At least that's how I imagine it. As displaced students return to the Big Easy, the 2008-2009 school year will prove to be mighty interesting. Since Katrina washed away the school system, New Orleans is in a unique situation: it gets to start from scratch.
I'm just going to assume that the last couple paragraphs of Jay Mathews's column today are tongue in cheek. He thinks that the word "paternalism" is loaded enough that it has a negative effect on the largely positive work of attitudinal schools like KIPP and its ilk. Fine.
The Education Olympics resume after a weekend hiatus--for some competitors, that is. Students from Finland and Hong Kong were spotted engaging in some last-minute cramming, while the Americans played Nintendo Wii. The outcome was predictable. Complete results at edolympics.net.
Jay Mathews thinks David Whitman's new book, released by Fordham on Friday, is "splendid," but he doesn't like the subtitle.
Introducing Monday's uber-wonk special: Tom Loveless vs. Gregory Camilli on high-achieving students in the era of NCLB! This one has it all: "straw man" accusations; differing interpretations of NAEP; and, rest assured, a happy ending on "common ground."
During Saturday's "Saddleback civil forum" with candidates Barack Obama and John McCain,
Augustine Romero defends the Tucson Unified School District's Mexican American/Raza Studies Department (read about it here), of which he is the senior director.
