When it comes to education mixing with politicians, it’s good to know what credentials they have. This infographic from Online Schools serves it up nicely — profiling Republicans with degrees. Detailing Michelle Bachman, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Herman Cain, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Jon Huntsman by how many degrees they [...]

First, let’s understand what we’re talking about here. Wisconsin is running a budget deficit because of the fiscal crisis and Republicans are looking to public sector employees to make up the difference. From WSJ: Mr. Walker’s bill would close a projected $3.6 billion shortfall by forcing public employees to pay 5.8% of their salary toward [...]

Numerous reports are surfacing in the mainstream media that Obama is giving a speech to America’s students that will somehow brainwash/indoctrinate/cast magical spells over them. Why? Because the lesson plan asks the kids to think about what the President means by his speech. Basically, the White House is posing completely open ended questions designed to [...]

First, the numbers… . Last year, after the recession had begun, the number of applications rose by 12 percent to more than 16 million, according to the Education Department. Detailed estimates are not yet available for last year, but of all full-time college undergraduates in 2007, 58 percent applied for aid, and 47 percent received [...]

If he weren’t such a cult hero, I wouldn’t even bother, but the following is insane… Parents deserve educational choices; choice is what this country was founded upon. Government’s controlling and monopolizing education is just another avenue for usurping power and control on the slippery slope to socialism. And it’s unbecoming for our republic, whose [...]

Yet another way we could save billions every year and get them back into the hands of those who need them most. From AP: Obama wants to end the decades-old, dual system the federal government uses to advance loans to students to pay for college. Under that system, students at some colleges borrow directly from [...]

Then you better reject part of the stimulus package. At least that’s what Mark Sanford, Bobby Jindal and now Sarah Palin are doing… JUNEAU — Gov. Sarah Palin is refusing to accept over 30 percent of the federal economic stimulus money being offered to Alaska, including dollars for schools, energy assistance and social services. [...] [...]

There are of course many folks who think President Barack Obama is trying to do too much too soon. Republicans, looking for every chance to assert their differences, have hammered on the president in recent days for not focusing his attention solely on the economy. However, having run a campaign featuring the word hope and [...]

In the past, President Obama has indicated he’d be supportive of teacher merit pay and charter schools. Today, he made that support official in his first major presidential speech on education: His solutions include teacher pay and charter school proposals that have met resistance among members of teachers unions, which constitute an important segment of [...]

Later today, President-elect Obama will announce his nomination of fellow Harvard grad, Hyde Park neighbor, and basketball enthusiast Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education, according to numerous press reports.  Superintendent of Chicago’s public schools for the past seven years, Duncan has been a reformer, supporting merit pay for teachers and charter schools, for example, while also earning respect from teachers’ unions.  [...]

Apparently wage stagnation matters…a lot. Not just because middle class families are swimming debt, but we’re apparently on a collision course with having a work force that doesn’t represent the best and brightest in the world. From NY Times: The rising cost of college — even before the recession — threatens to put higher education [...]

The news release that a Texas School District could be the first in the nation to allow teachers and staff to pack guns for protection was deemed so preposterous it received a prominent spot on the Nutty News Network. But the story is legit – the Trustees at the Harrold Independent School District have approved [...]

In his 2006 report to the Panel on Innovative Teaching and Learning Strategies, Associate Professor David Wiley, Ph.D., raised more than a few eyebrows when he informed panel members that higher education in America was “in very real danger of becoming irrelevant.” Wiley describes the antiquated college classroom experience thus: “Students are inside a classroom [...]

On Thursday, Democratic platform committee members were provided a draft of the Democratic National Committee’s 2008 platform. Titled “Renewing America’s Promise” and broken out into four distinct sections, “Renewing the American Dream,” “Renewing American Leadership,” “Renewing the American Community,” and “Renewing American Democracy,” the platform is a strong counter to the current Bush administration policies [...]

Here’s an interesting piece of data courtesy The Wall Street Journal: In the economic expansion that began in 2001 and now appears to be ending, the inflation-adjusted wages of the majority of U.S. workers didn’t grow, even among those who went to college. The government’s statistical snapshots show the typical weekly salary of a worker [...]

David Brooks has has an interesting analysis of Barack Obama’s donor base, which is heavily reliant on well-educated, information-age workers. Once, the wealthy were solidly Republican. But the information age rewards education with money. There are many smart high achievers who grew up in liberal suburbs around San Francisco, L.A. and New York, went to [...]

Here’s and interesting initiative proposed by Barack Obama. He wants to give students a $4,000 tax credit to be used towards tuition – but there’s a catch. To earn the credit, the students would have to complete 100 hours of community service. Plus, since it’s a tax credit (rather than a plain ole handout), students [...]

He’ll be accused of offering the typical Democratic tax and spend plans, but with the housing market tanking because of free market loopholes and the prices of basic goods skyrocketing due in part of out of control war spending, I’m thinking the middle class would appreciate some fiscal attention refocused on their needs. From the [...]

Tom Hanson is the editor of OpenEducation.net, a site dedicated to tracking the changes occurring in education today especially the impact of technology on teaching and learning. A retired school superintendent, Tom has 32 years of experience in the profession as a classroom teacher, coach and administrator. To the surprise of many, Glenn Beck continues [...]

One of my favorite creative enterprises is the One Laptop Per Child project which seeks to make computers so affordable that every child in developing nations will be able to own one. The original goal was $100 laptops. The initial model went for $188. Now, they’ve developed a version that will cost only $75. It [...]