Education Reform

Homework: Adversarial Relationships?

Robert Rose | Posted 11.24.2008 | Living


Robert Rose

I watched and it proved my stance on homework. It creates an adversarial relationship between the parents, between the parents and child, and between the family and the teacher.

Schools Facing Big Budget Bust: Opportunity for Overhaul?

Tom Vander Ark | Posted 11.24.2008 | Politics


Tom Vander Ark

While far from easy, states with courageous governors could use this crisis to make a radical change: cut the budget by 10% and send the money directly to schools.

Making the Right Choices for Education and the Economy

Randi Weingarten | Posted 11.18.2008 | Politics


Randi Weingarten

The financial crisis, the deepening recession, and their destructive consequences all threaten state and local governments' most essential investment: educating the next generation.

"Reinvest, Don't Disinvest" in Education: Randi Weingarten Takes the National Stage

Dan Brown | Posted 11.17.2008 | Politics


Dan Brown

Weingarten's speech was an impassioned call to spare the hatchet -- or scalpel -- in federal funding for education.

McCain's Education Plan is Scary as Hell

Dan Brown | Posted 10.31.2008 | Politics


Dan Brown

Reforming America's inadequate public school system--a crucial priority for our country's future-- should not be undertaken with a failed ideology. Th...

This Election Doesn't Leave Our Children Behind

Christopher Fink | Posted 10.27.2008 | Home


Christopher Fink

Many children have been learning about and engaged with this election. This is sure to have an affect on our children's sense of civic responsibility to vote and care about our democracy as they grow up.

"The Great Expectations School" Paperback Gets AFT President Randi Weingarten's Endorsement

Dan Brown | Posted 10.20.2008 | Living


Dan Brown

Classrooms are ready-made for great stories. Comprised of twenty-some children and one adult, bound by a common mission, they are intersections of you...

McCain Selling Discredited "Magic" of the Market as School Solution

Erika Szostak | Posted 10.14.2008 | Home


Erika Szostak

In an exclusive interview, a UCLA Graduate School of Education Professor discusses the differing educational policies of the presidential candidates. McCain stresses school choice and "educational mobility" while Obama talks about expanding the overall education budget.

Extreme Disparities in School Funding are Promoting Inequality

Rep. Mike Honda | Posted 10.03.2008 | Politics


Rep. Mike Honda

The substantial differences in funding between schools prevents too many children in poor areas from realizing their potential, leading to ever more economic inequality in our society.

McCain, Obama On Iraq, Afghanistan And Trade

Eliza Margarita Bates and Cara Zwerling | Posted 09.18.2008 | Home


Eliza Margarita Bates and Cara Zwerling

Over the course of this week, OffTheBus is running a primer on some of the most important foreign policy issues the next president will face. The primer can act as a guide to how candidates Barack Obama and John McCain stand on each issue. Check out the links for more information on these issues. Today, the primer looks at where Obama and McCain stand on Iraq, Afghanistan and trade policy.

Education and the Election: A Crucial Constituency Raises its Voice

Dan Brown | Posted 09.09.2008 | Politics


Dan Brown

When parents organize, it's hard to ignore. Chicago-based Parents United for Responsible Education and New York City-based Class Size Matters have jum...

Educators: If You Enjoy NCLB, You'll Love the McCain/Palin Plan!

Gary Stager | Posted 09.02.2008 | Politics


Gary Stager

Although much of what Sarah Palin says in her education plan for Alaska, reads like an undergraduate homework assignment, she does express support for something called ABC Schools.

And She Homeschools? 10 Reasons Sarah Palin Terrifies (and Fascinates) Me

Dan Brown | Posted 09.01.2008 | Politics


Dan Brown

I'm worried that I'm obsessing too much about Sarah Palin. She terrifies me! She fascinates me! She could be running our country! Here are ten reasons...

An Anonymous Blogger Superhero is Unmasked!

Dan Brown | Posted 08.25.2008 | Media


Dan Brown

In the past year, the national discussion on education has been elevated and informed by an anonymous blogger known as Eduwonkette. Her daily updated ...

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is Bridging Gaps: Past to Present, Harlem to Harvard

Dan Brown | Posted 08.19.2008 | Media


Dan Brown

Renowned professor and author Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has a new project that could be a true gift for raising engagement in African American students. ...

Virtual Learning Hits Campaign Trail

Clayton M. Christensen and Michael B. Horn | Posted 08.19.2008 | Politics


Clayton M. Christensen and Michael B. Horn

With McCain's ideas on education, we finally have something new that can move us beyond the tired debates around No Child Left Behind. McCain supports virtual learning -- to the tune of $1 billion a year.

What Makes Bobby Run

Gerald Bracey | Posted 08.18.2008 | Politics


Gerald Bracey

Bob Wise was speaking on C-SPAN and equated the National Assessment of Educational Progress achievement level of proficient to grade level. This is absurd on its face.

What Next For Meeks? Bring New Trier Kids To CPS

Alexander Russo | Posted 08.17.2008 | Chicago


Alexander Russo

Disrupting the start of the school year is a small price to pay for something that could transform education in Illinois, which has the second-most inequitable funding system in the nation.

Exporting NYC's Education "Miracle": Buyer Beware!

Dan Brown | Posted 08.12.2008 | Politics


Dan Brown

Since his election in 2001, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made narrowing the white-minority achievement gap in New York City his signature issue. After ...

Illuminating Public Schools' Possibilities: "Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way"

Dan Brown | Posted 07.29.2008 | Living


Dan Brown

What happens when a teacher decides to disregard the canned standards and the stacks of test prep materials? Do the students wallow in ignorance, cheated out of a proper education by an "activist" teacher?

"Prep for Prep"--A Brilliant Education Idea Realized

Dan Brown | Posted 06.24.2008 | Business


Dan Brown

Have you heard of Prep for Prep? It's a brilliant idea realized. Here's how it works: Every year for the past thirty years, approximately 150 low-inc...

Two Million Minutes Takes a Lifetime to Endure

Gerald Bracey | Posted 06.22.2008 | Entertainment


Gerald Bracey

Toward the end, when the Indian or Chinese kids were on the screen, I wanted to yell at it: "Get a Life!" Not as a put-down, but as a wake up call.

Exclusive, Anonymous Book Excerpt: An Insider Reveals the "Drunks, Dingbats, and Dilettantes Who Write & Score America's Standardized Tests"

Dan Brown | Posted 06.13.2008 | Media


Dan Brown

I am highly critical of the current use of standardized tests in American public schools. While testing certainly deserves a place in the world, I bel...

Watch and Join a Heated Three-Minute Education Debate

Dan Brown | Posted 05.23.2008 | Politics


Dan Brown

At last week's Ed in '08 Blogger Summit, I asked a question about alternatives to high-stakes testing to the education policy panel and received an an...

Schools at Risk: A Unique Perspective

Gerald Bracey | Posted 05.20.2008 | Living


Gerald Bracey

Discussions about the condition of public schools usually center on curriculum, instruction and test scores. A new book by Gene V. Glass reads more like a thriller than an academic treatise.