Published Articles & Media
Blog
If Only Obama Had Made Himself the Education President. . .
Even more than the current presidential approval rating of 48 percent, Republican Senator-elect Scott Brown’s morning-after celebration just one year to the day after Barack Obama took the oath of office tells us that something has gone wrong with the President's governing strategy.
Teacher Union Spending
How Much Teacher Unions Spend in Your State
Teacher unions are quietly undermining charter and merit pay legislation that is supposed to help states “race to the top.” To exercise such power, a hefty cash box comes in handy.
Blog
New York Times on the Wall Street Journal: The Stove Pot Calling the Mixing Bowl Black
In what is certain to be the top hilarity story of the week, New York Times columnist David Carr “thoughtfully” reveals what he sees as the drift to the right on the part of his company’s great rival, the Wall Street Journal.
Blog
Technological Innovation is Our Best and Final Hope for Saving High Quality Math and Science Education
More than half of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are immigrants, wrote Paul Kedrosky and Brad Feld in a Wall Street Journal editorial last Wednesday. Kedrosky and Feld cite this fact to argue that visas for talented foreigners are desperately needed to sustain the growth sectors in the American economy. Their point is well taken, but the fix is only short term. The United States needs to begin growing its own creative talent by educating the best of our young people in science, math, and cognitive science skills from an early age.
Blog
Is the Decline of the Mainstream Press Bad for Education?
Education is the top in only 1.4 percent of news coverage by television, radio, newspapers and news web sites, a report issued by the Brookings Institution tells us. Should we be distressed? Perhaps, but we shouldn’t be surprised.
Blog
Race to the Top Versus the Money Chase
The National Education Association (and its local affiliates) gave $56.3 million dollars to state and federal election campaigns in 2007 and 2008, more than any other entity. The much smaller American Federation of Teachers tossed in another $12 million dollars into political campaigns. This enormous cash nexus that swamps anything any business entity has contributed creates a huge problem for Arne Duncan.
Governance and Leadership
What Happens When States Have Genuine Alternative Certification?
We get more minority teachers and test scores rise
Blog
Stimulating Stagnation in Education
According to a New York Times report, the Obama Administration admits that over half of the jobs it created or saved by its stimulus package were in the field of education. Had that money really been spent in ways to promote educational productivity, it would have been faithful to the investment goals of the stimulus package.
No Child Left Behind
Few States Set World-Class Standards
In fact, most render the notion of proficiency meaningless