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 This blog is no longer being updated.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
"My Name's Emmet And I'm An Eduholic."
There's a new and aptly-named blog at Teacher Magazine called Eduholic, although it turns out to be just the new name for a blog that's been running on the site for a while by a guy named Emmet Rosenfeld. Welcome back, Emmet. Great name for a blog.
Education
Opinion
Internal Differences: Preschool, Choice, and More
Sara Mead over at TQATE gets the award for the most ambitious and attention-grabbing headline of the week with Preschool and School Choice Movement Leaders Combine Forces to Form New Pornographers-style Education Advocacy Supergroup, and for highlighting internal differences among various preschool advocacy folks (and similar internal differences among various choice/voucher groups). The whole supergroup thing seems like a nonstarter, but it's important not to mistake these movements -- preschool and choice -- as monolithic. Ditto for charters, standardistas, and everyone else, now that I think of it.
Federal
Opinion
Bloomberg Candidacy Would Bring Education Up
Over at the DFER blog, Joe Williams points out that if NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg takes the next step and enters the race as an independent candidate it will upgrade the debate on education reform since he'll be the candidate with the most of a track record on the issue (Viva Bloomberg?). For that alone, I hope he runs.
Education
Opinion
Colbert Loves NCLB -- Better Than Jon Stewart
Thanks to the Schools for Tomorrow Blog for reminding me that I had never posted the Colbert Report segment on states gaming proficiency standards from a couple of weeks ago:
Education
Opinion
Mainstream Blogging's Perils & Pleasures
Forbes has a rundown on mainstream media outlets bringing in outside bloggers (via Romenesko). Time, the Boston Globe, the NYT, the Washington Post, and many other outlets have hired outside bloggers in the past couple of years. Perhaps the most famous is the former DC gossip columnist Wonkette, Ana Marie Cox (pictured, so hot), who is now at Time.com.
Education
Opinion
Charter School Smarick Wins White House Fellows Spot
Not to be outdone by Michelle Rhee's splashy entry into the public sector last week, charter advocate and political up-and-comer Andy Smarick has just been named one of the 15 White House Fellows for 2007-2008. Under the program, folks from outside the federal government apply to work in the White House for a year. And everyone knows that fellows run things in DC. Lots of future stars have participated. Not that Andy isn't already a star among charteristas. Most recently, he's been COO for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Congrats, condolences, etc.
Education
Opinion
The Times Vs. The Post: Education's Weekly Showdown
The Times' Sam Freedman faces off against the Post's Jay Mathews in their weekly education column showdown. Who do you think wins this week?
Federal
Opinion
NCLB Tutoring: Not Working, Or Just Not Working Miracles?
There's an interesting little cluster of tutoring-related pieces out over the last couple of days, including a relatively fair-minded critique from USA Today's editorial page (Taxpayer-funded tutoring fails), a predictable and unsatisfying defense from EdSec Spellings (Tutoring shows success), and an investigative piece from the Miami Herald (Needy Students Deprived of Tutoring.) I think it's a mistake to expect proof of the program's effectiveness (a problem in all of education, not just tutoring), judge the law based on its goals rather than its accomplishments, and -- especially -- to leave out the state, district, and school-based roles in making or breaking the program.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
When Celebrities Have Opinions
Ahh, the pleasures of random celebrity opinions. (They're almost as bad as random man-in-the-street opinions. Just not as widely distributed.) Here's John Travolta on school shootings: Travolta Blames School Shootings On Psychiatric Drugs. Right, John. Right. But Travolta's not alone. A few months ago it was Will Smith on the perils of sending your kids to school: "The date of the Boston Tea Party does not matter. I know how to learn anything I want to learn. I absolutely know that I could learn how to fly the space shuttle because someone else knows how to fly it, and they put it in a book. Give me the book, and I do not need somebody to stand up in front of the class."
School & District Management
Opinion
Boston Gets Memphis Chief; Balto Gets NYC #2
For a time, it seemed like Memphis might succeed in pulling supe Carol Johnson (left, at center) back into the fold after Boston announced she would be the permanent replacement for Tom Payzant, who left over a year ago. That would have been Boston's second near-miss. But now it seems like she's really going to make the move. Meanwhile, Baltimore is getting NYC instructional chief Andres Alonso (right), according to this Baltimore Sun article.
School & District Management
Opinion
Franchising Magnets (Just Like Charters)
We're all already familiar with the idea of networks of charter schools (like KIPP) and small groups of private schools (Cristo Rey), but what about franchising magnet schools as well? That's the idea that Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan is apparently floating, according to this Catalyst Magazine article (here), which would "franchise" some of the city's most popular selective enrollment schools in order to create more seats for high-achieving kids. With varying degrees of success, Chicago already clones charter schools as a way to get around the charter cap.
Education
Opinion
Top 10 Party High Schools In America
Looking over the annual awards for alternative weeklies I came across this education-related item from the Orlando Weekly:: Atomic Prom, which lists the top 10 party high schools in America. "Newsweek has published a list of 100 American high schools that “do the best job of preparing average students for college.” But college is about far more than learning..." There's also lots of more serious-minded stuff you can check it out here.