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 This blog is no longer being updated.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
Why Teach Chinese?
Chinese foreign language classes are all the rage in some districts -- Chicago, Palo alto to name a couple. But, according to this video, the Chinese are learning English faster and in greater numbers than we could ever match up.
Federal
Opinion
Are They Water-Boarding Teenagers Yet?
Are they water-boarding teenagers yet? Probably not. But the House Dems are going to look into so-called "boot camps" for wayward teens tomorrow, and it's the closest thing to Abu Ghraib that we have going on in education these days. "The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a full committee investigative hearing to examine allegations of child abuse and neglect, including cases resulting in death, at residential treatment facilities (often called boot camps or wilderness programs)." Tasteless, I know.
Federal
Opinion
On The HotSeat: Former Committee Insider Charles Barone
The last few weeks have been somewhat of a triumphant return for longtime Hill staffer Charles Barone (pictured), who started posting knowledgeable comments on various blogs in September and then wrote a fascinating backgrounder on NCLB last week. There'll be a parade next, I'm almost sure.
Education
Opinion
White House NCLB Event Later Today
I don't know who the attendees are yet, but the President and the EdSec are doing a White House event on NCLB today in the Roosevelt Room, followed by a Rose Garden statement by the Prez. Stay tuned. Could be fun. Feel free to email snarky comments or fashion tidbits if you're there. That's what BlackBerrys are for. (thisweekineducation at gmail dot com, or 312-286-9242)
Education
Opinion
Columbus Day
I'm taking the day off for Columbus Day, but feel free to comment or email or send links if you'd like. See you tomorrow!
School & District Management
Opinion
Not Wanting To Like HBO's Little Rock Documentary
I didn't want to like the HBO documentary on the Little Rock Nine that's been playing over and over, and had been avoiding it (and most of the rest of the 50th anniversary coverage) thinking that I'd seen the footage before, knew that things hadn't changed that much, etc.
Education
Opinion
George W. Bush Was "Mainstreamed," Says Conservative Columnist
Everyone hates conservative columnist Ann Coulter right now (she recently joked that perhaps women shouldn't get to vote). But she did write something a little funnier in her new book: "“President George W. Bush is evidently the first mentally retarded person to get a Harvard M.B.A., graduate from the U.S. Air Force Flight School, be elected governor of Texas and then be elected President of the United States twice. I Guess that's what they call 'mainstreaming.'” Yikes.
Education
Opinion
Big Stories Of The Day
Colorado has been keeping two sets of books, says the Denver Post -- one for the feds, the other for its own state ranking system (State's "No Child" rank challenged). Meanwhile, the Washington Post shows how DC-area schools are making (or not) AYP in all sorts of ways (Required 'Yearly Progress' Difficult to Determine). Clearly, NCLB should be made more complicated. Meanwhile out in the Midwest, the St. Louis Tribune highlights the weak effects of vouchers on the rest of the Milwaukee school system (Voucher-Supported Private Schools Do Not Improve Public Counterparts). There's competition for you. The most interesting of the options in the Times is from a few days ago (In the Classroom, Blazing a Path From Fidgeting to Focus). But the NY Sun has an interesting story about purchasing (Schools Pay Big Markup for Supplies). And the Honolulu advertiser tells us about the spread of a new kind of school (No Child enabling single-sex schools). Last and least: Biden Unveils Education Plan (CBS News).
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Measure TFA By What It Does (Meh), Or What Its Alums Do (More)?
Finishing out what's been an informal TFA Week, TAPPED's Dana Goldstein puts it pretty well: "It feels heartless to criticize a program that's, well, so good-hearted...But while it appears that TFA is very effective at connecting business leaders and young professionals with the public school reform movement and imbuing them with a sense of commitment toward public education, it's unlikely TFA is impacting student achievement in any broadly-defined way."
Federal
Opinion
Democratic Hill Staffers Spill The NCLB Beans
Check out David Hoff's post on what Hill staffers like Jill Morningstar (House Dems, pictured, I think) have to say about the latest NCLB doings. No Kennedy bill yet, however, and no real timeframe.
Education
Opinion
ASCD SmartBlogs
Thanks to the folks at ASCD's SmartBrief for including me on their list of SmartBlogs, and welcome to all of you SmartBrief readers. Bookmark the SmartBlog page or click on the right to get a daily or weekly email summary.
Education Funding
Opinion
What Makes TFA So Special? It's Not What You Think
I have my fingers crossed that there's going to be another even more interesting piece on TFA coming out in the very near future. Stay tuned.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Denial Over Disparities: Cutting Down The Oak Tree In Jena
The New Yorker takes on the Jena 6 case in large part to make the point that despite our tendencies towards denial what's happening down there is not old school, it's present-day -- and not just in the South, either. "Discrimination in the American justice system is not only a Deep South thing; it is a national embarrassment...America's predominant response to racism, of course, has long been denial. In Jena, the town fathers effected a vivid evasion. Their problem, they concluded, was not themselves but their tree: they cut down the offending oak and hauled it away." (Disparities). Meanwhile, a Chicago student has been expelled for showing a picture of his topless girlfriend to classmates.