June 5, 2017

The Rock And Tough Love, Purdue And Kaplan, Title I Inequity, Impact Aid Ideas, Grocery Stores And Schools, Stephen Carter On Reading, Campus Politics, CMO Growth, Music Reviews, More!

By Bellwether

Share this article

At The 74, Hailly Korman and I warm to the idea of Mr. President The Rock. We also like his genuine interest in helping adjudicated youth but in an open letter we urge him to make sure there is as much love as tough in his tough love approach.

Off-edu, I review some musical acts, large and small, including Tedeschi Trucks, Stevie Nicks, Tracy Grammer, Sam Gleaves and Tyler Hughes, and more here at Grateful Ed. Last week I wrote about how Trump doesn’t have a climate policy but he does have an economic politics with more resonance than people assume.

Really interesting David Cantor look at young people, relationships, sex, more.

Here’s a look at Purdue and Kaplan – an interesting situation and creative move by a college president.

School transportation: Here come the libertarians!

This article looks at college-readiness in Texas. Buried at the bottom is an issue that doesn’t get the attention it should: switching costs for students. My bias is that this is because most of the people working on these issues didn’t have to think about switching costs themselves. But in any event, we need to argue a little less about what path is best (for other people’s kids, natch) and more about how to increase fluidity and integration between them.

Title I and inequity via Ed Build’s Stadler.

This Washington Post story on grocery stories in Washington, D.C. is a good reminder of why not everyone sees or experiences “markets” or experiences the same way. Education implications for choice advocates.

Always good to pay attention to the non-conformists.

Who lost Frank Bruni?

Like plenty of adults across the political spectrum, they use slurs in lieu of arguments, looking for catharsis rather than constructive engagement. They ratchet up their language to a degree that weakens its currency for direr circumstances. And they undermine their goals — our goals — by pushing away good-hearted allies and handing ammunition to the very people who itch to dismiss them.

This is a depressing take on higher education. Despite a splashy Times story this seems like an issue in search of a controversy – these kind of events have been around for a while. Has a ‘go find a fresh angle on campus politics’ meets ‘Harvard!’ flavor. Yes, in today’s context it’s symbolic of how we’re pulling apart and individualism and all that, but given all the issues in higher education from economics and lack of economic opportunity to campus climate this seems an odd one to get worked up about.

Also, Harvard rescinding admissions offers for several students over online behavior.

This Heritage Foundation proposal to convert the federal Impact Aid program into a education savings account program for military dependents is interesting on two levels. In terms of school choice,  the issue of low quality schools near some military bases is a real one. But this proposal is bonkers because Impact Aid exists to compensate school districts for federally owned land they can’t tax. In fact, a cynic might wonder if it has more to do with undermining federally owned lands, a priority of a lot of Republicans these days, than it does with schools.

Is a compromise on the horizon in the teacher policy debate in California?

STRIVE in Denver and next generation issues for charter schooling.

This is what happens when you look too closely:

Thus the conclusion Connecticut was supposed to draw from Judge Moukawsher’s indictment of the city schools, an indictment prompted in large part by the East Hartford superintendent and the CEA themselves and so similar to the indictment by Mrs. DeVos, was instantly amended. Now it goes this way: If being terrible will get them more money, as sought by the school financing lawsuit, city schools are indeed terrible, but if being terrible will get them less money, as under the Trump budget, city schools are not so bad after all.

Nice missive from Stephen Carter on teachers who taught him to read. I can think of two teachers who did this for me, Flossie Zar and Dottie Gwynn (who I was lucky enough to have twice, one in middle school and then later in high school). I can also think of an English teacher, who will remain nameless here, who did this inadvertently. She made literature so deadly I set out on my own to read other stuff on the contrarian assumption that it can’t possibly be this bad.

New material on personalized learning in rural Maine from the National Charter School Resource Center – with videos! Bellwether took a look at this last year, but with lobsters! Broader look at personalized and rural via a Bellwether report here.

Coming attractions. Next Monday, the 12th, from 4-5pm Mary Wells of Bellwether, Daryl Cobb of CSGF, Dolores Gonzalez of IDEA Public Schools, Vanessa Rodriguez of Citizens of the World Charter School, and James Willcox of Strategic Growth Partners (and fishing fame) will be discussing the last decade of CMO growth. Great chance to hear from people doing the work about lessons learned.

This is a very odd French story about bilingual education in the U.S.

Mike Petrilli and Liz King debate accountability. Minnesota measles outbreak. Are we about to see an age of science in policymaking? Crack a history book and you’ll see why that can be a mixed blessing.

Here’s your chance to adopt a dog that can’t get a clearance. Although some see it differently. Also kids on leashes.

More from this topic

Processing...
Thank you! Your subscription has been confirmed. You'll hear from us soon.
ErrorHere