Because I'm mostly home playing grandpa to a four-year-old this week (and doing my small part to assure that at least one small child is ready to succeed in school and beyond), this must be very brief. To my eye, Randi's explanation is clearer and better balanced than her speech was, maybe because it lacks some of the crowd-pleasing anti-NCLB rhetoric.
My longtime friend Checker Finn wrote a critique of Randi Weingarten's inaugural speech as President of the American Federation of Teachers. Checker chastised her for endorsing the idea that schools should help the neediest kids by offering health services and social services in addition to their customary academic fare.
Jonathan Alter offered Barack Obama, free of charge, some darn good advice in the July 21st Newsweek. Will the senator from Illinois take it? "Now Obama needs to embrace a Grand Education Bargain--much higher pay for teachers in exchange for much more accountability for performance in the classroom," writes Alter.
Christine Campbell and Brock J. GrubbNational Charter School Research ProjectJune 2008
Clifford AdelmanInstitute for Higher Education PolicyJuly 2008
Whew, that last post was a long one, and a bit heavy for these hot summer days. Nonetheless, sometimes we must wade into the tall grass, scythes in hand, and clear away the overgrowth. Bad arguments, like snakes, fester if such periodic maintenance is neglected.
When we at the office have our tippling time, Coby tends to hang back, uncomfortable, no doubt, with all the "these young kids" bashing that transpires.
I hope someone over at Education Sector gives a big hug to Kevin Carey, who is, judging by this post, in a foul mood, perhaps because he's trying unsuccessfully to make the case that one program at FSU (with which I was, as an undergraduate,??quite involved) successfully refutes affirmative action's pr
On tonight's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, John Merrow interviews George Parker, president of the Washington Teachers Union. Here's a teaser from the transcript:
Here's more on how Google, blogs, etc. supposedly turn our brains into grape Jell-o. (Previous post here.)
While America Aged: How Pension Debt Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways, Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as the Next Financial CrisisRoger LowensteinThe Penguin Press2008
The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation (our sister organization) is excited to be sponsoring two new charter schools opening in August in Columbus.
The Delaware-Union County Educational Service Center (ESC) and the ESC of Franklin County will merge in January (see here), creating a multi-county agency that will serve more than 11 percent of Ohio's public-school students.
I've gotten lots of feedback about my Education Gadfly column on extra-curricular activities; several friends have written gleefully to make the connection between my piece
I heard this morning on NPR that murmers have it that Senator John McCain, in order to distract from Senator Barack Obama's European travels, will perhaps announce this week??his running mate.
I wouldn't link so often to pieces on NRO if a) such pieces weren't so interesting and b) weren't so well written. Even that outlet's??more langorous languorous libations manage to refresh.
Over twenty years ago, Bill Bennett popularized the term, "The Education Blob." The Blob is the seemingly infinite ocean of alphabet-soup organizations that lobby on behalf of educators and in opposition to any reforms that might upset the status quo.
If you live in Seattle and you just can't seem to slake your thirst for discussions about school diversity, I'll be on the David Boze talk-radio show today, chatting about the direction that some districts (including, perhaps, Seattle) are taking their school-assignment plans. Much auditory??hand wringing and finger wagging??promises to??go down.
Japan's famously demanding education system figures significantly in Natsuo Kirino's new novel Real World, reviewed in Sunday's New York Times books section:
I'm back after a week's vacation (yes, I believe in extra-curricular activities in my own life too) and see that Flypaper has been buzzing along.
Here's a book review of Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches with Teach For America.
How we allowed ourselves to not immediately thank the anonymous blogger codenamed Eduwonkette for her delightful Photoshop work is beyond me. We were remiss.
The folks at Education Sector are really putting it all out there. First this and now this, from Andy Rotherham, who finds a host of problems with the NAACP convention speech and education platform of John McCain.
It's an absolutely beautiful, sunny day in downtown D.C. this Friday, but I can't seem to shake this article that I was reading this morning on the metro into work.
