Three core values of science, engineering and how ed reform contradicts them - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Three core values of science, engineering and how ed reform contradicts them - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Three core values of science, engineering and how ed reform contradicts them

By Valerie Strauss

This was written by Arthur H. Camins, director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ.

By Arthur H. Camins

President Obama and countless reports all says that improving scienceand engineering literacy and ensuring a next generation of U.S. scientists and engineers are vital to our future. With the notable exceptions of creationists and climate change deniers, there is little opposition to making this an educational priority. However, current education policies at the state and federal levels contradict the core values of science and engineering are therefore likely to inhibit rather than catalyze progress.

Three values are at the heart of the practice of science and engineering and are central to discovery and innovation: searching for uncertainty, 

Why teachers quit — and why we can’t fire our way to excellence

by Valerie Strauss

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 the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media.
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On teachers unions and sexual predators

by Valerie Strauss

Under the headline “Campbell Brown: Teachers Unions Go to Bat for Sexual Predators,” the former NBC and CNN reporter writes a tale in The Wall Street Journal about teachers unions that are so darn awful, she says, that they protect members who are sexual predators.
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Jindal’s voucher program called ‘bad for religious freedom’ by Interfaith Alliance

by Valerie Strauss

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is getting new pushback on his school voucher program, which is now the biggest in the country.
Opposition is coming from the Interfaith Alliance, a national, nonpartisan grassroots and educational organization based in Washington that has 185,000 members nationwide made up of 75 faith traditions as well as those of no faith tradition.
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