News & Comment
Blogs and Opinion
Conservative Cuts Have Consequences by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | February 7, 2011
The Attack on American Education by Robert B. Reich, robertreich.org | December 23, 2010
Over the long term, the only way we’re going to raise wages, grow the economy, and improve American competitiveness is by investing in our people — especially their educations. But considering the increases in our population of young people and their educational needs, and the challenges posed by the new global economy, more resources are surely needed. Here’s another reason why the $858 billion tax bill — including a continuation of the Bush tax cuts to the richest Americans and a dramatic drop in their estate taxes — is so dangerous. By further widening the federal budget deficit, it invites even more budget cuts in education, including early-childhood and post-secondary. Pell Grants that allow young people from poor families to attend college are already on the chopping block. read more »Education For We, the People Or For Private Profit? by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | December 22, 2010
In his press conference today President Obama said the economic focus is no longer saving the economy from crisis, but "jumpstarting" it to make a dent in unemployment. He listed education as one of the pillars of that effort. Later in the press conference he talked about making colleges and universities being open not just to people who are well-to-do, but to all of us. Progressives For A We, The People Economy read more »The Progressive Agenda Scorecard by The Editors, prospect.org | December 7, 2010
This magazine declared the dawn of 2009 "Our Moment." The election of Barack Obama and a Democratic majority offered progressives a chance to deal with decades of deferred maintenance on the American dream. Our agenda included tackling long-standing priorities, undoing Bush-era debacles, and taking up new ideas that emerged from both our movement and from Obama himself. How much was achieved before the 2010 election -- and how much is possible in the remaining two years of Obama's term? read more »Obama: On the way to a failed presidency? by Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Washington Post | December 7, 2010
President Bill Clinton found it convenient to join in the conservative project of corporately defined trade, financial deregulation and social welfare constriction. From NAFTA to the repeal of welfare and the failure of labor law reform, to deregulating derivatives and repealing Glass-Steagall, he got his agenda wrong. He was seduced far more by Wall Street's Robert Rubin than by Monica Lewinsky. Now Obama faces the same challenge. This isn't about conventional politics. This is simply about the fate and future of our country. This president has a clear and imperative historic mandate. If he shirks it, he risks more than failing to get reelected. He risks a failed presidency. read more »In Defense of the Public by Eve Ewing, inthesetimes.com | December 3, 2010
How can we undo the prejudice against shared public resources that has settled over America’s discursive landscape? To begin with, we need a compelling argument that the public sphere is worth fighting for. We need to cultivate a richer understanding of what public actually means—or what it ought to mean. Public does not mean government institutions or government ownership—although government institutions can and should serve the publics that conjure them into being. Public is more than offices in buildings where people’s salaries are paid for by taxes. By bickering over how much salary, whose taxes, and where the offices ought to be constructed, we lose sight of the grander meaning of our commitment to one another as human beings. read more »How Broken is Washington? by Deepak Bhargava, Huffington Post | December 3, 2010
Many watching the debacle masquerading as the lame duck session of Congress these past few days are wondering whether Washington is so broken that governance itself has become impossible. It's quickly becoming apparent that only the rising power of people themselves can force our government to act responsibly to extend federal unemployment insurance, pass the DREAM Act, eliminate the unfair tax policies of George Bush and put ordinary Americans back in the calculation. The starting point for building such a movement might have occurred this week when the Republican Party declared that unless tax cuts for the rich are passed, they simply won't vote for anything. That's right. They will filibuster EVERYTHING. read more »The Teacher Trap by Gabriel Arana, prospect.org | October 1, 2010
The take-home message of "Waiting for Superman," the much-talked-about education reform documentary, is pretty clear: The answer to our education woes is having a "Superman" teacher in every classroom -- a goal unions have been blocking. While it would be nice to believe that an army of Jaime Escalantes, the famed Latin American educator who taught calculus to inner-city kids, or Dangerous Minds Michelle Pfeiffers, is all our education system -- and struggling schools in particular -- need, the reality is, of course, not so simple. It's just not true that good teacher = performing student. Anyone who has actually taught disadvantaged kids will tell you that most of the time, it's hardly like being Superman; it's a much different -- and much harder -- job. read more »Waiting For The Truth About Charter Schools by Dana Goldstein, The Nation | October 1, 2010
Here's what you see in Waiting for Superman, the new documentary that celebrates the charter school movement while blaming teachers unions for much of what ails American education: working- and middle-class parents desperate to get their charming, healthy, well-behaved children into successful public charter schools. Here's what you don't see: the four out of five charters that are no better, on average, than traditional neighborhood public schools (and are sometimes much worse). You don't see teen moms, households without an adult English speaker or headed by a drug addict, or any of the millions of children who never have a chance to enter a charter school lottery (or get help with their homework or a nice breakfast) because adults simply aren't engaged in their education. These children are often the most difficult to educate, and the ones neighborhood public schools can't turn away. In other words, Waiting for Superman is a moving but vastly oversimplified brief on American educational inequality. Nevertheless, it has been greeted by rapturous reviews. read more »For Jobs, Justice and Education by Benjamin Todd Jealous and Deepak Bhargava, The Nation | September 27, 2010
For nearly two years, the loudest and most insistent voices in American politics have been on the extreme right. That is going to change. No longer will we allow a noisy and vocal fringe hijack the definition of “patriot.” No longer will we sit idly while right-wing extremists seek to turn back America’s clock to a past of fear and intimidation. No longer will we watch self proclaimed “real Americans” usurp the will and desire of the real mainstream, the American majority. Simply put, we’ve come too far, overcome too much, to not make our voices heard. On October 2, 2010, the people of America will come together in Washington, DC, to denounce the cynical politics of distraction and division, and rally around real solutions for our country's problems. Under the banner of "One Nation, Working Together," a broad and diverse coalition will march together: for jobs, quality education and justice. We are marching for all Americans. read more »
The Latest
Will The GOP Senators Whose States Face Thousands Of Teacher Layoffs Vote Against Teacher Funding? , wonkroom.thinkprogress.org | August 3, 2010
Today, the Senate will be taking a procedural vote on a bill providing $26 billion in aid to state and local governments, $10 billion of which is dedicated to preventing teacher layoffs. This particular batch of funding has been included in, and then cut from, multiple bills, as each time conservatives have objected. read more »
Senate Vote on Medicaid, Education Funds Delayed, thehill.com | August 3, 2010
The Senate tabled a jobs measure Monday because Democrats underestimated the package’s cost. Democrats had scheduled a vote to end debate on their proposal to send $10 billion in funding to states and local governments to prevent public teacher layoffs. The package contains another $16.1 billion to help states with Medicaid obligations.
Education Funds Out of Senate War Bill, Politico | July 23, 2010
The Senate sent back to the House Thursday night a stripped-down $59 billion war funding bill, after striking all of the added education assistance which Democrats had wanted to avert threatened teacher layoffs in the fall. read more »
American Graduates Finding Jobs in China, The New York Times | August 11, 2009
Shanghai and Beijing are becoming new lands of opportunity for recent American college graduates who face unemployment nearing double digits at home. Even those with limited or no knowledge of Chinese are heeding the call. They are lured by China’s surging economy, the lower cost of living and a chance to bypass some of the dues-paying that is common to first jobs in the United States. read more »
Teachers Could Earn More Under Obama Plan, USA Today | July 24, 2009
States that want a piece of the Obama administration's $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund for schools must hew to internationally benchmarked academic standards and let schools pay teachers and principals more if they work in hard-to-staff schools — or if student scores improve on basic skills tests. read more »
Student Loan Measure Clears House Panel, The Washington Post | July 22, 2009
A bill that cleared a House committee would largely remove private lenders from the federal student loan industry, generating an estimated $87 billion savings over 10 years to fund more government grants and loans. read more »
Black-White Student Achievement Gap Persists, MSNBC News | July 15, 2009
Despite unprecedented efforts to improve minority achievement in the past decade, the gap between black and white students remains frustratingly wide, according to an Education Department report. There is good news in the report: Reading and math scores are improving for black students across the country. read more »
Obama Plans $12 Billion Boost To Community Colleges, USA Today | July 14, 2009
President Obama is expected to announce a $12 billion proposal today that will put the nation's community colleges front and center in his economic recovery plan. Among his goals: to modernize community college facilities, to increase the quality of online courses and to ensure that more students complete their programs. read more »
For Colleges, Small Cuts Add Up to Big Savings, The New York Times | June 19, 2009
College life may look different in the not-so-distant future: Students squinting out dirtier windows, faculty offices with full wastebaskets and no phones, sporting events in which opponents never meet, and paper course catalogs existing only as artifacts of the wasteful old days. read more »
School Systems Juggle Cost of Free Lunches, USA Today | June 11, 2009
School systems nationwide are trimming lunch menus, buying more food in bulk and delaying purchases of kitchen equipment to offset the costs of serving free or reduced-price lunches to millions of newly eligible students from cash-strapped families. read more »
