Tim Tebow’s unusual education
Tim Tebow’s life story is now familiar to football fans, who know this about the Denver Broncos quarterback: * He was born in the Philippines to Christian missionaries. * His mother was very ill while pregnant with him and was urged by doctors to have an abortion, but she refused. Read full article >>
Report: We still don’t know much about charter schools
A new study on the effectiveness of public charter schools concludes that most of the research on the subject has been conducted with methods that “tell us little about causal effects.” The study, just published in the journal Science, was conducted by two well-known researchers: Julian Betts, an educational economist at the University of California at San Diego and executive director of the San Diego Education Research Alliance, and Richard Atkinson, president emeritus of the University of California, former director of the National Science Foundation and professor emeritus of co... more »
Re that Mathews notion on evolution: Oy vey, Jay
My unrivaled colleague, Jay Mathews, wrote a column urging Republican Rick Santorum to stay in the presidential race so that he can promote his belief that high schools should discuss alternatives to evolutionary theory. Read full article >>
Another ailing school district may be forced to close
*Correction: An earlier version of this said the Highland Park School District was in Illinois. It is in Michigan and not the Highland Park in Illinois.* A Michigan newspaper reports that a cash infusion of $188,000 from the state is the only reason that the Highland Park School District can meet its payroll today. Read full article >>
The problem with math education
This* was written by Timothy S. Norfolk, who is the interim chair of the Department of Mathematics at The University of Akron, where he has been teaching since 1984.* By Timothy S. Norfolk While most of what I have to say below concentrates on mathematics (my area of specialty), much applies equally to the sciences and engineering. Read full article >>
U.S. Attorney activates ‘school corruption hotline’
The United States Attorney in the Western District of Pennsylvania has activated a hotline where citizens can report “suspected possible corruption in public education.” U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton wants citizens to report on potential abuses that, his office’s website says, can include “misuse of federal funds, spending irregularities, corruption in the contract and bidding process, theft and embezzlement of district funds, and bribery, kickbacks or other forms of illegal collusion with outside vendors.” Read full article >>
What U.S. can learn from Finland, Hong Kong on tests, equity
This *was written by Cathy N. Davidson, a Duke University professor and author of “Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn.” * * Correction: An earlier version of this said there were no private schools in Finland. There are a few. Read full article >>
Playing school with scantrons
This *was written by Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School in New York. She was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State. She is also one of the organizers of the New York principals’ revolt against evaluating teachers by student test scores.* Read full article >>
Pennsylvania school district on verge of collapse (and using free labor to stay open)
A tragic story is unfolding in Pennsylvania’s troubled Chester Upland School District, where a combination of drastic budget cuts, poor management, student attrition to charter schools and other factors have left the immediate future of the traditional public schools in doubt. Read full article >>
10 super geeky tips for 2012 (for educators, parents and kids)
This *was written by The Daring Librarian, otherwise known as Gwyneth Anne Jones, who works as a teacher-librarian in Laurel, Md., and who writes The Daring Librarian blog. She was named a “mover and shaker” of 2011 by the Library Journal, and is on the board of directors of the International Society for Technology in Education. A version of this post appeared on her blog.* Read full article >>
What’s wrong with N.J. charter school policy
*This speech, given recently at a protest in Maplewood, N.J., against the state’s charter school policy, was delivered by Stan Karp, who taught English and journalism in Paterson for 30 years. He is now the director of the Secondary Reform Project for New Jersey’s Education Law Center and an editor of Rethinking Schools magazine.* Read full article >>
Ravitch: No Child Left Behind and the damage done
This *was written by education historian Diane Ravitch for her Bridging Differences blog, which she co-authors with Deborah Meier on the Education Week website. Ravitch and Meier exchange letters about what matters most in education. Ravitch, a research professor at New York University, is the author of the bestselling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” an important critique of the flaws in the modern school reform movement that she just updated.* Read full article >>
The Answer Sheet - 3 days ago
The bottom line on the $7.2 million house for UMD president
The University of Maryland at College Park is about to rip down the house that is intended for its president and erect a $7.2 million “University House” to replace it. The old house, among other problems is filled with asbestos and is not fully accessible for the disabled. And, not unimportant in this context, it has long been deemed too small for the fund-raising duties of the modern college president. Read full article >>
Virginia governor pushes questionable ed reforms
You’ve got to hand it to Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell. He knows how to jump on a bandwagon and firmly stay the course. In 2011 McDonnell showed himself to be a strong supporter of business-driven school reform favored by tea party-aligned governors with a merit pay plan for educators. Now he has furthered that reform agenda with some new K-12 initiatives that he just announced as his education legislative priorities for 2012. Read full article >>
What’s missing from education reform debate
This *was written by Mark Naison, professor of African and African American Studies at Fordham University in New York and chair of the department of African and African-American Studies. He is also co-director of the Urban Studies Program, African-American History 20th Century. This first appeared on the blog With A Brooklyn Accent. * Read full article >>
Five points from ‘slavery math problems’
This was *written by Christopher Emdin, assistant professor of science education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is also director of Secondary School Initiatives at the college’s Urban Science Education Center. A version of this was published on Huffington Post.* Read full article >>
Mandated community service: Risks and potential
This *was written by Alfie Kohn, the author of 12 books about education and human behavior, including “The Schools Our Children Deserve,” “The Homework Myth,” and the newly published“Feel-Bad Education . . . And Other Contrarian Essays on Children & Schooling.” He lives (actually) in the Boston area and (virtually) at www.alfiekohn.org. * *. Read full article >>
Putting New York’s testing program on trial
This was* written by Fred Smith, a retired New York City Board of Education senior analyst who worked for the city public school system in test research and development. In this post he writes about New York state’s standardized testing program for students. Though his comments are specific to New York, the same types of problems are prevalent in other states as well.* * Read full article >>
Slaves used as part of 3rd grade math questions
What would you do if your elementary school child came home with a worksheet that had questions such as these: * --“Each tree had 56 oranges. If 8 slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?”* Read full article >>