June 17, 2009
Education Week, Vol. 28, Issue 35
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
Does Compulsory School Encourage Creativity?
Lenoir, N.C.
In his Commentary "Creativity: The Path to Economic Recovery" (May 13, 2009), David Burns logically argues against emphasizing STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math) at the expense of the arts in schools, asking, “If the business world is seeking creative thinking as the means to provide a competitive edge in the global economy, shouldn’t we plant the seeds of creativity in our education system?”
In his Commentary "Creativity: The Path to Economic Recovery" (May 13, 2009), David Burns logically argues against emphasizing STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math) at the expense of the arts in schools, asking, “If the business world is seeking creative thinking as the means to provide a competitive edge in the global economy, shouldn’t we plant the seeds of creativity in our education system?”
Education Funding
Letter to the Editor
Finding the Middle Ground on Mentoring in Schools
To the Editor:
School-based mentoring is one of the fastest-growing forms of community service in the United States, serving close to a million students annually. Mentoring is an excellent example of the volunteerism that President Barack Obama has called for in recent national addresses. Yet the administration’s fiscal 2010 budget would eliminate all federal funding for the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Mentoring Program ("Obama Budget Choices Scrutinized," May 20, 2009).
School-based mentoring is one of the fastest-growing forms of community service in the United States, serving close to a million students annually. Mentoring is an excellent example of the volunteerism that President Barack Obama has called for in recent national addresses. Yet the administration’s fiscal 2010 budget would eliminate all federal funding for the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Mentoring Program ("Obama Budget Choices Scrutinized," May 20, 2009).
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
Taking Children Outdoors: A Factor in Science Gains?
To the Editor:
Regarding your recent In Perspective article on the BioKIDS curriculum and its use in the Detroit public schools ("Scientific Reasoning: No Child’s Play," May 13, 2009), while I applaud the science gains made by participating students, I wonder if perhaps we have missed the underlying reason for them. Maybe it’s the nature activities that take children outdoors that make the difference.
Regarding your recent In Perspective article on the BioKIDS curriculum and its use in the Detroit public schools ("Scientific Reasoning: No Child’s Play," May 13, 2009), while I applaud the science gains made by participating students, I wonder if perhaps we have missed the underlying reason for them. Maybe it’s the nature activities that take children outdoors that make the difference.
School Choice & Charters
New Tethers Eyed for Milwaukee Vouchers
Added accountability is the legislation’s aim, though voucher supporters fear it is a back-door assault on the program.
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
Strength, Fairness, and Principals' Effectiveness
To the Editor:
In his online Commentary "Lessons Learned From the Chicago Public Schools" (May 26, 2009), Timothy Knowles correctly emphasizes the important role that principals play in successful schools, when he writes that “the best academic programs won’t succeed if they land in schools with weak principals.” It is not strength, however, but fairness that ultimately determines their effectiveness. This point is poorly understood in the ongoing school reform debate.
In his online Commentary "Lessons Learned From the Chicago Public Schools" (May 26, 2009), Timothy Knowles correctly emphasizes the important role that principals play in successful schools, when he writes that “the best academic programs won’t succeed if they land in schools with weak principals.” It is not strength, however, but fairness that ultimately determines their effectiveness. This point is poorly understood in the ongoing school reform debate.
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
Hire Full-Time Mentors, in Lieu of Merit Pay
To the Editor:
Your article “Grade Inflation Seen in Evaluations of Teachers, Regardless of System” (June 10, 2009) is a balanced presentation of conflicting concepts related to teacher assessment.
Your article “Grade Inflation Seen in Evaluations of Teachers, Regardless of System” (June 10, 2009) is a balanced presentation of conflicting concepts related to teacher assessment.
School & District Management
Opinion
The Fundamentals of Whole-System Reform
"Common sense seems to dictate that if you want results on an urgent problem, you should be hard-nosed about it. The trouble is that this does not motivate people to bring about whole-system change," write Michael Fullan and Ben Levin.
School & District Management
Opinion
Educational Triage in D.C.
"In her own backyard, Rhee is making policy decisions that are explicitly designed to make adults look good, even as many children are left behind," writes Jennifer L. Jennings.
Federal
Opinion
Start Over
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan writes, "If we don’t take aggressive action to fix the problems of low-performing schools, we are putting the children in them on track for failure."
Teaching Profession
N.C. District Lets Go of Veteran Teachers, But Keeps TFA Hires
Charlotte-Mecklenburg exempts Teach For America recruits from getting pink slips, while letting go more-senior teachers.
Federal
School Facilities Bill Stuck in Senate Limbo
The measure would set aside $32.4 billion for environmentally friendly school modernization, repair, and renovation.
Federal
Opinion
Let's Not 'Kill Off' NCLB
“We need fixes (not weakening), and we need to make important next steps. But before we listen to those whose failed policies have not worked in the past telling us to kill NCLB, let’s be very, very careful,” writes B. Alexander Kress.
Federal
Opinion
Let's Get Real About the Dropout Crisis
“With more-focused and realistic goals, we could succeed in turning around the biggest school problems, and not in the dim and distant future,” writes William Berkson.
Federal
Opinion
Accountability 2.0
“In the 21st century, core competencies are as important as core knowledge,” writes Tony Wagner.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Early-College High School: Modest Experiment or National Movement?
"This radical experiment of early college has caused some adult skeptics to change their minds about what low-income students can accomplish and what opportunities should be put before them," write Nancy Hoffman and Michael Webb.
Federal
Opinion
The Time for National Content Standards
“There is no guarantee that voluntary national content standards would be better than the standards currently in use by states, but there are at least five good reasons to think that they would be,” write Andrew C. Porter and Morgan S. Polikoff.
Federal
Opinion
What I Want When I Teach
“Whole schools, not individual teachers, should benefit from exemplary student progress; a feeling of shared responsibility for a group goal is a more powerful motivator than going it alone,” writes Alex Klein.
Federal
Budget Outlook For States: Grim
State spending is predicted to fall again in fiscal 2010 despite the federal economic-stimulus package, likely meaning more cuts for K-12.
