This Week In Education
Written by former Senate education staffer and journalist Alexander Russo, This Week in Education was an opinion blog that covered education news, policymakers, and trends with a distinctly political edge. (For archives prior to January 2007, please click here. For posts after November 2007, please click here.) This blog is no longer being updated.
Education
Opinion
Friday Fodder
EIA Mike finds that not everyone on the left likes Al Shanker (Tough Lefties). I bet famous people wished they had control over what schools get named after them (Colin Powell charter school to close). Eduwonk mocks the AFT for incoherence and more (Terry Moe Hamstrings The AFT). Whitney Tilson has questions (Media myths about the Jena 6).
Education Funding
Opinion
Time Writer Calls Education Research A "Circus"
"Education experts seem to concur on almost nothing," says this recent Time magazine article. "Research in the field is so politicized and contradictory that you can find almost any study to support your view. If economics is a 99-1 science, education is a 1-99 circus."
Federal
Opinion
It's All NCLB's Fault
Charlie Barone predicts that the recent deaths of students from the staph "superbug" will inevitably get blamed on NCLB. But why stop there? The nasty cold I have, the wildfires in San Diego County, and the coming wave of subprime mortgage defaults -- they're all because of NCLB in one way or the other.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Cleveland High School Student Shooter Video Released
"He looks like any other high school student - except for the guns 14-year-old Asa Coon holds in each hand. Coon's rampage was captured in eerie, time-lapse snapshots by security cameras at SuccessTech Academy." See more images here. The local Fox affiliate has posted the video here.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
From Happy Welcome To Jail Mug Shot
Things started out so well for this new teacher (left), but ended recently with rape charges and a mug shot (right).
Education
Opinion
Today's Best Education Stories
The earliest roundup of education stories each day usually comes from EdNews.org, anywhere from 4 am onwards. My own "Big Stories Of The Day" supposedly shows up at 9 am Eastern. But there are a bunch of others that come out later and are often better, or at least complementary.
Education
Opinion
Local Union Leader Seeks To Sue Education Blogger
You know you've really arrived as a blogger (or are going to hell for being a bad person) when someone wants to find out who you are and sue you for libel. That's what's happening in one Oregon district, where, according to EIA Mike, the local union president is so disgusted and upset by what's being said about her that she's trying to force Google to reveal the blogger's identity so that he or she can be sued.
Education Funding
Opinion
DonorsChoose On The Colbert Report
Last night's Colbert Report interview with the founder of Craigslist included much discussion of DonorsChoose.org, the organization that links donors and individual classrooms directly:
Education Funding
Opinion
All Of Bush's Worst Ideas (Except Perhaps NCLB) Came From AEI
If you're wondering why the DC education blogs are so quiet today, it's because all the best-dressed education folks are gathered at a big AEI event on the supply side of school reform -- the "intriguing and daring" reformistas who are attracting all the attention (and funding) despite their small scale, mixed results, etc. Check out the agenda and the papers here.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Higher Ed's Role In Creating An Oversupply Of Under-Qualified Teachers
Here the Economist details the struggles of various countries to improve public education and change the large variations in how much students learn, focusing in on a recent McKinsey recommendation that nations change the way they select teachers (How to be top). I know, McKinsey. And yes, other countries. I hate that stuff too. But there's some worthwhile thinking in there, much as I hate to admit it. If education programs attract the bottom third of college students, and universities accept and train them regardless of need, the built-in limitations are obvious. Of course, reining in universities, much less the ed schools, has proven difficult if not impossible for lawmakers to do. It's much easier to muck around in K12 and ignore the role of higher ed in all this. Via Eduwonk, I think.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Lice Costs US Schools $500 Million, Says Lice Removal Company
According to entrepreneur Maria Botham, lice infestation is the #1 reason for school absenteeism, and on average it costs the U.S. public school system over $500 million every year: Gold Standard for Lice Removal Opens in Lincoln Park. Via Yahoo! Finance.