Class Struggle - Jay Mathews' Education Blog - August 16, 2009

NEA Slams Obama's School Reform Plan

Here's a dispatch from my colleague Nick Anderson on the national education beat: The nation's largest teachers union sharply attacked President Obama's most significant school improvement initiative on Friday evening, saying that it puts too much emphasis on a "narrow...

Three Smart Rules for Home School Regulation

Homeschooling is the sleeping giant of the American education system. There are at least 1.7 million children being taught at home, a rough estimate because good data is hard to find and the number has been growing about 9...

Is American University Violating Early Decision Rules?

American University announced this week they are joining the movement to take a little stress out of the college application process by no longer requiring submission of SAT or ACT scores. That's good. Unfortunately, they chose to test this...

WTU's Parker: Trust But Don't Amplify

Here's another dispatch from my colleague Bill Turque on the D.C. schools beat: D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said this summer that she hoped to have a new labor contract in place by the beginning of the school year,...

U.S. vs. China: Thoughtful Chinese Author Says U.S. Schools are Better

In my debates with American high-tech entrepreneur Bob Compton, I argue that U.S. schools are way ahead of the Chinese, and likely to stay there, at least in the production of creative, job-producing go-getters like Bob. Bob says I...

Age-Old Problem, Perpetually Absent Solution: Fitting Special Education to Students' Needs