a vegetable inspired analogy, he explains:
On this day of reflection we're reminded of the importance of educating American students about their great country and the threats to it.
Cecilia Rouse and Lisa BarrowAugust 2008
Barack Obama has long nurtured an interest in education, reports Sam Dillon in Wednesday's New York Times. Much of it grew out of his work with school-reform personalities (including the infamous Bill Ayers) and efforts in the Windy City.
Got the post-convention blues? Miss the fiery speeches, carefully chosen interlude music, and confetti? The Democratic and Republican education platforms are no spit-licked cowlick, sure, but reading them may nonetheless help ease your angst. Or your insomnia.
A cautionary tale emerges from Australia for those who, like many of Gadfly's best friends, favor national standards and curricula. It seems that a former Communist Party member has been appointed to oversee development of a history lesson plan for the entire nation.
Near Dayton on Tuesday, Senator Barack Obama spoke at some length about public schools and his plans to improve them. Amongst his dozen or so proposals for new federal programs and initiatives, he inserted a call to double funding for charter schools. "Charter schools that are successful will get the support they need to grow; charters that aren't will get shut down," he said.
"Indiana girl clocked at 118 m.p.h. held on DUI" She allegedly told cops she was late for school.
"No Child Left Behind Award-Winning Teacher Arrested on Allegations of Student Sex Abuse"
I'm in Scottsdale, Arizona today (projected high: 99 degrees) for an education reform summit hosted by the State Policy Network, the Alliance for School Choice, and the Friedman Foundation.
The Heritage Foundation's Dan Lips writes today, on National Review Online (where "Education Week" continues), more about the Republican eschewal of No Child Left Behind.
Greg Forster thinks (at least I think he thinks) that the difference between rewards and bribes is purely semantic. But semantic distinctions are born to relate and describe real distinctions and degrees, no? Otherwise, we'd have but one word (briwards, maybe) for the concept in question.
Today's much ballyhooed Obama education speech (delivered near my hometown of Dayton) and accompanying "fact sheet" contained more than a few good ideas about where U.S. education should go in the years ahead. But as an exercise in specifying what would actually happen??to U.S.
A post from guest blogger and Fordham writer and researcher??Emmy Partin.??
The Obama campaign has released a new advertisement??that hits John McCain on education:
Checker goes in search of those elusive words, No Child Left Behind, and returns empty-handed.
Earlier, Barack Obama was talking about schools??in Dayton, Ohio. (He??did so in??Dayton because it's Fordham's hometown, no doubt.) AP and Campaign K-12 cover his speech.
Joanne Jacobs??takes aim at the disparities between charter and traditional public school performance standards. She writes,
Did you routinely win the estimate-the-weight-of-a-pumpkin contests at the state fair? Always know how to sneak on an already too crowded train? You may be stupendous at math!
My doubts were unfounded. Kathy Cox, the state superintendent of Georgia, is officially smarter than a fifth grader and is $1 million richer to prove it. The money will go to three special needs schools in her home state.
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