Best commencement speeches never given
Ever heard about the commencement address that Kurt Vonnegut gave at MIT in which he started out by saying, “Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ‘97: Wear sunscreen”? Actually, he never gave that speech. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
How standardized tests are affecting public schools
Florida’s standardized testing program is being misused and has “severely impacted student learning,” according to a new white paper that says that school districts in the state are required to give as many as 62 tests a year to students. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
How standardized tests are affecting public schools
Florida’s standardized testing program is being misused and has “severely impacted student learning,” according to a new white paper that says that school districts in the state are required to give as many as 62 tests a year to some students. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Why college tuitions are rising: A contrarian view
This *was written by Gary C. Fethke, professor and former dean of the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa, and Andrew J. Policano, dean of the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. Their new book, “Public No More: A New Path to Excellence for America’s Public Universities,” will be published this month by Stanford University Press*. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
What teachers don’t need (but are getting anyway)
This *was written by Paul Thomas, an associate professor of education at Furman University in South Carolina. A version of this first appeared on dailykos.com. * By Paul Thomas Just days ago, I completed my 28th year as a teacher — 18 as a high school teacher of English followed by 10 years as a professor of education. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
The (college) kids are alright
This *was written by Stephen Whittaker, a professor of rhetoric at The University of Scranton.* By Stephen E. Whittaker For three decades, I have taught rhetoric in a university honors program, so I see the academic cream of the crop. Many of my former students today are doctors, lawyers, educators, managers, editors and non-profit leaders, and when I see them at reunions, they strike me as articulate, humane and conscientious. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Meet the ‘worst’ 8th grade math teacher in NYC
This* was written by Aaron Pallas, professor of sociology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He writes the Sociological Eye on Education blog — where this post first appeared — for The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, non-partisan education-news outlet affiliated with theHechinger Institute on Education and the Media .* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
The Answer Sheet - 3 days ago
Why education inequality persists — and how to fix it
This *was written by John Jackson, president of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, and Pedro Noguera, the Peter L. Agnew professor of education at New York University.* By John H. Jackson and Pedro Noguera Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
A radical idea to transform what kids learn in school
This *was written by Marion Brady, veteran teacher, administrator, curriculum designer and author. * By Marion Brady Exxon-Mobil is airing education-reform television ads. In the one I’ve seen most often, implicit and explicit messages are simple and clear: (a) We live in a dangerous, technologically complex world. (b) Our lives, liberties, and happiness hinge on our ability to cope with that world. (c) Coping requires mastery of math. (d) On standardized math tests, America ranks 25th in the world. (e) Be ashamed and afraid. (f) Get behind corporate education reform efforts. Re... more »
2012-13 Common Application previews available
Previews of the 2012-13 Common Application for colleges and universities are now available online, meaning that today’s high school juniors can get an early start on their college admissions hunt. The official Common App won’t go live until August, meaning that students have to wait until then to actually send them to schools. But there is no law against starting to write essays and figure out the information needed to complete both the undergraduate application and the one for transfer students. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to ... more »
Obama’s Barnard commencement speech — text
President Obama delivered a commencement speech on Monday at Barnard College, a woman’s college in New York affiliated with Columbia University, where he attended and earned a bachelor’s degree after transferring from Occidental College. Obama’s sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, is an alumna of Barnard. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Romney’s Liberty U commencement speech — text
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney delivered the commencement speech at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., this past weekend. It was seen as an appeal to religious conservatives in the Republican Party who had opposed him earlier in the primary season. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Why we’re getting the homework question wrong
This *was written by Vicki Abeles, a mother, activist, and filmmaker. She directed the documentary “Race to Nowhere.”* By Vicki Abeles Hayley Eaton was always an academic achiever. Like many American teens, college was uppermost in her mind, as well as that of her parents and guidance counselors. She signed up for all the available AP and honors courses at her high school and performed well. She didn’t flinch whenhomework meant getting five or six hours of sleep a night before “waking up and repeating the cycle all over again.” Haley used to joke, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” One... more »
How to really appreciate teachers: Stop the stupid jokes — and more
This was* written by David B. Cohen, who has been a teacher since 1993 and is in his 13th year of teaching in California public high schools. He is National Board Certified, and is associate director of the Accomplished California Teachers group. *A version of this posts appeared on the groups InterACT blog. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Why Mother’s Day founder came to hate her creation (and more on moms, gifts, baby names etc.)
Your friendly Census Bureau has provided the following facts about mothers, children and there is some surprising history behind the annual ritual we call Mother’s Day (and that some people see as a gift from greeting card companies to themselves). Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
The fantasies driving school reform: A primer for education graduates
This is *the text of the commencement speech that Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, gave this past weekend at the Loyola University Chicago School of Education. The institute is a non-profit organization created in 1986 to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers. Rothstein is also the author of several books on education issues, and is senior fellow of the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at the University of California (Berkeley) School of Law. From 1... more »