Brian Jones has a lot to be excited about. A New York City public school teacher deeply involved in grassroots organizing, he sees a growing radical vision among his fellow activists. “More and more parents and teachers are beginning to understand that it’s not about this policy or that, but really an all-out war over public education,” he explains. In the past several years, there have been numerous flare-ups of protest activity centered on e...
Illustration by Stephanie Mannheim In April 2009, Columbia University’s Task Force on Undergraduate Education released “An Agenda for the Future,” a cheery strategic document, which, translated into two words, read: excelsior, Columbia! On pages 16 and 17, the report rejoices in and urges forward the internationalization of Columbia – not just the establishment of foreign outposts vis-à-vis Global Centers and the development of the Global Core...
In recent decades, the United States has made it a priority to improve American education by “guaranteeing proficiency”—that is, bringing everyone up to par. President Lyndon Johnson’s Head Start Program, President George H.W. Bush’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and, most notably, the No Child Left Behind Act of President George W. Bush have exemplified this egalitarian ethos. These programs have resulted in millions of dollars...
from the US Dept. of Education Amidst post-election cabinet reshuffling, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan indicated last week that he is likely to stay on for Obama’s second term. Duncan has a fairly long list of achievements: the $4 billion “race to the top”, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver programs, and the Common Core standards, amongst others. And unlike some fellow cabinet members (think Steven Chu and Kathleen Sibelius), Duncan ha...
...licate balance that has allowed the movement to survive while others have faded. Its successes and looming difficulties could serve as an illuminating example for other global movements. These protests focus on the quality of education in Chile, which has surprised some observers, since at first glance Chile’s education system seems impressive. In 2009, Chile outscored all Latin American countries in the Program for International Student Assessme...
...portunities for all and significantly assist the development of our economy. To progress towards shared Northern Irish prosperity, a culture of tolerance and mutual helpfulness must be fostered. The best place to start is the education system, which the Alliance Party recently identified as the key to integration. Social segregation is especially apparent in education. About 95 percent of Northern Irish children attend Protestant-dominated school...
Columbia Political Review: Should the achievement gap be a problem worthy of our worry? What is the best way to close the achievement gap? Lee Ann Bell, The Barbara Silver Horowitz Director of Education at Barnard College: First of all, I think the achievement gap is a misnomer – I think a better term is the opportunity gap. Court cases such as in New York and California have challenged the unequal resources allocated to schools, and this disp...
The current state of the education reform movement has been referred to as the Civil Rights movement of our time. This description is certainly justified. In 1954, the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education declared the racial segregation of public schools unconstitutional, recognizing that every child in the United States has the right to quality public education, regardless of personal background. Newly integrated public school...
..., and suddenly officials in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram could boast some of the highest scores in general well-being not just in India but in the world. The state’s human development index score (measuring health, education, quality of life, etc. on a scale from zero to one), sitting at .83, outstrips the Indian average of .52 and surpasses many developed nations scores as well (even Germany’s score is only .89, not much higher). And...
Pro: By Maddy Joseph It is difficult to hear any description of the educational gaps in the United States and not be stirred to action, or at least overcome by a sense of injustice. These statistics represent American children who do not have access to the educational opportunities they deserve. The achievement gap is also a symbolic device used by advocates to draw attention to the American education crisis. Their framing represents a welcome...
Follow us at
Like us on
Recent Comments