Who Gates is funding — the latest education grants
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation headquarters in Seattle
What/who in education has captured the interest of the powerful Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation these days? The following list of education-related grants — all awarded in November 2012 — show that MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are big with the foundation, and, of course, the foundation continues to pour millions into its initiative around teacher evaluation based in part on student standardized test scores. Here’s the list, assembled from the organization’s website:
Date: November 2012
Purpose: to inform state and local policies on teacher evaluation as a significant and valuable tool
Amount: $2,101,177
Term: 2 years
Topic: Advocacy & Public Policy
Grantee Location: Washington, District of Columbia
Date: November 2012
Purpose: to support entrepreneurs responding to school needs through innov
Fiscal cliff: Schools would be affected inequitably
It is not certain that President Obama and Congress will come to a budget deal before the end of the year to avert automatic budget cuts, including in education. Here Anne O'Brien, deputy director of the Learning First Alliance, explains what would happen to school districts if the country goes over what is being called "the fiscal cliff." The Learning First Alliance is a partnership of 16 education associations with more than 10 million members dedicated to improving student learning in America's public schools.
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'Is homework one of the bad guys?' -- The New Yorker
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'Is homework one of the bad guys?' -- The New Yorker
I recently wrote a post about French President Fran ois Hollande's proposal to ban homework in his country because he thinks it is unfair that some children get help from their parents and others don't. To Hollande, it's an equity issue. Here's part of Louis Menand's take on all of this in The New Yorker; you can read the whole thing here:
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