Education and employment
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich notes in the Wall Street Journal today that 5 percent of college graduates are jobless, compared to 15.6 percent of high-school dropouts. — Richard Lee Colvin
Don’t forget the adults
The Hechinger Report has this story in today’s Washington Post about the inadequacies of the non-system in the U.S. for educating adults — 30 million of whom read English poorly. Key point: “Adult education classes, a patchwork system operated by public schools, colleges and charities, have space for only a small fraction of those who […]
Lessons from an auto assembly plant
I just listened to the recent “This American Life” podcast* that explored the rise and fall of the NUMMI auto assembly plant in Fremont, California and what it says about the auto industry. (In 1984, the then-dominant General Motors and the insurgent Toyota agreed to build cars together: Toyota would learn to adapt its renowned […]
More, more, harder, harder
The Florida Legislature also sent to Gov. Charlie Crist a bill (SB4) requiring students graduating in 2012 to take four math courses (including Algebra II or its equivalent), and those graduating in 2013 to take three science classes (including biology, chemistry and physics) and pass new end-of-course exams in those subjects. That doesn’t necessarily mean […]
Merit pay and end of tenure in Florida move ahead
The Florida Legislature has sent to Gov. Charlie Crist a bill that would put all teachers hired after July 1 on one-year contracts and not offer them tenure. Raises would be based on student achievement. The governor, who previously had said he supported the bill, now says he may not sign it. — Richard Lee […]
Taking classes without learning much
Over the past 25 years, students have been required to pass more and more math, science, English, history, and foreign language classes to graduate from high school. Today’s sophomores in 10 states will have to take more math than did students who graduated five years earlier; nine states will require them to take more science. […]
Ending teacher tenure in Florida?
Looks like that’s what could happen. A key committee in the Florida House has approved a bill that will end teacher tenure, create a new statewide merit pay program, and require that half of teachers’ evaluations be based on student performance. Teachers in Florida are furious, saying good teachers will be discouraged from working in […]
Teachers, the movie
After the death of famed calculus teacher Jaime Escalante, who was depicted in the inspirational movie Stand and Deliver, USA Today reporter Greg Toppo took a look at education movies more generally. Greg talked to James Trier, a University of North Carolina professor who studies movies and television shows about teachers. Going all the way […]
Do-it-yourself higher education
Must-listen radio: Brian Lehrer’s WNYC interview of Anya Kamenetz about her new book: DIY U.: Edupunks, Edupreneurs and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education. Kamenetz writes about tuition rising at twice the rate of inflation, productivity in higher education (which she says is a “dirty word”), and the fact that parents and students know little […]
What college majors are expendable?
Outdoor learning at Humboldt State University Humboldt State University, part of the California State University system and located on the state’s northern coast, needs to cut its budget. Among the programs under consideration for elimination are these: philosophy, chemistry, physics, fisheries biology and oceanography. Does every college need a philosophy department? What about chemistry? What […]
