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
Caps and Gowns Too Costly For Some Graduates, MSNBC News | May 22, 2009
Across the nation, school staffers privy to teen problems say more students are having a hard time footing the costs of graduation. From Florida and Texas to Indiana and California, education officials are soliciting donations, recycling old gowns and, in some cases, ponying up the money themselves. read more »
Economic Slump Slows Down Summer Schools, npr.org | May 21, 2009
New GI Bill Could Open Education Doors For More Vets, | May 18, 2009
The new G.I. bill takes effect Aug. 1. The law, which could potentially more than double the amount covered in the current GI Bill, could open college doors to thousands of veterans, many of whom would not otherwise have considered college because of the expense. read more »
House OKs $6.4 Billion To Make Schools Greener, CNN | May 15, 2009
The House on Thursday passed a $6.4 billion school modernization bill that would commit funds for the construction and update of more energy-efficient school buildings. The measure passed 275-155 in a largely party-line vote, and will now move to the Senate for further review. read more »
College Graduates Stuggle to Repay Loans, USA Today | May 13, 2009
Thousands of college graduates are facing a student loan crisis. The job market is shrinking, and the sour economy is preventing employers, parents and relatives from helping those who are behind on payments. Student loan defaults are at their highest rate since 1998, and likely will go higher. read more »
Obama Seeks to Turn Around 5,000 Schools, Associated Press | May 12, 2009
President Barack Obama intends to use $5 billion to prod local officials to close failing schools and reopen them with new teachers and principals. The goal is to turn around 5,000 failing schools in the next five years, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday, by beefing up funding for the federal school turnaround program created by the No Child Left Behind law. read more »
Sallie Mae Flips on Subsidies, The Washington Post | May 11, 2009
For the past two decades, Sallie Mae has opposed every attempt to overhaul the $85-billion-a-year student loan industry by eliminating subsidies to lenders. But in a dramatic reversal, the lending behemoth now supports President Obama's efforts to kill the subsidies it has tried to protect for so long. read more »
House Democrats Clear Budget Bill for Passage, The Washington Post | April 29, 2009
House Democrats resolved an internal squabble over a $3.5 trillion fiscal 2010 budget plan, clearing the way for final passage of the blueprint, to mark President Obama's 100th day in office. The blueprint preserves all of Obama's major domestic policy priorities while seeking to cut the deficit in half by 2012. read more »
Stimulus May Fund Summer School, Teacher Pay, Associated Press | April 24, 2009
Education Secretary Arne Duncan has some suggestions for how schools can spend their windfall from the economic stimulus law, including summer school and extra pay for teachers to coach struggling colleagues. The nation's schools will get an unprecedented amount of money — about $100 billion, double the amount of education spending under President George W. read more »
Subsidized College Loans Under Fire In Congress, npr.org | April 21, 2009
With Congress back from a two-week break, lobbyists of all stripes will be going to work on President Obama's proposal to do away with federal subsidies for privately sourced student loans. Whatever happens now will not affect college loans for next fall. But in the longer term, the question is whether Washington ought to keep on subsidizing the private loans, something it has done since 1965. read more »
