education

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Del., Tenn. Only States to Qualify for Education Stimulus Prize

Union support helps 'Race to Top' winners

(Newser) - With $4 billion in stimulus funds up for grabs in an initiative to improve US schools, only two states of the 41 that applied scored high enough to get a piece. Delaware and Tennessee will each get $600 million, from the “Race to the Top” program, the Department of...

House Passes Huge Student Loan Overhaul

Move cuts out private lenders, saves the government $61B

(Newser) - The House passed a sweeping overhaul of the federal student loan program today, slipping it into its final amendments to the health care bill. The measure would call for the government to lend directly to students, rather than paying private lenders to lend out the money. By effectively cutting out...

'Puberty Pill' Could Make Kids Smarter

Drug would act on brain, blocking receptor that slows learning

(Newser) - Studying, schmudying: A pill that boosts teenagers’ ability to learn may be in the pipeline soon. A receptor in the hippocampus area of the brain appears to slow down learning when kids hit puberty, researchers at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn report. Give kids a steroid to suppress that receptor, and...

Obama Education Plan Abandons Accountability

President is weakening No Child Left Behind, writes Karl Rove

(Newser) - President Obama's education plan will gut one of the few parts of the Bush legacy that this administration claims to respect, writes Karl Rove. Obama's plan would destroy No Child Left Behind's accountability system by requiring that only the lowest-performing 5% of schools take action to improve test scores, Rove...

Texas Board of Ed Is at the Forefront of 'History Wars'

Anti-intellectualism is spreading, writes Thomas Frank

(Newser) - The Texas Board of Education's push to put a conservative spin on the state's textbook standards shows that the culture wars are becoming history wars, writes Thomas Frank. The board backs up decisions like ordering textbook writers to replace the word "capitalism" with "free enterprise" with anti-intellectual, anti-liberal...

US Muslim Group Slams 'Inflammatory' Textbooks

Kids' series portrays Muslims as inherent security threats, group charges

(Newser) - A Muslim-American group is planning a public awareness campaign against a series of children's textbooks it says paints an inaccurate and inflammatory picture of their faith. The civil rights director of a chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the World of Islam series—found in at least two...

Now, Even Recess Gets a Teacher
 Now, Even Recess 
 Gets a Teacher 
FREE-FOR-ALL NO MORE
Mar 15, 2010 8:32 AM CDT

Now, Even Recess Gets a Teacher

'Recess coaches' straighten out America's schoolyards

(Newser) - In a bid to prevent bullying, foster social skills, and fight obesity, schools across the country are reining in recess. At one Newark school, that meant hiring a "recess coach" to lead games and watch out for wallflowers. "Coach Brandi does miracles with 20 cones and three handballs,...

Texas Textbooks Getting Conservative Flavor

Board revising standards over objection of minorities

(Newser) - The Texas Board of Education has decreed that future curriculum standards will have a more conservative bent. The board's 10 right-leaning members say they're simply "adding balance" to left-leaning academia. The five minority members say they're whitewashing history. Among the changes, expected to formalized in May, as rounded up...

Kansas City Closing Half Its Schools

'We took a meat ax to the district'

(Newser) - Kansas City's school board narrowly voted to close 29 of the city's 61 public schools after an emotional, standing-room-only meeting last night. The measure, a desperate attempt to prevent a projected $50 million budget shortfall, passed 5-4 despite pleas from parents and community leaders to keep the schools open, the...

States May Get National Standards for Math, English

Most governors are on board, but some complain about federal role

(Newser) - Math and English instruction in the United States moved a step closer to uniform—and more rigorous—standards today, as draft national guidelines were released. Supporters of the project led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers hope the lists of things kids should...

Fire Bad Teachers&mdash;Now
 Fire Bad Teachers—Now 



OPINION
Mar 8, 2010 2:30 PM CST

Fire Bad Teachers—Now

But for some frustrating reasons, that's almost impossible

(Newser) - The American education system has been falling behind for a while, and the reason is obvious: Teachers can't be fired. Recent studies have shown that teacher quality is one of the top predictors of a student’s success, write Evan Thomas and Pat Wingert in Newsweek . Yet education unions are...

Cash-Strapped School Districts Go to 4-Day Week

Parents, workers miffed, but effect on student learning is unclear

(Newser) - As school districts across the nation find themselves battling massive budget shortfalls, some are turning to the relatively rare but controversial practice of shortening the school week. Four-day weeks usually don’t affect teacher pay or the amount of classroom time for students, as the days are simply lengthened. But...

Give Obama Some Credit for Education Reform Push

The president is taking political risks for the right reasons

(Newser) - President Obama ought to be applauded for pushing eduction reform, despite political risks. Obama's agenda is based on two ideas: That failing schools should face consequences and that teachers and principals ought to be evaluated based on student results. Each principle could benefit the system, writes Michael Gerson for the...

Across US, Students Decry Budget Woes
Across US, Students Decry Budget Woes
UPDATED
Mar 4, 2010 6:34 PM CST

Across US, Students Decry Budget Woes

Calif. rallies draw thousands; violence mars Wis. protest

(Newser) - Thousands of students, from university down to elementary-school level, are rallying today across the US to protest the ever-more-dismal state of education funding. California demonstrators, who also included faculty and parents, have been most visible, and mainly peaceful, though a car windshield was smashed during the gathering at the University...

Rhode Island to Fire High School's Entire Staff

Fed up with teachers' union refusal to add 25 min to work day

(Newser) - Every single staff member at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island will be getting a termination notice, the district’s superintendent announced this weekend, ending a tense standoff with the teacher’s union. The teachers had refused to go along with superintendent Frances Gallo’s plan to reform the...

Obama Budget Winners and Losers

Education, R&D are up, oil and gas companies down

(Newser) - The 2011 fiscal budget says much about the state of the country—and the state of the president. "Like any politician, he’s focused on rewarding friends and not enemies," write Eamon Javers and James Hohmann for Politico . A look at this year's winners and losers: Winners
  • Education:
...

Schools Win; NASA Loses



Schools Win; 
 NASA Loses  
budget ANALYSIS
Feb 1, 2010 5:31 PM CST

Schools Win; NASA Loses

First look at proposed 2011 budget shows sharp break between haves and have-nots

(Newser) - President Obama delivered his proposed 2011 budget to Congress today, and the Washington Post drills down to find the winners and losers. Winners first:
  • K-12 education: The Department of Education's budget will increase by 6%, or $3 billion.
  • Research: The proposal pumps up the Energy Department's budget 7%, or $2
...

The Best YouTube Questions Obama Didn't Answer

Which 'Rocky' movie is your favorite?

(Newser) - President Obama today answered questions Americans submitted on YouTube, tackling serious inquires on foreign policy, health care, and education. But some of the unanswered questions are too entertaining to be ignored, and New York has collected them. Check out the two little kids preoccupied with the destruction of the White...

'No Child Left Behind' Overhaul in the Works

2014 deadline for bringing all students to proficiency to be ditched

(Newser) - The Obama administration is planning a sweeping overhaul of the Child Left Behind law to create a new model for how schools are judged to be succeeding or failing. The White House plans to change parts of the law educators have found most objectionable and award more federal money based...

Web Puts 2nd Language at Your Fingertips

Online options, from free to pricey, abound

(Newser) - The days of chanting vocabulary words in a classroom and dozing off in the language lab are fading from memory as language instruction becomes increasingly available on the Internet. Freestanding smartphone apps are one option, and more structured instruction comes at a price—and sometimes no price at all. The...

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