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The Betrayal of the American Dream by John Connelly, The Nation | September 24, 2010
This is not the essay that I had originally wanted to write. I had planned a piece about the ways that students overcome adversity in pursuit of their education. Unfortunately, I can no longer write anything quite so optimistic. Yesterday, I was informed that my academic funding has been cut, and it is now uncertain whether I will still be able to attend Rutgers University in the autumn. The regrettable thing is that my own academic uncertainty has become the norm in the Garden State, as a newly elected Republican governor goes about undoing decades worth of educational growth, possibly dooming an entire generation of bright, hardworking New Jersey students in the process. That may seem hyperbolic, but it's not. There is no such thing as "just politics" when it comes to education, and there is no such thing as compromise. What Governor Christie has done by cutting aid programs and education funding amounts to a declaration of war against the American Dream and to a betrayal of our state's—and, by extension, our nation's—future. read more »Sorry, Kids, No Jobs Here by Liz Shuler, The Nation | September 3, 2010
As summer quickly fades into the rearview mirror, one ritual of the season didn’t get nearly enough public attention: summer jobs for teenagers, and how few of them there were. The jobless rate among teenagers is at its highest levels since the government began tracking the numbers in 1948. More than a quarter of 16- to 19-year-olds (26.1 percent) are officially unemployed, meaning they are job-hunting but unable to find work. So, what does this mean beyond a bunch of teenagers without gas money, a few new video games or an outfit their parents won’t finance? Plenty. read more »Children Need Emergency Help In This Deep Recession Now by Marian Wright Edelman, Huffington Post | August 23, 2010
If the foundation of your house is crumbling, you don't say you cannot afford to fix it. Children are the foundation of America's future. We need to invest now in their health, early childhood development, and education. Today is tomorrow. read more »Putting Our Brains on Hold by Bob Herbert, The New York Times | August 9, 2010
The world leadership qualities of the United States, once so prevalent, are fading faster than the polar ice caps. We once set the standard for industrial might, for the advanced state of our physical infrastructure, and for the quality of our citizens’ lives. All are experiencing significant decline. The latest dismal news on the leadership front comes from the College Board, which tells us that the U.S., once the world’s leader in the percentage of young people with college degrees, has fallen to 12th among 36 developed nations. read more »It's Not About The Deficit. Conservatives Just Hate Teachers. by Bill Scher, OurFuture.org | June 24, 2010
Congressional conservatives have mainly blocked additional stimulus spending on the (economically illiterate) grounds that it would add the deficit. But apparently when it comes to preventing teacher layoffs, conservative opposition is not about the deficit at all. It's just that conservatives want teachers to get fired. read more »What Is An Emergency? Afghanistan Or Our Children? by Robert Borosage , OurFuture.org | May 26, 2010
Congress is about to pass an additional $32 billion to pay for the war In Afghanistan. It will have overwhelming bipartisan support, with legislators eager to display their fealty to the troops in an election year. read more »When Did Teachers Become the Enemy? by Richard Greenwald, inthesetimes.com | May 25, 2010
Schools are dealing with body-blow-like budget cuts, the demands of No Child Left Behind and the Obama Administration’s focus on Race to the Top. Charters and high-stakes testing are the new normal. Teachers, and especially their unions are now widely seen as obstacles to reform. How did we get here? And are we too late to change course? read more »Don't Kill Schools To Keep War Alive by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | May 24, 2010
The Senate is starting debate this week on a $60 billion supplemental spending bill that includes additional money for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as money for disaster relief and some other spending choices. read more »More War, Fewer Jobs, Poor Excuses by David Swanson, tomdispatch.com | May 11, 2010
Isn’t it time to call what Congress will soon vote on by its right name: war escalation funding? Nonetheless, as in a tale foretold, Congress is expected to vote later this month on $33 billion in further “war funding” to pay for sending 30,000 troops (plus "support" troops, etc.) to Afghanistan -- most of whom are already there or soon will be. So, how much money are we talking about exactly? Well not enough, evidently for tea baggers, the labor movement or any other advocates of spending on jobs or health care or education or green energy to disturb their slumbers. After all, 33 billion miles could take you to the sun 226 times. And $33 billion could radically alter any non-military program in existence. read more »Conservative Assault On Public Schools Gets Schooled Again by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | May 3, 2010
In June 2008, former Maryland Gov. 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 »
