The Answer Sheet - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post:
Jeb Bush: How shopping for milk is like choosing a school
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said pretty much what you’d expect him to say about education reform at the GOP convention — schools are failing and teachers unions are bad — but you might not have expected this as his pitch for school choice: Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Jeb Bush’s ed speech at GOP convention — text
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush addressed the Republican Convention on Thursday night, giving a speech about education reform that is likely to fuel talk that he could be Mitt Romney’s education secretary should Romney win the presidential election. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Surviving math class by doodling — video
Here’s an amusing video that offers a detailed lesson in how to properly doodle to get through math class if you don’t have a smart phone on which to play Angry Birds. The narrator says ...You spent all week memorizing how to graph parabolas. News flash. No one cares about parabolas, which is why half the class is playing Angry Birds under their desk. But since you don’t have a smart phone yet, you have to resort to a more noble and oudated form of boredom relief. That is doodling. And you’ve invented a game of your own, a doodle game that connects the dots in ways your math cla... more »
Who might be Romney’s education secretary?
So who might Mitt Romney pick as his education secretary should he win the November presidential election? Here’s a list of some of the probable candidates, based on the people that Romney chose to be on his Education Policy Advisory Group, or that his campaign has used as “surrogates” to speak on education, or that are beloved by Republicans as important education reformers. In the latter category would be people such as *Michelle Rhee *and former Florida governor *Jeb Bush *and even *Joel Klein*. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add t... more »
It’s not easy being Bill Nye the Science Guy
It’s not easy being Bill Nye the Science Guy. When Nye told an audience in Waco, Texas in 2006 that the moon reflects light from the sun — which, of course, it does — he was booed, the Waco Tribune reported. Why? He offended some folks who believed he was criticizing Genesis 1:16, which says that “God made two great lights,” the sun and the moon. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
GOP platform’s contempt for public education
It was obviously too difficult for the authors of the 2012 Republican Party platform to hide their contempt for public education, because it is evidentthroughout the section on schooling. What’s more, the education section is used to promote the party’s cultural values, going on at some length about support for abstinence education and its opposition to using federal funds in “mandatory or universal mental health, psychiatric, or socio-emotional screening program.” The message appears to be that schools should teach kids not to have sex but shouldn’t use federal funds to screen st... more »
What GOP platform says on education
Here’s what the 2012 Republican Party platform calls for regarding education: Education: A Chance for Every Child Parents are responsible for the education of their children. We do not believe in a one size fits all approach to education and support providing broad education choices to parents and children at the State and local level. Maintaining American preeminence requires a world-class system of education, with high standards, in which all students can reach their potential. Today’s education reform movement calls for accountability at every stage of schooling. It affirms h... more »
Weingarten: ‘Won’t Back Down’ union stereotypes worse than ‘Waiting for Superman’
Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst organization is playing a big role in screening the not-yet-released, anti-union film “Won’t Back Down” at the Republican Convention in Tampa, complete with a guest discussion panel that features former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
To: Sec. Duncan Re: What you said about New Orleans schools
To: Education Secretary Arne Duncan Re: What you said about New Orleans schools It was a pleasure talking with you on your recent visit to The Washington Post to speak with journalists from editorial and news about your efforts to reform schools. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
Why school lunch gets some kids sick
Two sixth-graders at a Minneapolis public school say kids in the district are being forced to gobble down food at lunch because they have only 15 minutes to eat — which in reality is more like 10 — and that schedules like this are making kids feel sick and contributing to the country’s obesity epidemic. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]
No, algebra isn’t necessary — and yes, STEM is overrated
This *was written by Roger C. Schank, a cognitive scientist, artificial intelligence theorist, and education reformer. He has taught at Stanford and Yale universities and is the John Evans Professor Emeritus of Computer Science, Psychology, and Education at Northwestern University. The former head of the Institute for the Learning Sciences, he is the author of “Teaching Minds: How Cognitive Science Can Save Our Schools.”* Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon]