Archive for the 'Education' Category

Teachers Packing Guns - Texas School District Reinforces America’s Cowboy Image

By Tom Hanson | Related entries in Education, Guns and Ammo

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 a [...]

August 17th, 2008 | Permalink| 4 Comments »

Higher Education - Dangerously Close to Becoming Irrelevant

By Tom Hanson | Related entries in Education

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 (tethered to [...]

August 16th, 2008 | Permalink| 5 Comments »

The 2008 Preliminary Democratic Platform Offers Hope for Public Education

By Tom Hanson | Related entries in 2008 Election, 9/11, Barack, Bush, Democrats, Education, Immigration

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 [...]

August 8th, 2008 | Permalink| 1 Comment »

College Degree No Longer Enough

By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Economy, Education

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 with [...]

July 17th, 2008 | Permalink| 2 Comments »

Obama’s Wealthy, Educated Supporters

By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Economy, Education

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 left-leaning [...]

July 1st, 2008 | Permalink| 9 Comments »

Obama Proposes Interesting Student Aid Plan

By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Barack, Education

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 will [...]

June 17th, 2008 | Permalink| 3 Comments »

Obama Details Economic Plan

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Barack, Democrats, Economy, Education, Money, Taxes

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 AP:
Speaking [...]

June 14th, 2008 | Permalink| 6 Comments »

Glenn Beck Misses the Mark on Educational Endowments

By Tom Hanson | Related entries in Education, Media

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 [...]

June 2nd, 2008 | Permalink| 3 Comments »

One Laptop Per Child Reveals $75 Computer

By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Education, The World

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 looks [...]

May 21st, 2008 | Permalink| 5 Comments »

Is Questioning a Professor Harassment?

By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Education

Joseph Rago of the Wall Street Journal reports and comments on the latest professorial lunacy on a college campus. This one involves a professor accusing her students of an anti-intellectualism that violated her civil rights. The student’s crime? Questioning the validity of the professor’s theory. Read the piece for some eye-rolling amusement.

May 5th, 2008 | Permalink| 2 Comments »

Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Education, Military, Money, Taxes

National Priorities Project has a great website that illustrates how your money is spent by the federal government on a state by state average. (note: this doesn’t mean state tax dollars are being spent, just the average breakdown for federal taxes paid by residents of a certain state.)
The biggest finding? For every $42 we spend [...]

April 9th, 2008 | Permalink| 11 Comments »

Poll: Obama Up By Nearly 20 In North Carolina

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Democrats, Economy, Education, Health Care, Hillary, Immigration, Iraq, North Carolina, Polls, War

Public Policy Polling has the numbers (pdf file)…
After a week in which both candidates spent a lot of time in North Carolina Barack Obama has retained a large lead in the state, according to the newest survey from Public Policy Polling.
Obama leads Clinton 54-36. His lead is particularly strong among likely voters who do not [...]

March 31st, 2008 | Permalink| 6 Comments »

Stanford’s Bold Tuition Move

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Education, Money

Wow, color me impressed…
(02-19) 23:49 PST Palo Alto — In a radical change to its financial aid program, Stanford University will announce today that it will no longer charge tuition to students whose families earn less than $100,000 a year.
In addition, the university will waive room and board fees for students whose families earn less [...]

February 20th, 2008 | Permalink| 7 Comments »

Later School Start Time Improves Grades?

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Education, Good Decisions, Science

I think I speak for all the teenagers in the world when I say, “Let’s do it!”
From NY Times:
Research shows that teenagers’ body clocks are set to a schedule that is different from that of younger children or adults. This prevents adolescents from dropping off until around 11 p.m., when they produce the sleep-inducing hormone [...]

January 14th, 2008 | Permalink| 9 Comments »

America’s Love Affair With Science

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Education, Science

Gotta love the ole USA:
American adults in general do not understand what molecules are (other than that they are really small). Fewer than a third can identify DNA as a key to heredity. Only about 10 percent know what radiation is. One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth, an idea [...]

July 5th, 2007 | Permalink| 12 Comments »

Head-scratcher roundup

By Sean Aqui | Related entries in Discuss, Education, Health Care, Law, News

Three stories that explore the boundary between what’s reasonable and what’s not, what’s criminal and what’s not, and what’s ethical and what’s not.
What’s reasonable?
A California school district has taken to billing parents who take their kids out of school for nonmedical reasons — like a family ski trip. The price? $36.13 for each day missed. [...]

March 13th, 2007 | Permalink| 4 Comments »

Kit Bond Retiring?

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Education, General Politics

I’m a Missourian, so any news about a Missouri senator has some amount of special signifiance. Apparently, Bond wants to be the President of the University of Missouri school system, a very cush job with a fat salary.
From Wonkette:
According to a Wonkette operative who heard this from two different sources, Republican Senator Kit Bond is [...]

December 30th, 2006 | Permalink| 5 Comments »

Go To Work At 16

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Education

Our education system works, but for a lot of kids it simply offers a way to pass the time and little else. I look back on my education and wonder why I didn’t have more options to follow the interests I felt were more in line with what I wanted to pursue.
The NY Sun has [...]

December 29th, 2006 | Permalink| 1 Comment »

The educated class

By Sean Aqui | Related entries in Education, Ideas, News, Race, Social Programs

When our children were little, their grandparents really liked talking “baby talk” to them. I’d watch as supposedly intelligent adults spent hours talking nonsense to unresponsive infants. Both baby and adult seemed to enjoy it.
I hated it.
Why? Because my wife and I were convinced that it stunted brain development. Because of that, and because we [...]

December 5th, 2006 | Permalink| No Comments »

No Bad Teachers Left Behind In California

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Education, Legislation

I have to hand to Arnold. He seems to be making some very sound decisions recently, and this latest piece of legislation is no exception. Basically, it keeps poorly performing teachers from being able to slip through the cracks in the system.
From SF Gate:
(09-29) 04:00 PDT Sacramento — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill Thursday [...]

October 1st, 2006 | Permalink| 3 Comments »