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One question for Arne Duncan (answer provided too!)
The New America Foundation beat me to the punch with its "20 Questions for the Secretary-Designate." They are pretty good, if somewhat leading.
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No news is good news
As Amy implies below, Arne Duncan's Senate confirmation hearing was by all accounts a smashing success-i
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What to expect from Arne Duncan confirmation hearing
In case you'd like to go to the movies today, take a cooking class, get some exercise,??or simply enjoy a long nap, here's what we can expect from the Arne Duncan confirmation hearing.
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Margaret to Arne: stand strong
Spellings offered this advice to Duncan in this morning's Washington Post:??
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Re: Can our schools afford a "haircut"?
Should the federal government bail-out state education budgets? Or would budget cuts be good for schools? The debate goes on.
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Checker on NBC Nightly News
Checker appeared on NBC Nightly News Jan. 9 to share his thoughts on education reform and President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus package.
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The national education standards drumbeat gets louder
Yesterday's Education Daily carried the headline, "Experts: Uniform standards could gain ground in 2009." Consider this quote from uber-pundit Jack Jennings of the Center on Education Policy: "Two years ago, I wouldn't have given nation??al standards much of a chance at all, but I think the atmosphere is changing.
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Maybe she just really needed a drink...
I know driving a school bus can be tough. Screaming kids, early hours, perhaps an empty stomach... unfortunately, none of that means one should make a stop at the liquor store to buy some booze. Guess this school bus driver from Billings, Montana totally missed that memo.
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Reading between the lines
If any American is in any way skeptical of placing education atop the nation's urgent priority list, they should read this article by USA Today's Greg Toppo.
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Can our schools afford a "haircut"?
Not surprisingly, our editorial arguing that budget cuts are good for schools has stirred plenty of commen
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The 'Fly is back
It was quite a dry spell, wasn't it? Hopefully the holidays distracted you in your Gadfly-less state of depression. We're back and better than ever for 2009.
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Stimulating business as usual in school systems?
The Obama economic stimulus plan comes under a bit of fire in this bold op-ed by Checker, Mike and Rick (Hess), posted on National Review Online.
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Budget cuts are good for schools
That's what I would have titled this new National Review Online piece penned by me, Checker, and Rick Hess.
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Quality does count in 2009: a look at ELL students
A guest post from a Fordham Research Intern, Hannah Miller. Hannah attended the Quality Counts release event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC yesterday.?? Education Week and Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) made a smart choice when deciding the order of events for the release of their 13th annual education report card.
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New Year, new buzz word
Gadfly has previously noted the flaws and weaknesses inherent in "21st Century Skills" (here, here and here, for example) and
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Nitwit Brits
If it weren't enough that the "21st century skills" crowd is bent on distracting American educators, they've made a splash on the other side of the pond, too. Faced with complaints that the British primary school curriculum is too traditional (20th century if you will), the government has decided to give it a facelift.
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Classroom to nowhere
Education, welcome to the party; Wall Street is over by the bar and Detroit is shaking it on the dance floor. Indeed, with Uncle Sam handing out money like education professors hand out As, it was only a matter of time before schools got in line for a piece of the pie.
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Cursing cursive
While we're all in a lather over 21st century skills, the elegant, practical skill known as cursive handwriting appears to be going the way of the horse-and-buggy. The problem is two-fold. First, the advent of technology and its requirements--typing and text messaging--means students are using pen and paper much less than in days of old (you know, the 1980s).
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Why Obama's stimulus plan may retard education reform
As President-Elect Barack Obama and his Congressional allies shape--and debate--their big economic-stimulus package, governors are pleading with them to include hundreds of billions for state governments that face whopping deficits.
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Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring US Students Receive a World Class Education
National Governors Association, Council of Chief State School Officers, and AchieveDecember 2008
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Rethinking Human Capital in Education: Singapore As A Model for Teacher Development
Susan SclafaniEducation and Society Program, The Aspen Institute2008
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