Education reform news and commentary, curriculum, school choice, No Child Left Behind, K-12 funding, Minnesota legislature. http://www.scholarsnotebook.info/news Fri, 09 May 2008 11:21:10 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.scholarsnotebook.info/news/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.scholarsnotebook.info/news Education reform news and commentary, curriculum, school choice, No Child Left Behind, K-12 funding, Minnesota legislature. http://www.scholarsnotebook.info/news/content/view/81/49/ Congress has begun hearings on the reauthori­zation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Created in 2002, No Child Left Behind increased federal fund­ing for K–12 education and established new require­ments for state and local school systems across the country. As part of the NCLB reauthorization, Congress should consider various proposed reforms. In March, Senators Jim DeMint (R–SC) and John Cornyn (R–TX) and five other sponsors introduced the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success (A-PLUS) Act (S. 893). In the House of Representatives, Representative Pete Hoekstra (R–MI) and 60 cosponsors are sponsor­ing another version of the A-PLUS Act (H.R. 1539). Both versions of... Commentary - Education Reform Wed, 14 Nov 2007 13:06:33 +0100 http://www.scholarsnotebook.info/news/content/view/80/49/ The Senator who wrote It Takes a Village apparently believes it takes the federal government to decide how American families prepare their 4-year-olds for kindergarten. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) recently unveiled a proposal for a new $10 billion federal program to offer government-subsidized preschool for all children across the country. Under her plan, states that offer such programs would be eligible to receive federal funding if they agree to follow federal guidelines on matters such as teacher training requirements and curriculum guidelines. For years, advocacy groups have been working to expand early education programs and secure universal preschool across the country. So... Commentary - Early Childhood (Baby Ed) Wed, 13 Jun 2007 12:06:56 +0100 http://www.scholarsnotebook.info/news/content/view/74/49/ Our own children—not just immigrants—need a patriotic education which today is denied them by an entrenched education bureaucracy. We cannot win this fight within the education establishment; we need to break out of the establishment so that we can bring pride and patriotism back to our schools. The very concept of America is under assault. The traditional notion of our country as a union of one people, American peoples, has been assaulted with multicultural, situation ethics, and values neutral model where Western values and American civilization are ignored, minimized or ridiculed. Unless we act to change things, our next... Commentary - Social Studies Fri, 26 Jan 2007 08:37:08 +0100 http://www.scholarsnotebook.info/news/content/view/73/49/ Citing data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), political scientist Abigail Thernstrom and her historian husband, Stephan Thernstrom, have written about how African-Americans, by the 12th grade, are typically four years behind white and Asian students, with Hispanics doing only a tad better than black students. Translated, this means that black and Hispanic students are finishing high school, on average, with a junior high education. But how many local minority students might be finishing high school in the first place? A 2002 report published jointly by Minneapolis Public Schools, the Minneapolis... Commentary - School Choice Thu, 25 Jan 2007 11:32:48 +0100 http://www.scholarsnotebook.info/news/content/view/72/49/ Last week marked the fifth anniversary of President Bush’s signing No Child Left Behind. How the Bush Administration, liberals, and conservatives marked NCLB’s birthday provides a window into important divisions that may occur during the law’s approaching reauthorization. The Bush Administration’s strategy for reauthorization can be characterized as middle of the road. Beyond unveiling a new “No Child Left Behind” logo, the Bush Administration marked the anniversary by offering a few recommendations for continuing down the current path. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings outlined this position in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “I’ve worked in policymaking for 20 years,... Commentary - Education Reform Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:03:40 +0100