Is school reform making America less competitive?
Many school reformers say that their efforts are aimed at helping to improve schools so Americans can be competitive in the 21st Century economy. Here’s an argument saying that school reform is doing exactly the opposite, from David Bernstein, a nonprofit executive who lives in Gaithersburg, Md., and has two sons, ages 7 and 15.By David Bernstein
The standard line of the current education reform movement goes as follows: We have broken schools that are producing underachieving students, causing U.S. students to lose ground to young people in other industrialized nations, thereby rendering America less competitive.
In reality, we have more than one problem in education, and, in trying to repair one, we are exacerbating another. In so doing, we are unwittingly making the United States less, not
Is parent involvement in school really useful?
It’s one of those things in education that everybody takes for granted: parent involvement is good and necessary. But is it, and if so, what kind? Here is an analysis from Alfie Kohn, the author of 12 books about education …Continue reading →
The most expensive college alumni trips ever (probably)
I received in the mail a glossy travel brochure from the Northwestern Alumni Association with an offer to join a three-week trip to Africa and South America. The journey, called “Cape to Cape: An Expedition by Private Jet,” looked so … Continue reading →
