September 14, 2011
“Learning is like rowing upstream – to not advance is to drop back.” – Chinese proverb. Well, get ready to go backward … again. Today’s SAT score analysis for college-bound seniors shows that student improvement is going nowhere and that Hispanics and African-American students continue to face a wide achievement gap. When you take into […]
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September 14, 2011
I have often said — normally out of frustration — that someday I am going to start a new national advocacy effort to get parents to talk to their children. The idea first occurred to me on a Washington, DC metro ride. I sat across from a parent with her little boy, who was no […]
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September 9, 2011
It’s that time of year again – kids are heading back to school. For parents, this can be a reason to rejoice or panic. Sure, you’re happy your child is going to begin another year of learning and growth. But, at the same time you may be worried about whether or not your child is […]
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September 9, 2011
Everyone has a story about what was happening ten years ago, on that originally beautiful morning that soon turned into the nightmare we now know as September 11, 2001. I was watching live coverage of then President George W. Bush, who sat in a public school classroom in Florida, as he sought to mobilize people […]
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September 9, 2011
Everyone has a story about what was happening ten years ago, on that originally beautiful morning that soon turned into the nightmare we now know as September 11, 2001. I was watching live coverage of then President George W. Bush, who sat in a public school classroom in Florida, as he sought to mobilize people […]
Read more »
September 9, 2011
It’s that time of year again – kids are heading back to school. For parents, this can be a reason to rejoice or panic. Sure, you’re happy your child is going to begin another year of learning and growth. But, at the same time you may be worried about whether or not your child is […]
Read more »
September 8, 2011
You can steal the plays, but that doesn’t mean you can execute the playbook. This week in the New York Times, Houston Public Schools explained how its troubled schools were looking to improve by mimicking successful charter schools. It’s great that HPS is acknowledging that charter schools are successful in educating low-income, urban kids. And it’s […]
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September 8, 2011
You can steal the plays, but that doesn’t mean you can execute the playbook. This week in the New York Times, Houston Public Schools explained how its troubled schools were looking to improve by mimicking successful charter schools. It’s great that HPS is acknowledging that charter schools are successful in educating low-income, urban kids. And […]
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September 2, 2011
Once upon a time, in this country, early in the last century hoards of Italians, (like me!), Irish, German, Jewish peoples and more descended on this land in search of something better. From the schools to the sweatshops, they took jobs that paid little and demanded much. Haste, greed and neglect soon became the norm […]
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August 17, 2011
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts, said the late great Daniel Patrick Moynihan. And indeed, the PDK/Gallup poll underscores the wisdom offered by the former Senior Senator from New York, no doubt in the larger public policy context of his day. While everyone has opinions, pollsters are supposed to […]
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