Class Struggle: January 30, 2011 - February 5, 2011

What Wendy Kopp doesn't say about Rhee

It is rare that a great social movement can be traced to one person, but it is hard for me to see how the excitement, distress and ferment revolving around public school innovation these days could ever have occurred without Wendy Kopp. So I was disappointed that in her new book she never discusses the failure of her most famous protege, former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, to solve the problem of finding and supporting enough talented principals to get our schools on the right track.

By Jay Mathews  | February 4, 2011; 5:30 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (45)
Categories:  Trends  | Tags:  DC failed to find enough good principals, Kopp created a social movement, Michelle A. Rhee, Mike Feinberg, Rhee admits to making some bad picks, Richard Barth, Steven Farr, Wendy Kopp  
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8 subtle ways to prepare middle schoolers for college

Spring is coming, and with it, the most angst-ridden part of the college application cycle. High-schoolers will be logging on to university Web sites, trembling at the prospect of rejection. Parents will look at the costs of schools that accept their kids and wonder whether they can afford it. Many mothers and fathers with children too young for this ordeal will count themselves lucky. But they might consider ways to get their kids ready for it anyway.

By Jay Mathews  | February 2, 2011; 8:00 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (24)
Categories:  Local Living  | Tags:  algebra is important, encourage character, focus on household skills, make sure they read, notice healthy activities they enjoy and help them to more of the same, preparing middle schoolers for college  
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Bill Gates (briefly) talks school reform with The Post

This item is from national education writer Nick Anderson. Bill Gates dropped by The Post on Wednesday morning, mainly to plug his foundation's campaign to eradicate polio, but we managed to squeeze in a few questions on education reform. The...

By Washington Post editors  | February 2, 2011; 4:14 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (18)
 
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Master KIPP teacher Harriett Ball dies

Harriett Ball, whose work inspired the KIPP network of public schools for low-income children died Tuesday night of a reported heart attack.

By Jay Mathews  | February 2, 2011; 3:15 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)
Categories:  Jay on the Web  
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Pick TV's five best high school series

The snowstorm knocked out our electricity last week. It was hard to write the column without access to the Internet. My cellphone wasn’t working well, either. This seemed a perfect opportunity to discard any pretense of research and instead vent on a subject too insubstantial for a serious education writer, but engrossing all the same. Why can’t television give us a good show about high school?

By Jay Mathews  | January 30, 2011; 12:02 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (52)
Categories:  Metro Monday  | Tags:  Glee is fun but not realistic, Idina Menzel, TV high school series, Winnie Holzman, maybe "My So-Called Life, or, or Freak and Geeks., pick the best TV high school series  
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