Archive for March, 2009

Moxie

It bodes well for the future that there are kids with enough intelligence and moxie to gracefully pull off telling the adults in charge (parents, teachers, principals, chancellors of education) that the current state of D.C. high schools could use a little work, and that they’d like to do a ninth-grade year at their only-to-eighth-grade [ READ MORE ]

Teacher Compensation Reform

I remain wary of Obama’s teacher compensation plan, but here are two articles on the subject. As I opined previously, the idea of paying the good teachers well is wonderful and I would wholeheartedly say “yes” if the world were more with the logic and the black-and-whiteness and less with the grey areas and red [ READ MORE ]

Beware the College Rankings Machine

The National Review Online has an illuminating article up pointing out the illogicality (and foolishness) of putting too much faith in the warped college rankings system. I’ve said about all I can say (using professional language) about the rankings, so I’ll hold back and let Frederick M. Hess and Thomas Gift from NRO speak wisely [ READ MORE ]

Sneakerology 101

I want to take this class! If I went to Carnegie Mellon, I totally would. Then perhaps I could finally understand the deep-seated reasons behind my shoe-choice evolution. In middle school I was the first kid in my small town to wear these: In high school I moved on to these: And now, as a [ READ MORE ]

Kindergarten Readiness

Here’s an interesting study on perspective, perceptions, and how socioeconomic placement and ethnicity do or don’t affect parents’ beliefs about what constitutes “kindergarten readiness” for their progeny. Apparently, the kids from families in which “authoritarian” rule is key are good with following the rules, but aren’t so quick with autonomy and inferring, both of which [ READ MORE ]

Economy Makes Being an RA Seem Like a Good Idea

It’s amazing what starts to look enticing when the economy is sucking. Nationwide, colleges and universities have reported phenomenal increases in the number of applicants for RA positions. RAs (resident advisors) are the long-suffering, non-freshmen, adult(ish) folks who agree to live in vomit-splattered, high-volume dorms in exchange for free room and board at their institution [ READ MORE ]

How Charter Schools Affect Student Outcomes

The RAND Corportation just released a report on charter schools and whether they’re a help or a hindrance to the students that attend them. Charter schools are one of the reigning flavors of the month in the education debate kerfuffle. It’s a wee bit chaotic in the education world right now, but here’s the simple [ READ MORE ]

Journalism Degree Update

Do you ever watch something on the news and wonder what everyone will think about it a few decades hence? This news clip from 1981 relates to the journalism degree post. It’s fascinating. And also like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I wonder if all journalists and journalism majors yelled loud enough, they [ READ MORE ]

Consider a Well-Rounded MBA

“MBA” is a wince-worthy term these days. The NY Times is saying MBA programs are in need of a major overhaul. Jon Stewart just cleaned Jim Cramer’s clock using only words and logic. And then there’s the whole tanking economy, which some folks are blaming the MBA-havin’ money guys for. In light of all of [ READ MORE ]

11th-Grade Activities

I found this perfect bit from xkcd on Tiara Shafiq’s blog, EducateDeviate. I know that we can’t have teenagers running amok and learning only what interests them, but wouldn’t it be cool if we could? They’d probably still find a reason to loathe adults, but maybe the angst would be diluted ever so slightly. Posted [ READ MORE ]