education

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Braille Read by Less Than 10% of Blind Americans

(Newser) - Less than 10% of blind Americans know how to read Braille, and just 10% of blind children are being taught the printed language, the AP reports. A study by the National Federation of the Blind also pegs Braille illiteracy to unemployment. While the blind population faces 70% unemployment overall, that...

In Classroom, Twitter Trumps the Queen

Proposed UK curriculum focuses on learning skills, flexibility

(Newser) - Why learn about World War II or Queen Victoria in elementary school when you can always look them up on Wikipedia? That seems to be the rationale behind a new proposed overhaul of the British school system. Because secondary schools teach plenty of history, the reasoning goes, early schooling should...

Magna Cum Fraud: Top Schools for Scoundrels

People behind financial crisis went to same universities

(Newser) - Many of the bigwigs involved in the financial crisis went to the same few elite schools, notes Joe Weisenthal in Business Insider. Maybe, he writes, when the crisis begins to fade, we’ll think twice about having another Harvardian or MIT grad running things. Among the offending institutions:
  • New York
...

Teach to the Test&mdash;But Make Better Tests
Teach to the Test—But Make Better Tests 
OPINION
Mar 23, 2009 10:38 AM CDT

Teach to the Test—But Make Better Tests

Tie reading passages in with curriculum to even playing field

(Newser) - Critics worry that the current system of “fill-in-the-bubble” school testing promotes teaching to the test—but maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing if we had tests “worth teaching to,” writes Ed Hirsch Jr in the New York Times. The tests themselves are highly reliable...

Evolution Education Under Fire in Texas

New textbooks could challenge theory, shape US curriculum

(Newser) - Texas’ Board of Education votes this week on whether to teach a science curriculum that challenges evolution—and the result could affect schools across the US, the Wall Street Journal reports. Because Texas is such a huge market, textbook writers often design national material based on state standards. “This...

Aussie Critics Rip Micky D's McMath Tutoring

Program is sneaky marketing push, charge educators

(Newser) - Nutritionists and educators are having trouble swallowing McDonald's sponsorship of an online math program, the Guardian reports. The tutoring program, available free to schools and students across Australia, features the golden arches logo on its front page. Australia's government commended McDonald's for providing the resource, but critics see it as...

Obama Has Right Idea on Education
 Obama Has Right 
 Idea on Education 
OPINION
Mar 13, 2009 9:50 AM CDT

Obama Has Right Idea on Education

Breaks with party orthodoxy

(Newser) - David Brooks crosses ideological lines to give President Obama a big shout-out on his education strategy today in the New York Times. "He has broken with liberal orthodoxy on school reform more than any other policy," Brooks raves. "He's naturally inclined to be data driven. There's reason...

Rihanna Case a Wake-Up Call for Teens

Young people becoming more aware of domestic violence

(Newser) - The Rihanna-Chris Brown saga provides an important “teachable moment” for kids, USA Today reports. One in four teen relationships involves violence and this highly visible case is bringing awareness to those who thought “it can’t happen" to me—especially after a photo of Rihanna's battered face was...

Obama to Push Merit Pay for Teachers in Schools Plan

Prez to push teacher merit pay, lower dropout rates

(Newser) - In a speech today before the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, President Obama will lay out his plan for American schools, reports the Wall Street Journal. Most controversially, the president aims to expand merit pay for teachers, a measure that Democratic teacher unions are traditionally leery of. If teachers develop...

Earth to GOP: Obama's No Socialist
Earth to GOP: Obama's
No Socialist 

analysis
Mar 8, 2009 6:12 PM CDT

Earth to GOP: Obama's No Socialist

Obama favors free-market approach

(Newser) - Horrified by President Obama's stimulus plan, conservatives are calling him a European-style socialist—when in fact he's all-American, Jacob Weisberg writes in Newsweek. Obama envisions “cradle-to-grave opportunity, as opposed to the European model of cradle-to-grave security,” writes Weisberg, who explains that Obama’s plans to tackle hot issues...

Podcasts More Effective Than Lecture Alone: Study

(Newser) - Though podcasts can’t replace actually going to class, research suggests that students who download recorded versions of lectures get better grades, Ars Technica reports. Being able to repeat tricky parts of the lecture seems key; a group that attended a lecture and downloaded it later scored 9% higher than...

8th-Grader's Letter Inspired Obama Speech

South Carolina teen becomes face of stimulus with plea for education funding

(Newser) - South Carolina eighth-grader Ty'Sheoma Bethea became the symbol of the stimulus package in President Obama's speech to Congress last night, WSAV reports. The president has repeatedly referred to Bethea's dilapidated school in his calls for spending on education infrastructure, and during his speech he quoted from a...

Education Law in Dire Need of New Name

Ridicule of No Child Left Behind prompts search

(Newser) - No Child Left Behind has become “the most negative brand in America,” says a congressman, and new Education Secretary Arne Duncan says it’s time for a new name for the law. Educators and jokesters alike are trying their hand at rebranding, the New York Times reports. Proposals...

Rent for Kids Too Risque, Blast Parents, Schools

(Newser) - The long-running Broadway musical Rent has been edited for the school stage, but the truncated version retains themes of drugs, AIDS, and homosexuality that have some administrators running scared, the New York Times reports. High school productions around the country have met with administrative and parental resistance, forcing organizers to...

Jeb Sees GOP as Reform Party

 Jeb Sees GOP 
 as Reform Party 
interview
Feb 14, 2009 3:23 PM CST

Jeb Sees GOP as Reform Party

(Newser) - Jeb Bush cringes at the idea of running for office again, but that doesn’t mean he lacks bold vision for the Republican Party, writes Fred Barnes in the Wall Street Journal. Bush thinks the GOP should morph into a reform party, starting with the states. “A real effort...

Colo. District to Ditch Grade Levels

Students in Adams 50 will progress based on knowledge, not age

(Newser) - Faced with a 58% graduation rate and falling test scores, officials in Colorado’s Adams 50 school district are doing away with traditional grade levels as part of a massive educational transformation, the Christian Science Monitor reports. When the program is fully phased in, students will no longer be separated...

$150B Stimulus to Double Education Budget

$150B spending expected to permanently expand government's role in education

(Newser) - The stimulus plan before Congress today more than doubles the Department of Education's budget, reports the New York Times. An unprecedented extra $150 billion in federal aid would provide funds for nearly every aspect of education, from school construction to college grants. Opponents and backers alike agree that the injection...

Schools Cutting Cursive as Computers Prevail

Penmanship takes a backseat to science, reading instruction

(Newser) - Cursive may become a thing of the past as schools pressed for time focus their attention on science and reading, the Indianapolis Star reports. Cursive is still widely taught, but the emphasis has shifted from writing beautifully to writing efficiently as wider use of computers has also edged out cursive’...

Schoolkids Need Less Work, More Play

Recess cutbacks creating unruly students, researchers discover

(Newser) - Recess isn't just for fun, according to a new study, which has found that cutting back on playtime is harming schoolchildren. The loss of a 15-minute daily recess tended to make 8- and 9-year-old students unruly and deprived them of an opportunity to exercise and socialize, reports Reuters. The study...

Pakistani Curriculum Pits Bile Vs. Nation-Building

Some see educational system fostering hate, where others push nation's identity

(Newser) - Critics of Pakistan’s mandatory school curriculum say it promotes fear and hatred in children, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “It sounds like the blueprint for a religious fascist state,” said one professor. “You have a country where generations have grown up believing they are surrounded on...

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