Education news for October 2009 | Summaries
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Oct. 28
U.S. Publishes Final Rules on Higher Ed Accreditation The U.S. Education Department published final regulations Tuesday to carry out changes Congress made to federal law governing higher education accreditation.
DECLINE IN COLLEGE DEGREES THREATENS U.S. GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Washington, DC – A drop in the number of college degrees, particularly in the sciences, is threatening U.S. supremacy in scientific advances and the nation’s edge in the world marketplace, according to an American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) commission report released this week.
“As much as troubling times might turn our focus inward, the Great Recession itself dramatically demonstrates that global interconnectedness and global competitiveness are simply different sides of the same coin,” said Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard, chair of the Presidential Leadership and Global Competitiveness Commission. “Our graduates compete with the best from around the world; they must not only be world class but fully world aware.“
The report on the commission’s yearlong study cites data showing that the United States and Germany were the only two nations in which those aged 25–34 have attained less education than their parents’ generation. U.S. students today are also less likely to earn degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, skills that are in high demand in the digital age.
The 12-member commission called for boosting “international literacy” on campuses by fostering awareness of other cultures among students, and encouraging them to learn foreign languages and to study abroad. Businesses and lawmakers must also support higher education as an essential component of U.S. global competitiveness, according to the commission’s recommendations.
AASCU President Muriel Howard said that the colleges and universities she represents are best positioned to make a difference because they educate over half the nation’s students who attend four-year public institutions and that their student bodies constitute a demographic “United Nations” with their significant diversity. “Our schools are critical to preparing students for the increasingly multi-cultural marketplace. Fortunately, they understand the evolving needs of the workplace and they are agile enough to respond quickly,” she added. Recurrent data suggest that at most educational levels, the performance of American students no longer matches or exceeds that of other advanced nations. And while higher education was once a premier U.S. commodity, many countries are promoting their own schools and seeking to educate their students at home.
The report warns that though some may welcome the decline in foreign student enrollment, “if fewer international students enroll in AASCU universities and colleges, these institutions run the risk of becoming less international in character, thus diminishing the likelihood that students gain a significant understanding and appreciation of other cultures.”
AASCU formed the commission last year in an effort to respond to the challenges of shifting economic realities created by the free flow of capital and labor across borders, the pre-eminence of multinational corporations and the rapid expansion of international trade. The commission was funded by the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI), which provides leadership identification and development programs across all higher education sectors and institutions: public and private, two-year and four-year.
The Commission’s members are: President Susan C. Aldridge, University of Maryland University College; President Donald Betz, Northeastern State University (Okla.); President Robert A. Corrigan, San Francisco State University (Calif.); President Helen Giles-Gee, Keene State College (N.H.); Chancellor Jack Hawkins, Jr., Troy University (Ala.); President Robert W. Kustra, Boise State University (Idaho); President Dorothy Leland, Georgia College & State University; President Michael T. Nietzel, Missouri State University; President P. Kay Norton, University of Northern Colorado; President Denise M. Trauth, Texas State University-San Marcos; Chancellor Jorge Ivan Velez-Arocho, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez; and President Leslie E. Wong, Northern Michigan University. The Commission on Presidential Leadership and Global Competitiveness convened their first meeting at AASCU’s Summer Council of Presidents on July 19, 2008.
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AASCU is the leadership association of 430 public colleges and universities Delivering America’s Promise through their common commitments to access, affordability and educational opportunity. Enrolling more than 3 million students, these institutions fulfill the expectations of a public university by working for the public good through education, stewardship and engagement, thereby improving the lives of people in their community, their region and their state.
Oct. 16
| 53 House Republicans call for â??safe schools czarâ?? resignation | ||
| The Hill - 9 Hours ago | ||
| Fifty-three House Republicans have written President Barack Obama asking him to remove â??safe schools czarâ? Kevin Jennings from that position. The lawmakers accused Jennings of â??pushing a pro-homosexual | ||
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| Working Learners Need Innovative Education Models: |
| American Progress - 8 Hours ago |
| A few months back, the president announced Americas Graduation Initiative, or AGI, with a goal to return America to international leadership in college attainment. A centerpiece of the AGI is to add an |
Chicago gives Fenger students option to transfer ABC7
“The day when the city of Chicago decides to divide schools by gang territory, that’s a day when we have given up the city,” said Daley last week.
Report Suggests Bloomberg’s School Promotion Policy Works NY Times
The RAND report, released Thursday, found that students who were kept in the fifth grade for an additional year showed significant improvement in standardized tests over the next three years compared with low-performing students before the policy went into effect.
Race, class — and new school map Seattle Times
The Seattle School District’s transition to a neighborhood-based enrollment plan and away from a system of multiple choice raises issues raises issues for most constituencies.
McDonogh students tell Duncan what it’s like NOLA.com
Duncan chose John McDonogh, a non-charter school in the state-run Recovery School District, partly because he had heard of the school’s sharp turnaround over the last two years.
Obama in New Orleans: ‘It’s clear how far we have to go’ LA Times
Paul Vallas, the head of the city’s Recovery School District, spoke of the hundreds of millions in rebuilding funds he was still hoping to receive from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Oct. 14
The comparability fly in the Ouchi/principal-autonomy ointment Sherman Dorn
We may not want principals to have complete autonomy in a task where they have relatively weak skills: knowing which novice teachers are going to be great teachers.
Course outline for the LAUSD Richard Riordan
The Public School Choice Resolution is a big step in the right direction. Past experience, however, makes me skeptical as to whether the LAUSD will take full advantage of this window for change.
When I Wish Upon A Star… Eduwonk
Richard Rothstein lays out all the reasons Ed Sec. Arne Duncan is really poised to radically change the direction of federal education policy and throw-out the No Child Left Behind policy.
California too Focused on the Canary in the Coal Mine Quick And The Ed
Here is the problem. That linkage is largely meaningless.
Tween Summit Reveals The Kids Are (Mostly) Alright Jezebel
When Monica Hesse from WaPo asked about sexting, a 14-year-old named Angelique Gaston said, “Ew,” and then proclaimed: “That isn’t what we’re doing. The media bases ev-er-y-thing on sexuality.”
Why D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee Has to Play Tough Richard Whitmire
Running a hurry-up education offense is the only way Rhee can maintain a viable-sized school district that has dwindled to a mere 44,000 students, while the city’s charter school population is expected to grow to 28,000 this year.
Video Game-Crazed Kids Reach New Levels of Violence Gawker
Kids these days sure know how to keep us horrified. Just when we think the little bastards can’t get any more psychotic, five middle school boys have been arrested for setting a classmate alight. Why?
Oct. 13
Zero Tolerance: Texas Style Transparent Christina
Texas sees the light. Modifications are beginning to ease the constraints put upon the nation as a result of the tragedy of Columbine.
Kevin Jennings Is Not Roman Polanski Seyward Darby
One could argue that Jennings should have done more to protect the student, by asking him more questions, calling the police, involving his school’s administration, or even telling the student to discuss the health risks of unprotected sex with a doctor. But linking Jennings with Polanski is nothing short of ridiculous.
Suri Cruise is going to Catholic school? The Superficial [warning: may be NSFW]
In Boston, apparently.
Dylan Klebold’s Mother “Haunted By Horror And Anguish” Her Son Caused Jezebel
In an essay written about her son Dylan and his role in the Columbine massacre that will appear in next month’s Oprah magazine, Susan Klebold admits that she had “no inkling of the battle Dylan was waging in his mind.”
Understanding Title I Funding Distributions Jennifer Cohen
Why Long Beach gets $3k per poor pupil and Spencerport gets $1200.
Nevada Says No Dice to Race to the Top Funding Politics K12
As California moves to eliminate its data firewall, Nevada isn’t budging.
Oct. 12
Another Misleading Report About High School Dropouts and Income Aaron Schutz
Reports like these simply feed the “Education Gospel” in America, the myth that education is a solution for economic and social problems. There is little or no evidence that this is the case.
Early hybrids show the way: the PLC story Tom Vander Ark
Neil Shorthouse co-founded Communities in Schools, the most respected dropout prevention network in America. After three decades of working in and with public schools in Atlanta, Neil identified the need for an alternative setting and approach and created Performance Learning Centers.
What Are the Best Moves Your Schools Ever Made? Jay Mathews
I am suggesting we take a short break from our usual (but always useful) wallowing in what is wrong with our schools and their leaders, and briefly accentuate the positive. I pick the eight best moves I have ever seen Virginia educators make.
Some Good Can Come From Swine Flu Freakonomics
The H1N1 virus has created a positive externality in Korea.
Oct. 9
Turnaround Group Aims to Help States, Districts District Dossier
Heading up the Mass Insight effort is Justin Cohen, who most recently worked for Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee in the District of Columbia public schools.
The Brief, Rocky Life of a Star School Sign On Voice Of San Diego
One year after San Diego Unified created a program to nurture children who were held back in middle school, budget problems and poor planning ended it.
Much Ado About State Education Spending and the SFSF Jennifer Cohen New America
This trend will surely undermine any reform efforts currently afoot at the state and local level and work in opposition to the SFSF’s reform ideals.
Debunking Standards Issue #1 Gotham Schools
It is ridiculous to think that they can be a meaningful lever of broad educational improvement. In fact, I do not think that they can have any significant impact at all.
Oct. 8
What About Segregation? Dana Goldstein
So far, the Obama administration’s commitment to lessening school segregation is no commitment at all — it’s just talk. And by the way, it’s not “many” American kids who are segregated, it’s nearly half. Forty percent of black children, for example, sit each day in classrooms that are 90 to 100 percent black.
Increasing the Number of Great Teachers Instead of Moving the Great Teachers Around EdNext
Great teachers make a big difference, but there aren’t enough great teachers to go around. So which students and schools should get them?
Breaking the Tragic Chain LFA
School reformers take heed: We ignore communities at our own risk.
Teen Kicked Out Of School For Cross-Dressing Jezebel
A 16-year-old boy withdrew from his school in Georgia after school officials told him to stop wearing his “feminine” clothes. They claim his outfit caused a fight, and told him to either dress more manly or get out.
“What would you like it to say?” KDeRosa
One of the faqs asked “what should you do when your child, while reading, stops and says ‘what’s this word’?” According to the faq I’m supposed to say “What would you like it to say?”
Oct. 6
No Fact ZoneArne came in prepared, with a great excuse of why people should care about education. Very nice preparation, sir!
Colbert plays softball with Duncan Mike Klonsky
Colbert softballs Duncan, who spouts every ed cliché known to man.
Arne Duncan on the Colbert Report Ed Policy Thoughts
I’ve never seen such softball questions from Colbert.
Colbert Softballs Duncan The Frustrated Teacher
A disappointing spectacle. Stephen, you blew it.
Oct. 5
Standardization is Not a Four-Letter Word Charlie Barone
It’s important that we not return to a system that relies solely on determining student achievement via a system in which the grade a student receives has more to do with the idiosyncratic grading practices of his or her teacher than with the student’s actual academic progress.
ESEA + ARRA = Big LeverTom Vander Ark
I still think it should wait for another year to let ARRA reshape the landscape.
Stop Bullying the Anti-Bullying Czar The Nation
Given the tragic suicides of two young boys perceived to be gay this past spring, one in Georgia and one in Massachusetts, Jennings is just the right person to head in the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools.
Education in Sweden Matt Yglesias
It’s not really clear to me, however, if Swedish schools are actually performing at a higher level than ours. If our child poverty level were where Sweden’s is, our kids’ test scores would be way higher.
Death comes to YouTube Salon
Rob (Ezra Miller), a sophomore at a fictional East Coast boarding school called Bryton, the protagonist of “Afterschool,” even though he remains unreadable to us, and to the other people at Bryton, for most of the film.
Oct.2
First Draft of History Rachael Brown Atlantic
Just two days after being named to fill the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s seat on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) spoke passionately to NPR’s Michele Norris about the need to “change the politics” around the issue of education reform.
Whitmire and Rotherham fall prey to faux-trend fallacy Sherman Dorn
I’d be cautious of making much of a handful of stories in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and the Washington Post.
Best of the rest
I can’t understand why school staff would be offended at a t-shirt that says “Go Cocks” on it.
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