Haves vs. Have-Nots at Public Universities - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com

Haves vs. Have-Nots at Public Universities - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com:

"The University of California, which has already received $716 million in federal stimulus funds to offset a $1 billion budget gap, announced on Friday that it is raising student fees by 32 percent. That works out to about $2,500 per student a year.

Student protesters said that the higher costs will make it even harder for middle class and poor students to go to college, and will widen the education gap between the haves and the have-nots. But the students at the 10-campus California system are, on average, from far wealthier backgrounds than the average household in the state. This gap is pronounced at other prominent public universities, like Michigan and Virginia."

Earning College Credits by Taking Classes via YouTube | GOOD

Earning College Credits by Taking Classes via YouTube GOOD:

"Check it: A University of New South Wales science lecturer who goes by the name of Richard Buckland is broadcasting his classes on YouTube. But before you get all “this sort of thing isn’t new you blog-writing dolt” on me, read on. He’s using the videos as the basis for a class that advanced high schoolers can take to earn college credits."

Canadian parents win court battle against homework | World news | guardian.co.uk

Canadian parents win court battle against homework World news guardian.co.uk:

"Usually it is the children, not the parents, who are loath to spend their evenings practising spelling and learning times tables. But a Canadian couple have just won a legal battle to exempt their offspring from homework after successfully arguing there is no clear evidence it improves academic performance.

Shelli and Tom Milley, two lawyers from Calgary, Alberta, launched their highly unusual case after years of struggling to make their three reluctant children do school work out of the classroom."

Ra Ravishankar, "Orange Alert on Education"

Ra Ravishankar, "Orange Alert on Education"

Orange Alert on Education

by Ra Ravishankar

"I am somehow less concerned with the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than I am with the near certainty that people of equal talent lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." -- Stephen Jay Gould

I share the view espoused by Gould, which is why I am concerned about how the working poor in the U.S. are increasingly being priced out of higher education. As students protesting against cutbacks in education and increases in tuition have been saying all along, today's crisis reflects more the misplaced priorities of the ruling class than crude compulsions of economic conditions.

According to a recent report by the College Board, in-state tuition and fees at public four-year institutions have increased, on average, by 6.5% in 2009-10 relative to 2008-09. Among them, about 15% of students attend institutions where tuition and fees have increased by 12% or more, a hefty increase even in the best of times. However, even this pales in comparison with the 32% increase in tuition and fees approved last week by the Regents of the University of California.

A common rationale offered by college administrators is that their hands are tied: Federal funding of education has drastically reduced, and they have to somehow account for the shortfall. And they do have a point. As a percentage of total revenues of public degree-granting institutions, federal government outlays have fallen from 45.6% in 1980-81 to 29.5% in 2005-06. During the same period, the contribution of tuition and fees to total revenues has increased from 12.9% to 17.0%. In fact, tuition and fees at public four-year institutions have been increasing steadily since the late 1970s. From 1979 to 1989, they went up in inflation-adjusted dollars at an annual rate of 3%, increasing to 4% for the next decade and 5% for the current decade (with the rate of increase shooting up to 6.4% and 6.5% in the last two years).

Starting in the late 1970s, even as education costs were on the rise, wages went into decline. Inflation adjusted wages fell by about 12% from 1974 to 2004, and the educational burden became even more onerous for the poorest stratum of the working class. According to a report by the Southern Regional Education Board:

In 2006, the costs of a year at a public university, including room and board, were 8 percent of income for U.S. households in the top fifth of incomes -- 2 percentage points higher than in 1986. Costs for households in the middle fifth, however, were 29 percent of income -- 12 percentage points higher than in 1986. Costs for households in the lowest fifth were a staggering 125 percent of income -- 53 percentage points higher than in 1986.

Another study reports that "nearly one-half of all college-qualified low- and moderate-income high school graduates do not enroll in a four-year program of college study because of financial barriers." Those who do enroll graduate with ever-increasing debts. For instance, in 2007-08, about 61% of students in four-year undergraduate public schools graduated with some debt. The cumulative average of student debt in 2007-08 was $19,839, and it had been rising at a rate of 5.6% since 2003-04. More recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that federal student-loan disbursements in 2008-09 grew about 25% over the previous year to $75.1 billion. Such high levels of indebtedness followed by low wages after graduation could lead to default and financial ruin.

Meanwhile, college administrators continue to regurgitate the same old mantra of cost being no barrier for deserving students. University of California President Mark Yudof, for instance, has been talking up the Blue and Gold program as if it compensates for the 32% tuition hike. This program, he claims, guarantees that "no student with a family income below $60,000 would pay any fees, and this guarantee will continue in 2010." A factsheet on the UC website reveals the program to be much more modest with an annual budget of $3.1 million and only benefiting students receiving other financial aid. According to the UC-AFT, this program pays any difference between the cost of tuition and fees and any scholarship/grant that a student receives. The program also comes with a caveat: it will be evaluated annually "and its continuation beyond 2009-10 for both new and enrolled students will be subject to the University's determination of financial feasibility"!

Continue reading at:Ra Ravishankar, "Orange Alert on Education"

Create Petition | Race to Nowhere

Create Petition Race to Nowhere


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After signing, add your personal comments here.

we invite you to add your voice to a growing movement of educators, parents, medical professionals, policy makers and concerned citizens who want to see real change in education policies and practices.

too many students in all grades in the U.S. are under undue performance pressure and stress, get too little sleep and exercise, have too much unnecessary homework, and attend schools that are overly focused on standardized test scores, grades, and/or college admissions. Too many teachers are unable to engage in quality teaching because they have inadequate resources or are under too much pressure from federal, state, district and board mandates that force them to “teach to a test” as they attempt to “cover” an unrealistic volume of content.

as a result, students are no longer in classrooms that challenge them to solve complex problems and think creatively, to work collaboratively on projects, to explore issues with real-world connections, and to develop the real skills needed to succeed in the 21st century and the global economy. Many students are exhausted, anxious, disengaged, unhealthy and unprepared for the future.

petition
we the undersigned demand educational policies and practices that recognize EVERY child as a “whole child” and promote quality teaching in EVERY school so that every child has an opportunity to engage in meaningful learning, recognizing there are may paths to a successful future.

we ask to see a transformation of U.S. education in the 21st century and demand policies and practices that are in line with the known developmental needs of children and adolescents and which authentically engage students in developing inquiring minds without interfering with their right to a healthy childhood.

this petition will be presented to all major stakeholders including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, members of Congress, as well as members of state boards of education, state legislators, and local boards of education. We also encourage the use of this petition in your local school community.

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Notorious PR Firm That Reps Swift Boaters, Creationists, PhRMA Now Helping Fired IG | TPMMuckraker

Notorious PR Firm That Reps Swift Boaters, Creationists, PhRMA Now Helping Fired IG TPMMuckraker:

"A heavy-hitting conservative public relations firm that flacked for Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and boasts an impressive array of right-wing clients is now helping Gerald Walpin, who was fired this summer by President Obama as the inspector general for AmeriCorps.

Creative Response Concepts Public Relations (CRC) is representing Walpin, a secretary who answered the phone at the company confirmed to TPMmuckraker today."

The list of CRC's current and former clients reads like a who's-who of the right-wing establishment, from the Republican National Committee to independent groups like Rick Scott's Conservatives for Patients' Rights and authors like David Freddoso, who wrote The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate. Other current and past clients of the Virginia-based firm include the creationist Discovery Institute, the original Swift Boaters who torpedoed John Kerry's 2004 presidential bid, PhRMA, the Federalist Society, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

CRC's president is Greg Mueller, former press secretary for Pat Buchanan's presidential campaign.

The Los Angeles Times had reported Walpin was getting free PR help from a firm that represented the swift boat group.

GOP Inquiry Fails To Show Obama's Firing Of AmeriCorps IG Was Politicized | TPMMuckraker

GOP Inquiry Fails To Show Obama's Firing Of AmeriCorps IG Was Politicized TPMMuckraker:

"A congressional GOP inquiry into the firing of the inspector general for AmeriCorps has been garnering headlines mostly for revealing details of allegations of sexual misconduct by Sacramento Mayor and Obama ally Kevin Johnson. But on the key question of whether the IG, Gerald Walpin, was fired for improper political reasons, the report brings little new to the table.

Prepared by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the report asserts that the White House's 'failure to use a transparent process to effectuate Walpin's removal deprived the President of an opportunity to explain his action in an appropriate way.'"

But in a statement given to TPMmuckraker, White House spokesman Ben LaBolt fired back that Issa and Grassley hadn't shown any kind of substantive wrongdoing. "There is nothing new in today's report, which ignores the multiple bases for Mr. Walpin's removal and doesn't provide a shred of evidence that suggests he was removed for any reason other than performance issues," he said.

Let's take a moment to review the state of thee Walpin case. The Obama Administration fired Walpin in June, citing, among other things, a May AmeriCorps board meeting in which Walpin was "confused, disoriented, unable to answer questions and exhibited other behavior that led the Board to question his capacity to serve." A unanimous vote of the bipartisan board originally referred concerns about Walpin to the White House, board members have told TPMmuckraker.

The Educated Guess » Feds could penalize budget cuts for education

The Educated Guess » Feds could penalize budget cuts for education:

"How much spending is cut for K-12 schools and higher education next year may be determined not in Sacramento but in Washington, D.C. – and perhaps by the White House.

Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor this week projected an 18-month state budget deficit of $20.7 billion ($6.3 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30 and the rest next year).

Using the roughest rule of thumb, with K-12 schools and community colleges receiving roughly 40 percent of the budget and higher ed an additional 10 percent, one would assume that education could be expected to absorb 50 percent of that deficit – or $10 billion. That assumes, for the moment, no higher fees and taxes and no new budget gimmicks (Haven’t we run out of those by now?)."

LMU dean to become Green Dot Public Schools chairman - The Daily Breeze

LMU dean to become Green Dot Public Schools chairman - The Daily Breeze:

"The dean of Loyola Marymount University's School of Education is replacing Green Dot Public Schools founder Steve Barr as chairman of the charter management organization's board.

Green Dot made the announcement Friday that Shane Martin will replace Barr, who founded the Los Angeles-based education nonprofit in 1999. Barr will become chair emeritus, focusing on broad education policy issues, the group said.

Martin, a founding member of Green Dot's board, has headed the graduate education school at LMU since 2005.

Earlier this week, Green Dot was named one of five area charter organizations to receive a $60 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The organization operates 19 charter schools in the Los Angeles area, including one in Inglewood and one near Los Angeles International Airport."

Chocolate milk: better than no milk? -- latimes.com

Chocolate milk: better than no milk? -- latimes.com:

"Reporting from Chicago - The dairy industry recently rolled out an expensive media campaign in praise of chocolate milk, a classic school lunch drink that's under assault for its sugar content. As trade groups spend upward of $1 million to defend the drink, three fifth-graders have come to its rescue.

A year after the school district in Barrington, Ill., banned flavored milk from its elementary- and middle-school lunch menus, students persuaded administrators to give it another chance.

'Kids weren't drinking the white milk,' said Haley Morris, 10. 'It's better to have the chocolate milk than nothing.'"

Students in tuition hike protest expect police intervention soon - CNN.com

Students in tuition hike protest expect police intervention soon - CNN.com:

"Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Students occupying an administration building at the University of California, Santa Cruz, for the past three nights expect police to soon begin forcibly removing them, a student spokesman said.

There's 'no chance' the protesters occupying Kerr Hall since Thursday will give up, according to graduate student Don Kingsbury.

Angry students took over the building after the regents board approved a 32 percent increase in tuition Thursday.

The occupation at UC Santa Cruz is one of several demonstrations across University of California campuses in the past week."

Charters aren't labs for public education - The Denver Post

Charters aren't labs for public education - The Denver Post:

"Bill Kurtz and Chris Gibbons are to be commended for their work to provide a quality education at their charter schools. However, the micro-perspective of charter schools requires a response.

Education has traditionally been slow to adapt to current needs of students. That is not to imply that public educators are not constantly exploring ways to engage more students. Rather, as educators develop alternative solutions, a mountain of obstacles arises.

This reality illustrates the need for charter schools. They are the laboratory schools that public education needs to explore new approaches to teaching and learning. However, if charter schools are working with different student populations than public schools, then the 'laboratory experiment' is fraught with problems."

Prodigy? That’s a good description - Education - SignOnSanDiego.com

Prodigy? That’s a good description - Education - SignOnSanDiego.com:

"When a child turns 1 in a Korean household, it’s customary for the parents to summon the Fates for guidance.

They place around the room toys that are suggestive of certain futures. A pencil for a scholar. A needle and thread for long life. A knife for a cook.
The idea is that something will catch the child’s eye.

On Elli Choi’s first birthday, she grabbed a tiny violin."

Save the vouchers - washingtonpost.com

Save the vouchers - washingtonpost.com:

"OPTIMISM THAT the District's federally funded school voucher program will be allowed to flourish is fading. Leading Democrats say that they are open to letting new students enter the program, but efforts to make that a reality seem to have stalled. Indeed, it appears that some Democrats' idea of saving the program is simply to let it slowly wither away.

The future of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which gives low-income parents up to $7,500 so their children can attend private school, will be determined within the next weeks as Congress decides appropriations bills. What's on the table is a proposal advanced by President Obama that would extend the program until the 1,700 students currently receiving vouchers have graduated from high school. But no new students would be accepted."

D.C. charter schools put out a call for protection - washingtonpost.com

D.C. charter schools put out a call for protection - washingtonpost.com:

"Principal Peggy Pendergrass heard it from a teacher who rushed in with the news: Three gang members were trying to force their way into Friendship Collegiate Academy, one more example of the violence that had plagued the high school in the weeks since classes started.

Her dean of security was at the door, wrestling with them as they tried to push into the building. After a struggle, the men gave up and retreated. By the time Pendergrass got to the walkway in front of the charter school in Northeast Washington, police were making arrests. But she wondered why charter schools, which enroll more than 38 percent of public school students in the city, don't get regular protection like that at traditional public schools, where about 100 officers walk the halls full time."

Military academies lack minority nominees - Washington Times

Military academies lack minority nominees - Washington Times:

"As the nation's military academies try to recruit more minorities, they aren't getting much help from members of Congress from big-city districts with large numbers of blacks, Hispanics and Asians.

From New York to Chicago to Los Angeles, lawmakers from heavily minority areas rank at or near the bottom in the number of students they have nominated for appointment to West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy or the U.S. Air Force Academy, according to an Associated Press review of records from the past five years."

High school students applying to the academies must be nominated by a member of Congress or another high-ranking federal official. Congressional nominations account for about 75 percent of all students at the academies.

Academy records obtained by the AP through the Freedom of Information Act show that lawmakers in roughly half of the 435 House districts nominated more than 100 students each during the five-year period.

But Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez of New York City, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, nominated only four students, the lowest among House members who served the entire five-year period. Rep. Charles B. Rangel, whose New York City district includes Harlem, was second-lowest, with eight nominations. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose San Francisco district is 29 percent Asian, was also near the bottom, with 19.

Tech advances in the classroom -- baltimoresun.com

Tech advances in the classroom -- baltimoresun.com:

"Some Baltimore County teachers will give tests starting this month via hand-held devices instead of the usual pencil and paper, in a pilot program aiming to make their jobs easier - and engage students.

'We believe that this has the potential to benefit teachers and students greatly,' said Mandi Dietrich, director of special projects, who is overseeing the pilot. The units 'can expedite testing, which of course leaves more time for other instructional activities. ... They're also instructional tools.'"

A big drop in number of school-age children is upon us | Julia Steiny | projo.com | The Providence Journal

A big drop in number of school-age children is upon us Julia Steiny projo.com The Providence Journal:

"As if there weren’t already oceans of bad news, here’s an ugly statistic we’d better face head-on. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) projects an 11.5 percent drop in our school-age population between 2006 and 2018.

We’ve been losing kids for a few years. But we’re still due to lose almost 4,000 more, or roughly the entire District of Chariho.

Schools will close. Or worse, districts will keep schools open by imposing cost-cutting measures that hurt kids and the quality of their education. The last thing this poor state needs is to backslide in its efforts to improve the quality of its workforce."

Campus atheists come out of the closet - Education- msnbc.com

Campus atheists come out of the closet - Education- msnbc.com:

"AMES, Iowa - The sign sits propped on a wooden chair, inviting all comers: 'Ask an Atheist.'

Whenever a student gets within a few feet, Anastasia Bodnar waves and smiles, trying to make a good first impression before eyes drift down to a word many Americans rank down there with 'socialist.'

Bodnar is the happy face of atheism at Iowa State University. Once a week at this booth at a campus community center, the PhD student who spends most of her time researching the nutritional traits of corn takes questions and occasional abuse while trying to raise the profile of religious skepticism."

For better schools - St. Petersburg Times

For better schools - St. Petersburg Times:

"The Florida Constitution requires a 'high-quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high-quality education.' A lawsuit filed last week in Tallahassee on behalf of a coalition of public school parents and students claims the state has failed to meet that obligation by not spending enough money, misusing the FCAT, failing to ensure school safety and keeping teacher salaries too low. It points to a number of education measures where Florida ranks well below average, much less high-quality. While the prospects of a court victory are debatable, the lawsuit can galvanize Floridians to demand better and put pressure on the Legislature to respond."