Education
Commentary
My Life’s Work and Passion
Army-Ed Space, September 17, 2009 Dr. Lance Izumi President, California Community Colleges Board of Governors September, 17th 2009 Education is my life’s work and passion. I’ve spent 20 years in the field – though a lawyer by training, I became fascinated with education issues while serving as a speechwriter for ...
Education
Choice Could Help Children “Write Their Own Destiny”
On September 8, the nation tuned in as President Barack Obama delivered an address on education to a group of students in Arlington, Virginia. The speech proved instructive, in a number of ways. Critics and pundits worried that President Obama would use his speech to promote a political agenda and ...
Commentary
Universal School Choice Prevails – For Sweden
In socialist Sweden, universal school choice allows every parent to choose the best school for their child. The voucher program, which has been in effect since 1992 and was created to tackle the kind of problems plaguing the U.S. educational system, provides families with the opportunity to send their child ...
Commentary
My Word: Insanity in San Mateo County school funding
The San Mateo County Times, (CA), September 11 2009 Greenwich Time (CT), September 11, 2009 CALIFORNIA’S FISCAL outlook continues to worsen. Concern is now mounting over the impact the state’s budget deficit will have on education funding. The California Teachers Association (CTA), along with state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack ...
Commentary
A Follow-Up Question for Arne Duncan:What Does D.C. Know About Education that Works?
Well, in California’s case it’s the equivalent of “a football stadium [full] of students,” about 70,000 Duncan explained, who drop out of school. This should matter to people outside of the not-so-Golden State because California educates around 1/8 of all American students-so our dysfunction is the country’s dysfunction. Despite an ...
Commentary
Obama’s Teachable Moment Will Teach What?
The Flash Report, September 8, 2009 The biggest problem with President Barack Obama’s speech to students, which will be broadcast and be available to the nation’s schools on September 8th, may not be what he actually says in his speech. Rather, the bigger worry involves the Obama administration’s recommendations to ...
Commentary
Finding balance not easy
Nebraska’s kindergarten teachers are sounding the alarm about the push for rigorous academic instruction in their classrooms, calling instead for more playtime that scientists say stimulates young brains. Teachers and children feel intense pressure to perform and meet increasing standards and expectations, according to a new draft report that takes ...
Commentary
The “Obama Effect:” A Help or More Hot Air for D.C. Schoolchildren?
Specifically, the study found that the “Obama effect” can move public opinion polls by 11 to 13 percentage points on issues such as charter schools and merit pay for teachers-in spite of union opposition. Yet when “informed of the President’s opposition to school vouchers,” public support dropped 12 percentage points. ...
Business & Economics
How unions took $4 million from cash-strapped UC
Kevin Dayton of the Associated Builders and Contractors of California hunted down the e-mails chronicling the pressure put on University of California President Mark Yudof to provide taxpayer funds for a bogus labor “think tank” after Arnold line-item-vetoed the funding. Here’s part of his account: As the state’s budget crisis ...
Commentary
LAUSD Board Moves to Ease Removal of Bad Teachers
The board of the Los Angeles Unified School District has passed a resolution to ease restrictions on firing unprofessional teachers, a move long in the making. Passed by a 4-3 vote on June 9, the resolution sets the stage for changes to state law to make such dismissals easier. In ...
My Life’s Work and Passion
Army-Ed Space, September 17, 2009 Dr. Lance Izumi President, California Community Colleges Board of Governors September, 17th 2009 Education is my life’s work and passion. I’ve spent 20 years in the field – though a lawyer by training, I became fascinated with education issues while serving as a speechwriter for ...
Choice Could Help Children “Write Their Own Destiny”
On September 8, the nation tuned in as President Barack Obama delivered an address on education to a group of students in Arlington, Virginia. The speech proved instructive, in a number of ways. Critics and pundits worried that President Obama would use his speech to promote a political agenda and ...
Universal School Choice Prevails – For Sweden
In socialist Sweden, universal school choice allows every parent to choose the best school for their child. The voucher program, which has been in effect since 1992 and was created to tackle the kind of problems plaguing the U.S. educational system, provides families with the opportunity to send their child ...
My Word: Insanity in San Mateo County school funding
The San Mateo County Times, (CA), September 11 2009 Greenwich Time (CT), September 11, 2009 CALIFORNIA’S FISCAL outlook continues to worsen. Concern is now mounting over the impact the state’s budget deficit will have on education funding. The California Teachers Association (CTA), along with state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack ...
A Follow-Up Question for Arne Duncan:What Does D.C. Know About Education that Works?
Well, in California’s case it’s the equivalent of “a football stadium [full] of students,” about 70,000 Duncan explained, who drop out of school. This should matter to people outside of the not-so-Golden State because California educates around 1/8 of all American students-so our dysfunction is the country’s dysfunction. Despite an ...
Obama’s Teachable Moment Will Teach What?
The Flash Report, September 8, 2009 The biggest problem with President Barack Obama’s speech to students, which will be broadcast and be available to the nation’s schools on September 8th, may not be what he actually says in his speech. Rather, the bigger worry involves the Obama administration’s recommendations to ...
Finding balance not easy
Nebraska’s kindergarten teachers are sounding the alarm about the push for rigorous academic instruction in their classrooms, calling instead for more playtime that scientists say stimulates young brains. Teachers and children feel intense pressure to perform and meet increasing standards and expectations, according to a new draft report that takes ...
The “Obama Effect:” A Help or More Hot Air for D.C. Schoolchildren?
Specifically, the study found that the “Obama effect” can move public opinion polls by 11 to 13 percentage points on issues such as charter schools and merit pay for teachers-in spite of union opposition. Yet when “informed of the President’s opposition to school vouchers,” public support dropped 12 percentage points. ...
How unions took $4 million from cash-strapped UC
Kevin Dayton of the Associated Builders and Contractors of California hunted down the e-mails chronicling the pressure put on University of California President Mark Yudof to provide taxpayer funds for a bogus labor “think tank” after Arnold line-item-vetoed the funding. Here’s part of his account: As the state’s budget crisis ...
LAUSD Board Moves to Ease Removal of Bad Teachers
The board of the Los Angeles Unified School District has passed a resolution to ease restrictions on firing unprofessional teachers, a move long in the making. Passed by a 4-3 vote on June 9, the resolution sets the stage for changes to state law to make such dismissals easier. In ...
