Obama Takes An EduTrip

And now President Obama is going to Wisconsin, of all places, to talk-up public education. ABC News has the story: Tomorrow, on the anniversary of his election, President Barack Obama heads to Madison, Wisconsin to speak at a local middle school. He’ll address education policy, with a focus on the ‘Race to the Top’ initiative. That $4.35 billion dollar program, funded through the Recovery Act, is

Note To U.S. Dept. Of Ed: Improve Thyself

Heh.Secretary Arne Duncan of The United States Department of Education says "Colleges of Education must improve for reforms to succeed." U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today called for America’s colleges of education to dramatically change how they prepare the next generation of teachers so that they are ready to prepare their future students for success in college and careers.Noting

Going Biblical In Texas

The Texas Board Of Education has now indicated that high schools in the Lone Star State may offer courses in Bible study:AUSTIN – Broad guidelines for a Bible course for Texas high schools were approved by the State Board of Education on Friday, but board members delayed action on specific curriculum requirements until the attorney general has ruled on whether all school districts must offer the

The Disastrous D.C. School System

Take a quick look at the problem that the public school system in our nation's capital has with finding fully licensed teachers: Next up on Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s agenda to make D.C. Schools more accountable? Getting “highly qualified” teachers into the classrooms. Under the controversial law “No Child Left Behind,” all teachers must demonstrate that they are qualified to teach their

Gun-Ed Goes Public

And now we have politicians in one state taking a serious aim at giving kids lessons in gun play: West Virginia is considering a bill to teach schoolchildren how to handle a gun and hunt safely; its proponent hopes the law will increase state revenues from hunting licenses, a state lawmaker said Thursday."We will teach a hunting safety course during their physical education class," state senator

Dixville Notch This!

Dixville Notch, New Hampshire is the little out-of-the-way hole-in-the-wall settlement that has made a cottage industry out of being the first folks to vote in that state's "God-given" first in the nation presidential primary election. This arrogant little hamlet is described thusly:(emphasis added)Dixville Notch is an unincorporated small village in the Dixville township of Coos County, New

George F. Will Gets Beyond NCLB

From tomorrow's Washington Post George Will writes: No Child Left Behind, supposedly an antidote to the "soft bigotry of low expectations," has instead spawned lowered standards. The law will eventually be reauthorized because doubling down on losing bets is what Washington does. But because NCLB contains incentives for perverse behavior, reauthorization should include legislation empowering

The Spellings Report: Pushing NCLB

The nation's report card has just come out and Queen of All Testing U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is positively giddy over the news: "Student achievement is on the rise," said Secretary Spellings. "No Child Left Behind is working. It's doable, reasonable and necessary. Any efforts to weaken accountability would fly in the face of rising achievement."Spellings noted that 48 states

Is EduTechnology Oversold?

The New York Times is reporting that some schools are now dropping their laptop-for-students programs: LIVERPOOL, N.Y. — The students at Liverpool High have used their school-issued laptops to exchange answers on tests, download pornography and hack into local businesses. When the school tightened its network security, a 10th grader not only found a way around it but also posted step-by-step

Head Start Gets Started

The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has approved an expansion of the Head Start program while igniting a controversy over whether or not service providers may be hired/fired on religious grounds:WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House approved more money for the popular Head Start program Wednesday after rejecting a GOP-led attempt to allow religious groups participating in the program