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California

HOW OBAMA-ED HURTS CALIFORNIA

California’s rigorous academic content standards are one of the few bright spots on the state’s otherwise dismal education landscape. Now, however, President Obama’s drive to nationalize education could doom the standards. Created in the late 1990s, California’s math and English standards give guidance to educators regarding the grade-level knowledge and ...
Commentary

First ObamaCare, now ObamaEd

The Daily Caller, April 12, 2010 President Obama has extended federal control over health care and is now trying to centralize education policy by imposing Washington’s dictates on states and local jurisdictions. Though aimed at improvement, the president’s agenda will weaken strong state standards, set in motion a domino effect ...
Commentary

Where’s superman for the middle class?

The documentary “Waiting for Superman” by Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim, who previously directed Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” was a big hit at the recent Sundance Film Festival. Voted best U.S. documentary by Sundance moviegoers, Guggenheim’s film exposes the immense flaws in America’s public school system and follows the lives ...
Commentary

Learning from Canada’s schools

Washington Times, February 23, 2010 In a speech on Canadian television touting the health care system of our northern neighbor, liberal filmmaker Michael Moore said, “It’s not that you need to become more like Americans, we need to become more Canadian-like.” If America mimicked Canadian education policy, however, Mr. Moore ...
Commentary

Help kids win battle of the bulge

Across the country, children’s physical fitness has been placed on the front burner. First lady Michelle Obama has made childhood obesity her top priority. In Sacramento California, a major conference on physical education research was recently held at the state Capitol. The message is that fit kids not only get ...
Commentary

Obama wants to lower the bar at schools

Orange County Register, March 9, 2010 Despite the recent news that California wasn’t chosen by the Obama administration as a finalist state for the $4 billion Race to the Top education-funding program, with its required adherence to new national standards in English and math, the state will still be forced ...
Education

Will Education Standards Really Help Failing Schools?

During a speech to the National Governor’s Association, President Obama stated: I want to commend all of you for acting collectively through the National Governors Association to develop common standards that will better position our students for success.and today, I’m announcing steps to encourage and support all states to transition ...
Common Core

Why Race to the Middle?

Why Race to the Middle? First-Class State Standards Are Better than Third-Class National Standards, jointly published today by Pioneer Institute in Massachusetts and Pacific Research Institute (PRI) in California, is authored by Ze’ev Wurman, a Silicon Valley executive active in developing California’s standards and assessments in the mid-1990s, and Dr. ...
California

California Focus: ‘Race to the Top’ won’t get there

Orange County Register, January 26, 2010 As California and other states scramble for shares of Barack Obama’s $4 billion pot of “Race to the Top” education funds, it’s easy to overlook the recent dagger to the heart dealt by the president and the Democratic-controlled Congress to the successful and popular ...
Commentary

Suburban schools not always great

A prominent California legislator from an inner-city district recently told a friend of mine that there were no poor-performing schools in the wealthy suburbs. This is a common perception among legislators, the media and parents, but it stands at odds with the facts. In 2008, there were 528 schools where ...
California

HOW OBAMA-ED HURTS CALIFORNIA

California’s rigorous academic content standards are one of the few bright spots on the state’s otherwise dismal education landscape. Now, however, President Obama’s drive to nationalize education could doom the standards. Created in the late 1990s, California’s math and English standards give guidance to educators regarding the grade-level knowledge and ...
Commentary

First ObamaCare, now ObamaEd

The Daily Caller, April 12, 2010 President Obama has extended federal control over health care and is now trying to centralize education policy by imposing Washington’s dictates on states and local jurisdictions. Though aimed at improvement, the president’s agenda will weaken strong state standards, set in motion a domino effect ...
Commentary

Where’s superman for the middle class?

The documentary “Waiting for Superman” by Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim, who previously directed Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” was a big hit at the recent Sundance Film Festival. Voted best U.S. documentary by Sundance moviegoers, Guggenheim’s film exposes the immense flaws in America’s public school system and follows the lives ...
Commentary

Learning from Canada’s schools

Washington Times, February 23, 2010 In a speech on Canadian television touting the health care system of our northern neighbor, liberal filmmaker Michael Moore said, “It’s not that you need to become more like Americans, we need to become more Canadian-like.” If America mimicked Canadian education policy, however, Mr. Moore ...
Commentary

Help kids win battle of the bulge

Across the country, children’s physical fitness has been placed on the front burner. First lady Michelle Obama has made childhood obesity her top priority. In Sacramento California, a major conference on physical education research was recently held at the state Capitol. The message is that fit kids not only get ...
Commentary

Obama wants to lower the bar at schools

Orange County Register, March 9, 2010 Despite the recent news that California wasn’t chosen by the Obama administration as a finalist state for the $4 billion Race to the Top education-funding program, with its required adherence to new national standards in English and math, the state will still be forced ...
Education

Will Education Standards Really Help Failing Schools?

During a speech to the National Governor’s Association, President Obama stated: I want to commend all of you for acting collectively through the National Governors Association to develop common standards that will better position our students for success.and today, I’m announcing steps to encourage and support all states to transition ...
Common Core

Why Race to the Middle?

Why Race to the Middle? First-Class State Standards Are Better than Third-Class National Standards, jointly published today by Pioneer Institute in Massachusetts and Pacific Research Institute (PRI) in California, is authored by Ze’ev Wurman, a Silicon Valley executive active in developing California’s standards and assessments in the mid-1990s, and Dr. ...
California

California Focus: ‘Race to the Top’ won’t get there

Orange County Register, January 26, 2010 As California and other states scramble for shares of Barack Obama’s $4 billion pot of “Race to the Top” education funds, it’s easy to overlook the recent dagger to the heart dealt by the president and the Democratic-controlled Congress to the successful and popular ...
Commentary

Suburban schools not always great

A prominent California legislator from an inner-city district recently told a friend of mine that there were no poor-performing schools in the wealthy suburbs. This is a common perception among legislators, the media and parents, but it stands at odds with the facts. In 2008, there were 528 schools where ...
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