The effects of no money , , ,

Another post in the "how will lack of funds affect public schools?" category . . .

I'm writing this post on June 24th, in the year of our Lord 2010.

And I'm labeling it that way because I can.

More than I can say for this high school in Connecticut. Maybe they should go with "in the year of our self." Just a thought.

The economy and higher education . . .

One of my colleagues and I were commenting the other day that more and more high school graduates seem to be choosing the path of least cost versus the path of elite schools. As family income drops and college has become increasingly expensive, many students are unwilling to take on the debt of a higher level four-year institution. This becomes especially true if the desired profession will not make enough money to pay off an obscene amount of student loan debt.

I saw an article today that describes this situation as the higher education bubble. The author thinks that having a "four-year degree from a decent to elite school" will be less impressive in the future:

Post-bubble, perhaps students -- and employers, not to mention parents and lenders --will focus instead on education that fosters economic value. And that is likely to press colleges to focus more on providing useful majors. (That doesn't necessarily rule out traditional liberal-arts majors, so long as they are rigorous and require a real general education, rather than trendy and easy subjects, but the key word here is "rigorous.")

Interesting stuff.

Update: Please note that I posted this and then noticed almost the identical post at powerlineblog.com. I didn't steal their post - I wouldn't dare - they only have about a few million more viewers than I do.

Summarizing the problem . . .

Great article detailing the major issues of education today. In short, the author points to four main problems:

1. Passing kids along from one grade to the next even if they are not ready.
2. Teachers doing students' work for them.
3. Graded inflation so kids pass.
4. Cheating the standardized tests.

Good stuff.

No idea what to do?

Good to know that the rest of the educational world has no idea what to do with student cell phones either.

I am waiting for the article on the larger issue that faces today's high school students: their inability to concentrate on anything that does not have a screen.


Update: Found it! - Check this out.

Challenging the union?

One day after reading this story in the Denver Post about the inability of the state of Colorado to fire teachers, my eyes about jumped out of my head to see this headline:

Colorado Renews Teacher Tenure Debate

A bill is being introduced in the Colorado state legislature that would tie teacher tenure with student performance. I read that and thought, "really? - what must the union be saying?" Well, they aren't happy. But then I thought, "What's the catch?"

Colorado is in the running for federal Race to the Top education grants being offered to states with the most ambitious education reforms. Colorado could receive up to $175 million.

Many education experts believe Johnston's bill gives Colorado a better chance at winning the money in the second round.

Tennessee and Delaware, two states that won $600 million in the Race to the Top's first round, reworked their laws to tie student academic growth to teacher tenure. In Colorado, teachers effectively get tenure after three years.

State Education Commissioner Dwight Jones, in an op-ed piece for The Denver Post, said he believes Johnston's bill would "boost our chances in the second round."


The key to challenging teacher tenure has been discovered: make federal money contingent upon it.

Quite the School!!

Class sizes

I've already blogged about the effects of the current economy on schools, class sizes, etc.

Here is a recent article justifying teacher layoffs with the lack of research showing that small class sizes are better.

Interesting line from the article: "It's much better to have a large class with a good teacher than a small class with a mediocre teacher," said Eric Hanushek, education researcher at Stanford University.

I've used that line before as well. Never used it justify classes over 30 though.

Update: Yikes, more bad news on this front out of Illinois (hard to believe I once lived there.)

A little sarcasm to get you through the weekend . . .

OK - this is funny. Remember - it's the Onion. I claim no responsibility for any other links on that page.

Not informing mom and dad!

When dealing with students and confidentiality, I generally ask myself, "If I were his/her parent(s), would I want to know?" If yes, then parents are put in the loop with what is going on with their kid.

Apparently this is not the case in the state of Washington and its public high schools. In fact, it's worse than that - they are actually helping kids keep their parents in the dark. Click here to read the story but be prepared to be shocked.

Update: Here is the link to the local news coverage in Seattle.

The cost to educate

In the private/parochial school world, we have to constantly be aware of what we charge vs. the actual cost of education per student. Giving and donations must make up the difference if a gap exists between tuition income and cost of education (true for most Christian schools).

This video fascinates me. Basically it makes the case that the cost to educate a student at many public schools is twice what a Christian high school can do it for.

The NEA and their influence

I try and avoid major political opinions on this blog, but it probably is time for a follow-up post to a previous post about the National Education Association and their political ties. As the national attention is turned to focus on the ties between D.C. and unions, the spotlight will fall more and more on the NEA and their committment to the liberal agenda.

I recently discovered an interesting website, neaexposed.com, which takes the time to carefully make the case about the interests of the NEA and its ties to our public schools. It's tasteful and "pro-teacher," even though it is critical of the fundamental purpose(s) of the NEA. Enjoy.