Some interesting news this week. Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, is the new chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. The post had been vacant due to the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy. Read more about it here.
The Chicago Public Schools see approximately 30 students killed and many more involved in some kind of school violence each year; that's why they've embarked on a $30 million initiative to lower those numbers, particularly the toll of fatalities.
Where does "compassionate conservatism" fit into the political conversation? Steven Teles explains its intellectual and political past, present, and future in this piece for National Affairs, a promising new policy journal. The idea is much misunderstood, possibly because of its association with Bush 43, but it lurks behind many areas of domestic policy.
Woe to British teachers imbibing alcohol in their downtime. The General Teacher Council, a government regulatory body for state-school (in American-speak, public-school) teachers, has approved a new code of conduct for educators. Translation? No boozing and partying on the weekends.
National Bureau of Economic Research (Working Paper Series) Scott Imberman, Adriana Kugler, and Bruce Sacerdote August 2009
This week, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute (along with co-publisher, Brookings Institution Press) released From Schoolhouse to Courthouse: The Judiciary's Role in American Education, a timely and important book that examines the role of the courts in modern American K-12 education.
Center on Reinventing Public EducationRobin J. Lake & Paul T. HillAugust 2009
Can dangerous schools be great schools? According to New York City's annual progress reports, the answer is yes. Not only did an astounding 97 percent of the Big Apple's schools receive A or B ratings on their 2008-2009 report cards, six of them also appear on the state's "most violent" list. Go figure.
When it comes to charter schools, Albany, New York is one heck of a role model. It's not just that that small city (not quite 100,000 people) has eight top notch charters; it's also that those schools serve about a quarter of the city's students and serve them well-earning top marks on state assessments, far superior to those of district schools enrolling similar youngsters.
There's a lot to chew over in yesterday's New York Times article by Sam Dillon, "Schools Aided by Stimulus Money Still Facing Cuts," (including the implications for our home st
By this point everyone has weighed in on President Obama's speech to America's students (the Fordham team included; see????here, here,
Ohioans of every background and political inclination agree that our state needs a system of public education that attains three critical goals: 1) maximizes the talent of every child; 2) is as strong as any in the world in overall achievement; and 3) closes the persistent performance gaps between rich and poor, black and white and brown.
From Schoolhouse to Courthouse: The Judiciary's Role in American Education examines the role of the courts in modern American K-12 education. From race to speech, from religion to school funding, few aspects of education policy have escaped the courtroom. In this book, experts describe just what the impact of judicial involvement has been. Published jointly by Fordham and Brookings Institution Press.
Ok, so I just finished listening to President Obama's address to the nation's schoolchildren and found it--despite all of the??hoopla--to be pretty harmless. Mind you, I did not take the time to glance at the accompanying lesson plans (Rick did, though).
Fordham's Andy Smarick will be a guest this morning, from 10am to 11am (EST), on Minnesota Public Radio. He'll be discussing President Obama's speech to America's students. Ed Week's Dakarai Aarons is scheduled to be a guest on the show as well.
It's here! From Schoolhouse to Courthouse is a new book from Brookings Institution Press and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. It examines the role of the courts in modern American K-12 education - from race to speech, from religion to school funding, from discipline to special education. It's all in there.
The worst education idea of the year turns out not to be a new idea at all. "Unschooling" has roots in Rousseau, in Summerhill, in John Holt and Ivan Illich and any number of other progressive/romantic/libertarian nihilists.
Quotable: "It's unfair to require a public school, regardless what kind, to have to rely only on philanthropy or alternative financing to create a building that is adequate for kids."-Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform
As Amy noted, the upcoming White House speech to America's students has caused quite a furor. ????Two of the harder hitting (but still reasonable) criticisms can be found here and here.
Amy wrote yesterday of the hubbub surrounding President Obama's back-to-school speech on September 8. Out of all the ways Obama could use his bully pulpit, telling kids to stay in school and work hard is one of the best.
On Monday, when the full Obama back-to-school speech is posted in advance on whitehouse.gov. I think this whole discussion has gotten out of control, but hey it's Friday so here's one more conspiracy theory to stir this already-boiling pot: Releasing the speech on a holiday? Not a coincidence...
Quotable: "The thing that concerned me most about it was it seemed like a direct channel from the president of the United States into the classroom, to my child...I don't want our schools turned over to some socialist movement."-??Brett Curtiss, parent
Are you young? Involved in education? A professional? That makes you a Young Education Professional (YEP)! And you're invited to an event next week, featuring a few of us middle-aged education professionals; information below. WHAT: The Original YEP Generation Panel: Ten Years Later
Though Flypaper is my beloved blogging home and gets all of my music-related musings, I write about the education components of the stimulus over at AEI's
Obama's back-to-school speech set for Tuesday is causing quite the hub-bub!
Bart Sutherin is a total helicopter parent. Really. He flew his son, ninth grader Joseph Sutherin, to his first day of school this year in a rented bird. Unfortunately, neither Joseph nor his father thought to alert school district officials or the local sheriff's office to their plan. And the unexpected chopper was reported to the FAA, which is now investigating the incident.
In the world of education policy and education reform, recent months have seen the relationship between government and private philanthropy grow entirely too intimate.
As the school year starts, many an urban district has been disappointed by slack first-day enrollments.
While many school districts have experienced temporary state takeover--Philadelphia, Chicago, and Cleveland come to mind--New Orleans may be the first to permanently remain under state control.
