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Chinese influence in U.S. schools
How do you feel about the government of China paying for American public schools to teach our kids Mandarin? And sending teachers from China to the U.S.
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Commentary
Chinese influence in U.S. schools
How do you feel about the government of China paying for American public schools to teach our kids Mandarin? And sending teachers from China to the U.S.
Commentary
Choice is winning
"Greg Anrig is smart, eloquent and likable, as was his dad, whose memory I cherish.
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Denial vs. paranoia with Common Core education standards
I deny that I’m in denial. But I don’t deny that Neal McCluskey is paranoid, along with Jay Greene and a few other ardent blogsters and op-edsters.
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Elegy on a lost cause
Ever since The Education Gadfly critically reviewed NYC Schools Under Bloomberg and Klein: What Parents, Teachers, and Policymakers Need to Know, we've been bombarded with messages from aggrieved contributors and editors of that 172-page volume (which you can find
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Evaluating teachers using value-added analysis
"Doesn't it make sense to link teacher evaluation and measures of student learning?" ask Pamela Tucker and James Strong in an article in the September 2001 issue of the American School Board Journal. Hardly a radical idea, though the NEA is officially opposed.
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Eventful news from AEI
Two fantastic events at the American Enterprise Institute are worth attending. On September 29th, from 12:00 p.m. to 2 p.m., Mark Bauerlein (author of The Dumbest Generation) and Neil Howe (author of Millennials Rising) will debate whether 20-somethings are dumbest or whether they're rising.
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Everyone needs a veep
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is searching for a vice president for quality and growth. It sounds like a fine opportunity, about which more information can be gleaned by clicking here.
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Everyone's a winner
When it comes to Race to the Top, most states have put on their Sunday best, bought new ties, and submitted their applications. Others refused or showed up in pajamas. Then there are those who didn’t even have the chance to participate.
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Everyone's replaceable
Mike is back but, alas, without any Argentinean headphones. This week, he and Rick discuss the troubles with teaching ELL students, the strength (or lack thereof) of federal levers in education, and KIPP's flirtation with turnaround schools in Philadelphia. Then Amber tells us about the effectiveness of educational software and Rate that Reform reviews Ebay basics.
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Excessive Gore
Coming off his recent Oscar-night adulation and triumphal return visit to Capitol Hill, the ever-expanding Al Gore has disclosed plans to start work on a new documentary film, this one about U.S. schools.
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Exercise your right to party
On May 5, we’ll be talking about school choice, a perfect opportunity for you to choose to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (not to mention National Charter School Week!).
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Extra! Extra! Read all about it! (Now drop it.)
Listen up, Ohio, especially all you Debbie Downers/Negative Nancys/Chicken Littles who have paid rapt attention to the ongoing public drama between outgoing Governor Strickland, and well … Governor Strickland’s office telephone….
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Facebook fitness
After finally wrapping up its infamous "Bong Hits 4 School Library Media Specialist" lawsuit, Iowa's Oskaloosa Community School District is taking pains to avoid any further litigation. So beginning last month, all its gym classes have been conducted virtually, through Facebook.
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Fat American thighs
This week, Mike and Rick chat about how to walk, chew gum, and teach science at the same time; the D.C. teachers' union's sea change; and the language of love. Paul Peterson (not the butterfly collector) grants us an interview, and Education News of the Weird is a distant hum. All in under 20 minutes-it's a celebration!
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Fear and loathing in Dayton
Editor's note: Shortly before his untimely death in February, we commissioned an article from Hunter S. Thompson, famed gonzo journalist and little-known charter school supporter. Unfortunately, all we received were notes written on cocktail napkin scraps. To the careful reader they revealed a certain theme, however, as well as Thompson's distinctive verve.
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Fearing failure, district decides not to try
The Rockgirt, Nebraska school system cancelled its school year, fearing potential violations of the No Child Left Behind act. "The federal government wants us to do everything we can to leave no child behind. Well, that's impossible, so we've decided to leave all children behind.
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Feds seek charter schools guru
Longtime director of the federal Charter Schools Program Dean Kern has moved to new intergalactic adventures. Are you interested in managing an important federal grant program that helps support charter schools in many states? Oversee six grant programs totaling nearly $250 million per year, as well as a robust portfolio of technical assistance, evaluation, and dissemination?
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Fickle on federalism
“[This plan] will fundamentally change the federal role in education. We will move from being a compliance monitor to being an engine for innovation.”--Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, March 17, 2010, before the House Education and Labor Committee
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Field Notes: Kafka, the sequel
I knew as soon as we had finished saying the Pledge that it could be an interesting school board meeting: there were only four members present, which (because we were a 7-member board) meant that we had to have unanimous consent to pass any resolution, including, as we would soon learn, convening a meeting. A motion to accept the agenda was made and seconded.
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Field notes: Through the special ed looking glass
While Mike was reporting that special education spending was “heading toward one-third” of all school outlays, I was listening to a report from our school district’s special education director who said she didn’t really know how much it cost
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Fight for children, get excellent benefits
Fight For Children seeks a director of external relations. The ideal candidate will have a bachelor's degree and eight to ten years of experience in development and communications, and will be expected to design an integrated development plan.
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Finding promising minds
Educational entrepreneurs take note: the Mind Trust is accepting applications for its Education Entrepreneur Fellowship. Fellows receive a full-time salary, benefits, office space, and customized training and support to turn a promising idea into a functioning educational venture with large-scale, transformational benefits for Indianapolis and beyond.
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Finn down under
Fordham's Checker Finn is featured in the latest issue of Policy Magazine, put out by Australia's Centre for Independent Studies. He's the subject of a meaty six-page interview that's worth checking out.
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Finn forum
Only yesterday, Fordham's Checker Finn chatted on-line about his new book, Troublemaker, and about innumerable topics of burning significance, with Ed Week readers. Check out the transcript here.
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Finn testifies on NCLB
Read Checker Finn's June 7 NCLB testimony before the House Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee here.
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Firefights in L.A.
Los Angeles Superintendent (and former Navy admiral) David Brewer III wrote in a recent Los Angeles Times op-ed that anyone reading about the city's schools probably thinks "not a single thing is going right and that nothing is happening to fix what's wrong." Some things are indeed going right, including charter schools, which are trying to gain a bigger role in the C
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Five minutes, Dad!
This week, Mike and Rick chirp about Fenty's haircut, strategies for good HOUSSEkeeping, and whether Bangalore is the new Cambridge. We've got an interview with Andy Smarick that will rock your socks, and News of the Weird isn't hurting anybody, man. If this 20-minute podcast is played in a forest, and nobody hears it, do bears have computers? Think about it.
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Flexing some union muscle. . .
There's nothing like a little old-fashioned blackmail. . . . The Wall Street Journal reports that education unions are increasingly turning to powerful allies in their fight against education privatization and outsourcing: public employee retirement funds and their billions of investment dollars.