Education
Conservative States Starve Public Schools, Feed Rich With Tax Cuts
A study reveals that most of the states that have made the deepest cuts in public education are those with Republican-dominated legislatures, many of which at the same time awarded tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations.
Don't Buy Conservative Ideas Sold With Civil Rights Rhetoric
Conservatives are appropriating the language of the civil rights movement to accomplish a goal that has nothing to do with rescuing poor African-American students from low-quality education. Too many on the left aren't following along.
Charter Schools For Scandals
Hardly a week goes by without news of a scandal or a study tarnishing the image of charter schools. These schools need way more scrutiny and, yes, government regulation. But the charter school myth is hard to crack.
Let's Change Perceptions of Black Men And Boys
We must urge our media to convey agency to black men and boys themselves, not just to reinforce negative stereotypes. We all lose if we are told only about the disparities and not the achievements and successes of Black men and boys.
Why America Should Care About Philadelphia's Children
Philadelphia has become the site where the nation's drift away from its founding ideals is most acutely obvious which is why it is important to get the narrative straight.
Tests Reveal What's Rotten About Common Core
Regardless of what you think about the new Common Core State Standards and their ability to assess what students "really need," there's little doubt that students who took recent tests based on the standards were set up to fail.
Bennett-gate And The Politics Of Grading Schools
Last week's midair disintegration of a high-flying apparatchik in the movement known as education "reform" is still making headlines in local press and the national media. Tony Bennett was a hero of the national movement bent on reshaping public education along the...
Five Messages About Public Education That Don't Sell (And Ones That Will)
[The following is from a talk given at a meeting of the Young Elected Officials last week in Washington, D.C.] Thanks for having me here today. I'm feeling a little out of context at a meeting for the Young Elected Officials. And it's not because I'm not an elected...
What Parents Want For Education Policy
A mantra recited by those who pride themselves as adherents to a movement known as "education reform" is that for too long policies governing public schools have favored "the adults" in the system at the expense of children. This rhetoric has framed any objections...
Despite House Action, Debate Over 'No Child Left Behind' Goes Nowhere
After years of inaction on rewriting the nation's centerpiece legislation governing public schools, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Friday passed "The Student Success Act" by a mostly partisan vote of 221-207 – despite a veto threat from the...
