The Big Education Fight In The Democratic Party
THIS WEEK: Dropout Rates Fall … Schools Without High-Speed Internet … Low Pay For Expensive Childcare … Power Of College Athletes … Cheating In Online Classes
TOP STORY
The Big Education Fight In The Democratic Party
By Jeff Bryant
“The ‘big economic fight’ in the Democratic Party that news outlets are reporting isn’t confined to economics … Just as corporate-friendly policies for the economy ‘fared poorly, both as policy and as politics’ … they were a bust on all fronts for education too … The conventional wisdom supporting the market competition of charter schools is being questioned as well, this time from the most unlikely source – presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.”
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NEWS AND VIEWS
The Nation’s High School Dropout Rate Has Fallen, Study Says
The Washington Post
“The U.S. high school dropout rate has fallen in recent years, with the number of dropouts declining from 1 million in 2008 to about 750,000 in 2012 … The number of ‘dropout factories’ – high schools in which fewer than 60% of freshmen graduate in four years – declined significantly … The new dropout data is not surprising because the nation’s high school graduation rate has been steadily rising … But there are many reasons that graduation rates can rise, and not all of them have to do with stronger schools preparing more students for life after high school.”
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Fast, Affordable Internet Remains Challenge For Many Schools, Survey Finds
Education Week
“Affordable Internet service and cost-effective access to related infrastructure remain major hurdles for schools … Money is still seen as the biggest barrier to robust school connectivity: 46% of survey respondents identified the cost of monthly recurring charges as their biggest problem, followed by 34% of who cited high upfront capital costs … The country’s rural schools continue to be at a severe disadvantage when it comes to affordable connectivity… Three-fourths of respondents said their districts do not provide any off-campus services to provide connectivity to students.”
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Child Care Workers Are Paid Less Than Dog Walkers Or Janitors
Vox
“Child care workers – including people who care for children in day care centers, in preschools, as nannies, through religious organizations, and in other facilities – are paid almost 40% less than all other workers … Child care workers make 23% less than other workers who are similar to them but work in other industries. Child care workers are also more than twice as likely to live in poverty, and very few receive benefits like health insurance. More than one-third of them live at twice the poverty level or below … If you work in child care and have a bachelor’s degree, you will be rewarded with about a 40% smaller paycheck than your peers in other fields get … An astonishing 95% of child care workers are women … In most states, child care is more expensive than college.”
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Upheaval In Missouri Highlights Football Players’ Power
The Chronicle Of Higher Education
“On Saturday, black football players at the University of Missouri announced that they were boycotting practice and even a crucial game if the system’s president, Timothy M. Wolfe, didn’t resign over his response to racist incidents … Monday morning, Mr. Wolfe announced his resignation … The players’ involvement made the story national news. And the outcome is a stark example of the power that athletes can have when they unify behind a broad cause … The question for many now is whether athletes at other colleges can and will use the example at Missouri as inspiration to start protests on their own campuses, and not just on broad social injustice but also to improve conditions for the players themselves.”
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Cheating In Online Classes Is Now Big Business
The Atlantic
“Today, entrepreneurs and freelancers openly advertise services designed to help students cheat their online educations. These digital cheaters for hire will even assume students’ identities and take entire online classes in their place … One of these companies – the aptly named No Need to Study … guarantee[s] … a B or better … Online education is already poised to be a $100 billion global industry. But it could be even bigger if online degrees earn more clout, especially with employers … The growth in online-degree credibility is already happening as more and more colleges move classes and degree programs online … It’s conceivable that someone could pay an extra $1,000 a class – about $40,000 for an entire 120-credit bachelor’s degree – to simply hire someone to earn the degree for them.”
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