Obama’s Secretary of Education
by David Safier It's all but official that Arne Duncan will be the next Secretary of Education. While no one is ecstatic about the choice, no one is angry about it either. That seems to be the watchword for Obama's cabinet picks. It may be a great strategy, choosing people who can work with all … Read more
Another reminder
by David Safier Yet another reminder to give $200 for one person or $400 for a couple to the public school (or divided among the public schools) of your choice by December 31 and get it all back when you pay your state taxes. I think it's a good idea. Ann-Eve Pedersen,a founder of Tucson … Read more
Developing story: Deposit-gate
by David Safier Yes, Deposit-gate. Create a hypenated word with "gate" at the end, and everyone knows what kind of story it is (though, I wonder if people remember that Watergate had nothing to do with Water.) Yesterday I wrote a story about newly elected Rep. Vic Williams (R, LD-26) not returning a $400 rental … Read more
D.C. Charter school successes, at $12,000+ per student
by David Safier Washington D.C. has lots of charter schools, and a Washington Post article says their students are surpassing the regular public school students in test scores. If so, they're accomplishing something that hasn't been accomplished elsewhere, since most studies say charters don't exceed other public schools in student achievement. I don't know how rigorous the … Read more
Iraq Vet Sues Vic Williams for Unreturned Rental Deposit
by David Safier When Tasha Downum returned from Iraq in June, 2008, she took her five year old son, her mother and her grandmother on a two week vacation to Newport Beach, California. Her son had never seen the ocean, and after a year in Iraq's heat and sand, she was looking forward to being … Read more
Educational “establishment” and “reformers” redux
by David Safier A few days ago, I complained about how the media is using the terms "establishment" and "reformer" in the current educational debate. "Establishment" has come to refer to teachers, teacher unions and liberal education profs. "Reformers" is used to refer to people who agree with the Bushies on education — merit pay … Read more
How we can be more like Finland
by David Safier According to Matt Yglesias, in Finland, teacher education programs turn away five applicants for every one they accept, and the applicants typically come from the top half of upper secondary schools which themselves only basically the top half of Finnish primary school graduates (the rest go to vocational schools). Why? It's not … Read more
