by David Safier Here's another question born of ignorance. When college athletes are given scholarships, where does the money come from? A column by John Harris in the Pittsburgh Trib-Review questions the free education given to college athletes. Harris comments: A basketball player attending Pitt is eligible for an education worth more than $100,000. Except … Read more
by David Safier A Seattle Times columnist has an interesting thought piece on teacher merit pay, comparing it to bonuses paid to Wall Street execs. If pay for performance is such a good idea, how did Wall Street's bonus babies get us into such a mess? It's a good question, and part of a larger … Read more
by David Safier A few commenters have written about a column by E.D. Hirsch in this morning's NY Times concerning standardized reading tests. The commenters found themselves agreeing with someone who at least one of them has reservations about. Let me weigh in. E.D. Hirsch is the big "cultural literacy" guy. He's conservative in the sense … Read more
by David Safier This morning I posted about a Nicholas Kristof article praising D.C. School Chancellor Michelle Rhee's "reform" agenda. I noted his statement, "Test results showed more educational gains last year [2008] than in the previous four years put together," and said I would look into possible reasons for the gains. If they're legit, great. … Read more
by David Safier I experienced a dozen conflicting emotions as I read Nicholas Kristof's NY Times, column, Education's Ground Zero this morning. I'm on Kristof's side of most issues. When I'm not, I know I can't dismiss him. Today, though, his column has echoes of the ideas conservatives have been pushing about education. Hence, the conflict. … Read more