Today Roy Romer--formerly governor of Colorado and superintendent of Los Angeles Public Schools, and currently chairman of the Ed in '08 campaign--joins us to discuss Team USA's heretofore dismal performance in the 2008 Education Olympics.
Politico is reporting that Senator McCain will announce his vice presidential pick on August 29th in Dayton, Ohio (Fordham's hometown). We can't help but wonder whether that means that McCain is going with an Ohioan.
At least that's how I imagine it. As displaced students return to the Big Easy, the 2008-2009 school year will prove to be mighty interesting. Since Katrina washed away the school system, New Orleans is in a unique situation: it gets to start from scratch.
I'm just going to assume that the last couple paragraphs of Jay Mathews's column today are tongue in cheek. He thinks that the word "paternalism" is loaded enough that it has a negative effect on the largely positive work of attitudinal schools like KIPP and its ilk. Fine.
The Education Olympics resume after a weekend hiatus--for some competitors, that is. Students from Finland and Hong Kong were spotted engaging in some last-minute cramming, while the Americans played Nintendo Wii. The outcome was predictable. Complete results at edolympics.net.
Jay Mathews thinks David Whitman's new book, released by Fordham on Friday, is "splendid," but he doesn't like the subtitle.
Introducing Monday's uber-wonk special: Tom Loveless vs. Gregory Camilli on high-achieving students in the era of NCLB! This one has it all: "straw man" accusations; differing interpretations of NAEP; and, rest assured, a happy ending on "common ground."
During Saturday's "Saddleback civil forum" with candidates Barack Obama and John McCain,
Augustine Romero defends the Tucson Unified School District's Mexican American/Raza Studies Department (read about it here), of which he is the senior director.
The most exciting innovation in education policy in the last decade is the emergence of highly effective schools in our nation's inner cities, schools where disadvantaged teens make big gains in academic achievement. In this book, David Whitman takes readers inside six of these secondary schools—many of them charter schools—and reveals the secret to their success: They are paternalistic.
Not content to have already won four Education Olympics medals, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei according to the Chinese government) is calling for an overhaul of its secondary education system!
Another day, another stirring rendition of the Finnish national anthem, another taste of utter defeat for the Americans. Where did the United States go wrong? Education Olympics Today tries to answer that question in an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW. Today, the United States Education Olympics Committee's very own Deep Throat speaks out.
Today Fordham proudly releases David Whitman's latest book, Sweati
Much of the disagreement caused by the use of the term paternalism in David Whitman's new book stems, I think, from a reticence to acknowledge reality.
Jay Greene, no lefty he, doesn't like the "paternalism" label either. He writes in an email:
Oh world, beware ye Finland's wrath! For fearless are their bosoms when A PISA test stands in their path In reading, science, or in math. Though sharpened are their Number Twos, Still sharper are their well-trained minds; Their foes they flummox and confuse As Ed Olympics gold accrues!
The insatiable Sol Stern is back with another broadside on the Bloomberg/Klein administration. This time he takes the Gotham group to task for poor decisions and faulty leadership on reading.
Summer is a glorious time, especially for students, who generally receive in June, July, and August a reprieve from schoolwork. For some high school pupils, though, the hotter months are a time to play academic catch-up.
Tomorrow, the Fordham Institute releases David Whitman's powerful new book,
Illinois State Senator James Meeks believes that the most efficacious way to eliminate funding disparities between Chicago's schools is to keep poor, black youngsters out of class. He wants such students in the city to boycott the first days of the 2008-2009 school year.
Summer's days wane, and you tire of beach reading. Not of reading on the beach, certainly, but of the candy-colored-covered offerings that comprise the genre. No more tales of Upper East Side ne'er-do-wells! You lust for data, for statistics, for meaningful numbers. And you shall have them.
