Category Archives
Schoolhouse Rock!
Education
flickr/ColinPurrington
We Don’t Need No Edukashun
Meet Cynthia Dunbar, leading member of the Texas education board which sets textbook standards for the state (and thus for much of the nation.) Dunbar, a right-wing evangelical, has said in the past that allowing your kid to attend public school is like "throwing them in to the enemy's flames". She also believes that in the current school system, there "seems to be a denial that this was a nation founded under God. We had to go back and make some corrections." These corrections include: dropping study of Sir Isaac Newton to instead study scientific advances made through military technology. Suggesting "that the anti-communist witch-hunt by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s may have been justified." Teaching students "that economic prosperity requires "minimal government intrusion and taxation". [Guardian]
Posted 3:30 PM | Monday, May 17th, 2010 | Permalink
Speed Studying
Super-seniors have been replaced by super savers at campuses around the country. In an attempt to attract students who want to save a year of tuition, more and more universities are launching three-year degree programs. The Journal says only one-fourth of college students finish their degree in the standard four years. The new three-year programs are hardly a shortcut - many feature a “heavy workload or year-round studies” - but in the end, can save a student about $10,000. [Wall Street Journal]
Posted 3:54 PM | Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 | Permalink
Getting Schooled
It seems that, at least in Texas, home-schooled students might actually be drop outs. Texas officials are growing suspicious after a record number of children left school districts across the state to pursue their studies at home. The rate of homeschooling in Texas is triple what it is in other parts of the country. The increase is so dramatic that some experts are now questioning whether schools are actually “disguising thousands of middle and high school dropouts in this hands-off category.” [Houston Chronicle]
Posted 2:51 PM | Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 | Permalink
Biased Or Educational?
A Michigan elementary school is under fire today, after it was accused of violating a ban on racial preference in public schools. The school allowed 30 African-American students to take a field trip to hear a speech by a black rocket scientist without inviting other students. Leon Drolet, former chairman of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, says the trip "absolutely violated" a 2006 voter-approved amendment to the state constitution banning racial preference. "If it was directed, guided, organized by the school district, they cannot say they are doing a field trip today for blacks only, or for whites only, or for Hispanics only or for Asians only," Drolet said. Officials at the school hoped the trip would have inspired the students to consider science and engineering as a career. [USA Today]
Posted 4:22 PM | Thursday, May 6th, 2010 | Permalink
Tougher to Cut
Now students are going to have to figure out a whole new way to skip class. Virtual schools will become a reality when the “Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield’’ opens its (virtual) doors this fall. A law passed in January, aimed at promoting innovation, allowed administrators to go ahead with plans for a completely Internet-based school experience. They say it’s the first step in creating “a terrific 21st-century school district.’’ Now you don't have to be so afraid of showing up to school in your underwear! [Boston Globe]
Posted 2:41 PM | Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 | Permalink
flickr/Werner Hoher
Reforming Our Schools
Last week, Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) introduced the ESEA Fiscal Fairness Act, a significant education reform legislation that will guarantee that poor schools will no longer be shortchanged in the allocation of educational resources.
- PODCAST: Saba Bireda, an Education Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress, spoke with the Congressman about the new legislation. http://bit.ly/cWfakN
ESEA Fiscal Fairness Act 101
- The Fiscal Fairness Act will require school districts to even out the money spent among all schools (including teachers’ salaries), so that resources allotted to schools in the poorest neighborhoods will meet those in well-off schools. [Fattah House]
Why It Is Needed?
- The finance of our country’s educational system allows for great disparities in educational resources. [Fattah House]
- Because of this, poorer students are supplied with “under-qualified teachers, substandard facilities, insufficient textbooks, computers, and other instructional materials,” and are essentially punished for where they live. [Fattah House]
- Reports and studies consistently show how critical the role quality teachers play in a child’s education. In poorer schools, all too often, teachers teach students subjects they have yet to master. [Teaching Point]
- One study found that a fifth of secondary school teachers who teach core academic subjects may be out-of-field in one or more of these classes. [Teaching Point]
Posted 12:01 PM | Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 | Permalink
Can’t Cut Now
This could have been a major issue for us. A state university is installing an electronic card system in its classrooms. The reader will scan student’s IDs and then produce an attendance report for the teacher. According to school administrators, students who earn A’s almost always have near perfect attendance. [Arizona Republic]
Posted 1:57 PM | Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 | Permalink
Today In ‘Awesome’
Lansing Community College in Michigan is offering a cool deal to students: Beginning in May, people who take six-week courses in certain subjects will be guaranteed a job within a year - or else they'll be refunded their tuition money. The new money-back guarantee will apply to the four most in-demand technical jobs in the area: call-center specialists, pharmacy technicians, quality inspectors and computer machinists. [Time]
Posted 3:17 PM | Thursday, April 8th, 2010 | Permalink
Schoolhouse Rock, Literally
In the "we can't make this stuff up" catagory, a Philadelphia community is in an uproar about a local charter school, which, in its off hours, doubles as a nightclub. On the weekends, alcohol bottles replace milk cartons as the K through 8 school’s cafeteria is transformed into something called “Club Damani.” Sign us up for this afterschool club! [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Posted 2:06 PM | Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 | Permalink
Source: flickr/bettina_m
No Diploma Love For The Lord
San Antonio's Trinity University's Board of Trustees are expected to consider a request from a group of students asking that the reference to "Our Lord" be dropped from their diplomas. The students argue that the reference doesn't respect the diversity of religions on campus. The issue: The saying is in reference to the school's Presbyterian roots, argues school President Dennis Ahlburg, as well other students. Trinity has been governed by an independent board of trustees since 1969 but maintains a "covenant relationship" with the church. [USA T]
Posted 11:36 AM | Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 | Permalink
The Hugging “Epidemic”
Remember how in middle school you wait at your locker for the boy or girl you were "dating?" Well, it's high-fives only for a group of middle school lovers in Portland, Oregon. A principal at a local school recently outlawed hugging after he says it reached epidemic proportions. As it turns out, they played some interesting games with these hugs; some parents claimed “that girls were using hugging as a game to see how fast boys could become aroused." Wonder how you pick winners and losers in that game. [Oregonian]
Posted 4:34 PM | Friday, March 19th, 2010 | Permalink
SAFRA Now Could Be Part of Health Care Reconciliation Bill
Long on the back burner, student loan legislation could now be paired with health care as part of Democrats' reconciliation bill. Lenders are pushing back, as the bill would cut out huge giveaways to the industry, but it would be good for students and families alike.
1.) STUDENT LOAN FACTS - PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE [Project on Student Loans] [Financialaid.org]
- The percentage of all undergraduates with private loans has risen dramatically, from 5% in 2003-04 to 14% in 2007-08, and the number of private loan borrowers increased from approximately 935,000 to 2,946,000.
- Private loan volume also grew substantially, from $7.2 billion in 2003-04 to $15.0 billion in 2007-08.*
- Almost two-thirds (64%) of private loan borrowers in 2007-08 borrowed less than they could have in Stafford loans, compared to less than half (48%) of private loan borrowers in 2003-04.
- In 2007-08, 26% of private loan borrowers took out no Staffordloans at all: 14% did not apply for federal financial aid, and 12% filled out the FAFSA (a requirement for federal loans) but did not take out a Stafford loan.
- Federal loans provide more flexibility and, on average, total interest paid over the life of the loan or interest rates that are about 4% lower than for private loans.
2.) WHAT IS SAFRA? [CBO] [NY Times]
- Stands for The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 (SAFRA),
- Would cut federal subsidies to private lenders, has been stuck in the quagmire of the Senate and is the subject of a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign led by Sallie Mae.
3.) CONSERVATIVE (OR MODERATE) OPPOSITION [Wonk Room] [The Hill]
- Opponents say it constitutes a “Washington takeover” of the lending industry and that the bill will cause student lenders to shed jobs.
- Unfortunately, this doesn't work, as billions in subsidies and assumption of nearly all the loan risk makes lending practically a government program already.
- Many say it will cost colleges and universities already facing deep budget crises millions to switch to direct lending – leading to more tuition hikes for families.
- But, there is simply no evidence to back this up. Colleges and universities that have switched to Direct Loans, including those that converted in the midst of last year’s credit crisis, report that it was a fairly easy and inexpensive process, in part because schools are able use the same on-site system currently used to administer Pell Grant scholarships.
- It's not just Republicans in opposition, there are a bunch of Democrats from states that the lenders call home who have expressed hesitation about the bill. The investment research firm Height Analytics predicts that seven Democrats will oppose the bill, and that they will come from Pennsylvania, Indiana, Florida, Nebraska, Virginia, and Delaware. Putting the bill in reconciliation may change that, though.
4.) WHAT ABOUT JOBS LOST? [House Education and Labor Committee] [Washington Monthly]
- While this legislation will trim the profits of CEOs and big banks, it will not lead to enormous jobs losses. By maintaining a servicing role for both large and smaller lenders, this bill will preserve jobs and, unlike in the FFELP program, keep them from being shipped overseas.
- The Washington Monthly’s Daniel Luzer pointed outs out that since private companies will still be servicing the loans, “it looks like direct lending might actually bring more jobs to America.”
5.) MOVING THROUGH WITH HEALTH CARE [The Hill] [Firedoglake]
- Senate Democrats are likely to pair the health care reform provisions that they are moving through the budget reconciliation process with the student loan reform bill that passed the House last year.
- So will it work? Chances are probaby better than 50/50 that SAFRA will stay part of reconciliation and that it will pass [Firedoglake]
Check our our podcast interview with Wonk Room and Thinkprogress researchers Pat Garofalo and Zaid Jilani here.
Check out what the Wonk Room's Pat Garofalo has to say about student loan legislation here.
Posted 12:24 PM | Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 | Permalink
PROTESTING FOR EDUCATION REFORM
With more than 100 events in 32 states, students, professors and teachers across the country today are organizing to protest American's education system. The movement started in California, where tuition hikes, budget cuts and a series of racist events have caused tension and dissatisfaction across the state. On his Facebook page, UC President Mark Yudof wrote protesters a note of good will, saying he "salute[d] those who are making themselves heard today in a peaceful manner on behalf of a great cause." [Huffington Post]
Posted 12:11 PM | Thursday, March 4th, 2010 | Permalink
Source: www.flickr.com/259502894/
Just Say No, Then Head to Detention
Taking the zero-tolerance policy to a new level, a seventh grader who merely touched a prescription drug pill while at school has been suspended for a week in Jeffersonville, Indiana. According to officials at River Valley Middle School, student Rachel Greer violated their drug policy simply by holding Adderall, an ADHD drug, that a fellow student offered to her and placed in her hand. Despite declining the pill and returning it to her classmate, Greer was in "posession" of a drug and broke the rules, according to a school official. [Huffington Post]
Posted 4:25 PM | Monday, March 1st, 2010 | Permalink
Source: flickr/talkradionews
TACKLING THE DROP-OUT CRISIS
Earlier today, President Obama announced a $900 million school grant program designed to improve high drop out rates in low-performing schools. The $900 million in grants targets states with graduation rates of less than 60 percent;schools that fail to increase those rates could face the prospect of new managements, principals or an outright closure. [USA Today]
Posted 2:00 PM | Monday, March 1st, 2010 | Permalink
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