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On Education, Santorum Flunks History by Jeff Madrick, newdeal20.org | February 28, 2012
Rick Santorum has found a new populist voice in criticizing Obama’s “theology.” He claims he does not mean Obama is not a Christian, but apparently his belief in a number of progressive policies, including formal schooling for Americans, violates Santorum’s deeply held theological views. Pandering to ignorance is not new with Santorum. But surely the candidate determined to be the candidate of the working class has reached a new low. And he has given those who are sincerely religious a bad name. His misunderstanding of American history and how the economy grew is more than stunning. In recent remarks, Santorum praises home schooling, claiming that with the rise of factories, Americans had to go to formal schools that were like factories. Public school is an anachronism, he says. But formal schooling is about as American a virtue as there is. Has Santorum read any American history? read more »Why Teaching People to Think for Themselves Is Repugnant to Religious Zealots and Rick Santorum by Henry A. Giroux, truth-out.org | February 22, 2012
Right-wing fundamentalists such as Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum hate public schools, which he suggests are government schools wedded to doing the work of Satan, dressed up in the garb of the Enlightenment. Santorum, true to his love affair with the very secular ideology of privatization, prefers home schooling, which is code for people taking responsibility for whatever social issues or problems they may face, whether it be finding the best education for their children or securing decent health care. Actually, Santorum and many of his allies dislike any public institution that enables people to think critically and act with a degree of responsibility toward the public. This is one reason why they hate any notion of public education, which harbors the promise, if not the threat, of actually educating students to be thoughtful, self-reflective and capable of questioning so-called common sense and holding power accountable. read more »Sam Brownback's Anti-Poor Agenda by Abby Rapoport, prospect.org | February 9, 2012
The GOP presidential primary has offered some odd debates on who cares about the "very poor" and whether there should be a "safety net" or a "trampoline" to help people get out of poverty. Meanwhile, in Kansas, it seems Governor Sam Brownback is hoping to dig a bigger hole for the poor fall into. Between his tax plans and his approaches to school funding, Brownback's agenda overtly boosts the wealthy and makes things harder for the poor. While many liberals speculate this to be a secret goal, Brownback is hardly making a secret of his agenda. read more »Can Education Be a Driver of Equality? by Bryce Covert, newdeal20.org | February 2, 2012
Education was rightly big on Obama’s agenda in his State of the Union address last week. As he noted, “[T]o prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, our commitment to skills and education has to start earl[y].” He proposed solutions to getting better outcomes from kindergarten to higher ed. But his eyes were mostly on containing the system we have. Yet on a more general level, we’re still having a conversation as a country about what we mean when we say that we owe every child a decent education. We’re currently trying to fix an issue fundamentally about social justice by focusing on accountability, competition, and choice. A conversation about values — the purpose of education and what it should bring each child — is lacking. Why do we educate children? Is the end goal a higher salary? High test scores? Or something else? read more »Future of U.S. Manufacturing Begins With Education by George Koo, newamericamedia.org | January 30, 2012
In his State of the Union, President Obama stressed the importance of keeping manufacturing in America. The reasoning is that in order to continue to innovate and develop the next generation must-have products, the U.S. needs manufacturing that uses leading edge technology. Nothing wrong with the reasoning, but it may be too late. A lengthy analysis on why jobs are flowing to China based on the Apple iPhone experience appeared in the New York Times. One of the most important findings was that America simply no longer has the skill sets to meet Apple’s demands for a high quality, technology product. America has lost the edge to make things. The training programs Obama talked about might serve as temporary Band-Aids that might keep certain production from leaving in the short term. But to maintain a world leadership position, the U.S. will need far more technicians, engineers and scientists than the country is producing. read more »Obama’s SOTU Captures the Millennial Mindset by Adin Lenchmer, newdeal20.org | January 25, 2012
Last night, listening to the State of the Union, I felt really proud of my president. I felt inspired. He spoke to me as a member of the Millennial generation. There seems to be a lot of chatter in politics about how to help out my cohort — talk of how to save my generation from a dystopian future of mountains of federal debt, an oppressive federal health care system, and illegal immigrants stealing our jobs. Last night, President Obama showed that he understood that this kind of rhetoric is not what my generation needs. Fairness is at the heart of the solution. Millennials know it, and the president gets it. He also understands that fairness is not merely a virtue to aspire to, but a core value that we can tangibly work on — and one that is at the center of what makes our country as strong and resilient as it is. read more »No Child Left Behind Turns 10 Facing Mixed Results And Uncertain Future by Joy Resmovits, Huffington Post | January 5, 2012
When President George W. Bush joined congressmen John Boehner, George Miller and Edward Kennedy to sign the No Child Left Behind Act in January 2002, he touted the moment as a bipartisan victory for America's children. "Today begins a new era, a new time in public education in our country," Bush proclaimed in Princeton, N.J., as he signed the bill into law on Jan. 8, 2002. "As of this hour, America's schools will be on a new path of reform, and a new path of results." But 10 years later, results matching Bush's rhetoric haven't yet arrived — and the law itself is unlikely to change any time soon. read more »Progressive Breakfast by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | January 5, 2012
On the menu this morning: Morning Message: America's Family Un-Friendly Economy Bulldozing Obstruction: Obama's Recess Appointments Fixing Our Dysfunctional Economy Conservative Crazy: The GOP Primary Circus Continues Right-Wing Watch read more »I Said No to My Student Loan: One Borrower's Decision to Stop Paying by Natalia Antonova, alternet.org | December 5, 2011
I’ve been in a panic these last few months. Making minimum payments on my student loans was no longer merely a challenge – it was getting impossible. After making some awful sacrifices to refrain from defaulting, I’m in a corner. I am aware of the total lack of consumer protection associated with student debt. I knew that if I was unable to make my minimum payments, they would hit me with late fees, penalties, etc. They would harass me. In ruining my credit history, they would make it impossible for me to get access to basic services. Forget about taking out another loan – I’m talking about not being able to rent an apartment. And defaulting would not only mean a ruined credit history, it would mean that my debt would double, triple, quadruple, etc…I would be a slave forever. But I took a long, hard look at the numbers, and I realized that I am already a slave. read more »How Students Landed on the Front Lines of Class War by Juan Cole, truthdig.com | November 23, 2011
The deliberate pepper-spraying by campus police of nonviolent protesters at UC Davis on Friday has provoked national outrage. But the horrific incident must not cloud the real question: What led comfortable, bright, middle-class students to join the Occupy protest movement against income inequality and big-money politics in the first place? University students, who face tuition hikes and state cuts to public education, find themselves victimized by the same neoliberal agenda that has created the current economic crisis, and which profoundly endangers democratic values. 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 »
