Education news nuggets

Quotable & notable

?While they're adding teachers in places like South Korea, we're laying them off in droves. It's unfair to our kids.? * ? Barack Obama, President of the United States of America

You can't make this stuff up: Don't write anything down.

I was paging through a July issue of the New York State School Boards Association newspaper, On Board, and spotted an interesting comment from a superintendent, in a story by Lynne Lenhardt, Area 7 Director (has nothing to do with UFOs), who had sent

Education news nuggets

I wonder if the College of William and Mary hired Robert Gates because he is the only muggle that can drive a

Teaching about 9/11 in 2011

This week, teachers across the land are greeting students, assigning seats, issuing textbooks, struggling to remember everyone's name?and doing their best to teach one of the most challenging lessons of the year: the events of September 11, 2001, why they happened, why they matter, and why we are commemorating them.

Quotable & notable

?Perhaps the most profound element of our own culpability is that we have not effectively taught most students the use or value of critical though

Education news nuggets

From cradle to college, educators are growing their

A Bronx cheer for Bloomberg? A new poll is harsh

As the author of a generally upbeat 2008 report for Education Next on Michael Bloomberg and his takeover of New York City's schools in 2002, I felt a bit sad reading this morning's New York Times poll report showing that New Yorkers

Quotable & notable

?Parents want choices, and whether you are a parent in a low-income urban community or an affluent suburb, everyone wants the best possible education for their child.? * ? Alice Johnson Cain, Vice president of external relations at NAPCS

Another Times trio: mimicking charters, home ec revival, and Walt Gardner

The New York Times continues to provide a generous medley of education reporting, including, of course, from their controversial "On Education" columnist Michael Winerip.? Alas, Winerip is not among the three recent stories I want to highlight here:

Quotable & notable

?We can't sit idly by and let parents think that only the quality charter schools can educate poor kids well.'' * ?Terry Grier, Houston Superintendent

Wakeup call for the digital revolution

Yesterday, the New York Times began a series on technology and education (?Grading the Digital School?) on a decidedly downbeat note: the huge investment in digital technology ?

Education news nuggets

Do you think teacher/gang leader Steve Kinzey can get a

A review of the PARCC ELA content frameworks

A few weeks ago, the two groups charged with creating assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) released content specif

Get SMARTer: How well are SBAC's assessment plans aligned to the Common Core?

A few weeks ago, the two groups charged with creating assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)?the?SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the?Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)?released ?content speci

Republican presidential hopefuls quietly turning homeschool policy into a real issue?

????On his presidential campaign website, Ron Paul describes his policy positions on twelve different issues, including abortion, health care, and the economy. Education is not among the headings. But ?homeschooling? is.

Brooks: the vigorous virtues

In the middle of his column today, ?David Brooks drops in this little nugget: The United States became the wealthiest nation on earth primarily because Americans were the best educated. ?That advantage has entirely eroded over the past 30 years.

The great superintendent shuffle

Last year, Kansas City Superintendent John Covington made headlines when he stabilized the hemorrhaging Kansas City School District (which had lost 75 percent of its students in the past four decades) by shutting half of the district's schools, selling the central office building, and axing close to a quarter of the

Education news nuggets

Between the skilled, the superhuman, the

Quotable & notable

?We have no problem having [varsity sports teams] and lavishing attention on those kids.... But we don't do that for math ... literature ... science'' * ?Tom Loveless, Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution

Stop the Bullying: the New Jersey Crusade

This is not a good time to be taking on the anti-bullying legions, but Winnie Hu does a terrific job describing the newest runaway behavioral modification fad in schools in her front page New York Times story from the other day, Bullying Law Puts New Jersey Schools

Education news nuggets

Stephen Colbert's SuperPAC stands for

Jay Greene as Dr. Freud

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Image by Cesar Blanco"][/caption]

Quotable & notable

?In my opinion, I'm not some old fart who wants to defend mediocrity. I am a wise, handsome middle-aged dude who questions whether the change will improve things.'' * ?Michael Goldstein, Founder of MATCH Charter School

When public education's two Ps disagree

It's long been said that public education must achieve both public and private aims. The public, which foots the bill, has an interest in a well-educated populace. Parents?schools' primary clients?want a strong foundation for their own children. Much of the time these two interests are in perfect alignment. But what happens when they're not?

PODCAST: Bully for you, Margaret

Mike chats with John Bailey of Whiteboard Advisors about teacher evaluations in the Empire State, a new sheriff for the ?reform? district in the Wolverine State, and how boring bullying is to policy wonks, no matter the state. Amber finds a CCSS validation study lacking and Chris tells the government not to tread on his lemonade stand. [powerpress]