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Can you be specific, Eduwonk Andy?
Eduwonk returned from a week's vacation to find our complaint in Gadfly that he was
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Off task
That Miami-Dade is considering convening a task force to investigate the testing mania that has reportedly caused some students to be hospitalized illustrates how little trust district officials often place in their principals. School Board member Solomon Stinson so noted.
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Rising 16-year-old ego levels
Today, on Morning Edition, NPR profiled 16-year-old Kristen Byrnes, who doesn't believe that global warming is caused by humans. Her website ("the official site of the Kristen Byrnes Science Foundation") is available here.
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Degrees of absurdity
Apparently, one can earn a degree in anything. Seriously, it's not really better than it sounds.
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Dismal results
It's dubbed "the dismal science" because economics offers conclusions that may "work," but which often ignore ethical and moral considerations. Today at Marginal Revolution, economist Alex Tabarrok makes the dismal case that we should pay organ donors for their, you know, organs.
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Even better than having primary votes counted
Florida has joined Achieve's American Diploma Project Network. The press release notes that Florida Governor Charlie Crist made the decision after chit-chatting with Minnesota's governor, Tim Pawlenty.
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Hard to believe*
"Per pupil spending down " * Until you realize the article's about charter schools.
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When pupils attack
Apparently, it's the teacher's fault when students assault them in the classroom--that's how it is, at least, at Reginald F. Lewis High School in Baltimore.
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Who's the boss?
Fordham has argued that principals need to function more like CEOs, handling not just a school's academic mission but also the many complexities of running a small organization.
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The myth of Barcroft Elementary
Over the weekend, the Washington Post Magazine ran a provocative piece by Jay Mathews about an excellent elementary school in Northern Virginia that has failed to make "adequate yearly progress"
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Let them eat gruel?
Schools are turning to unhealthier cafeteria-food options because of rising food prices, reports the Washington Post. Washington, D.C., Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee seems to have the right idea: allow private contractors to supply lunches.
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Time for Liam to eat some humble pie
Just last week, Liam expressed skepticism about a scrupulous research study that found that serving kids healthier food and drink led to fewer of them getting fat:
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Is it low-fat humble pie?
Mike wants me to eat humble pie. I'd like??to, but his arguments haven't convinced me. He writes: In a field where few research studies ever make any conclusions with real-world value, this particular study deserves praise, not pique.
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"Christian kids are doing it. Jewish kids are doing it."
I thought this stuff only happened in American Pie movies.
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Dyscalculia
I had??never heard of it.??But I predict a pandemic as soon as it makes the New York Times style section.
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No happy talk in the hinterlands
As a national education player, the American Federation of Teachers has been careful not to bash No Child Left Behind too overtly. It even calls its NCLB site "Let's Get It Right" (not, say, "Throw NCLB Under the Bus").
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Help wanted
The logistical problems with the "Academic Freedom Act," which is traipsing merrily through the Florida legislature, are legion. The pope's U.S.
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Mao was 30 percent wrong
In Sunday's New York Times, Matthew Forney, a former Beijing bureau chief for Time, seeks to correct what he thinks may be a popularly-held hunch that China's growing class of educated urbanites will soon pressure the Chinese government to reform.
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Vouching for Wikipedia
National Review's John J. Miller recently wrote a portion of our Catholic schools report.
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Johnny-come-lately
For months we've observed John McCain's general lack of interest in education. That appears to be starting to change.
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Belt tightening
In Florida, where a state income tax is verboten, the housing crisis has had a particularly damaging effect on state revenues. Education is being hit hard. Piling on, today the St. Petersburg Times reports that "lackluster lottery sales" will hurt school budgets even more.
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Urban catholic schools face a crisis, not extinction
There's more coverage of Fordham's Catholic schools report today, including a front-page
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Priority number 11
No, it's not good that the "financial know-how" of American high school seniors has "gone from bad to worse." Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is fired up about it:
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Fifth-grade economists
Mike is right: financial literacy is important, but schools can't teach everything. In fact, we wrote as much several months ago in The Gadfly.
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Back to the Bedouins
This week's Economist contains a special report on "digital nomadism," the ability to work, and to connect to family or friends, from just about anywhere.
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Best ed headline of the day
"Carney releases education plan for Del." Step right up and get??your new??education plan! Public schools, private schools--everyone's a winner!