Meet the New School, Same as the Old School

 Posted by Mike  Education  No Responses »
Dec 082011
 

Maybe someone can explain to me the following bit, part of a statement released by the Chancellor of the New York City Education Department announcing over a dozen school closings:

“These are never easy decisions, but when a school has failed to serve its students well year after year — even after receiving additional supports — we have a responsibility to provide students with better options. We are already hard at work creating the great new schools that these communities deserve.”

So, as far as I can tell, the logic goes like this: Some schools are better than others. If a school continues to fail, it must be an inherent characteristic to the school. Therefore, we should close that school and open new ones. (Although please note that the new ones are not fully in place yet–”already hard at work creating” implies that the creation is an ongoing process and not one that is very far down the path to success–which seems really dumb, assuming that we are trying to minimize the disruption of the transition.)

Personally, I have two problems with that logic. Continue reading »

Fairness and Education

 Posted by Mike  Book Related, Education, Immigration  No Responses »
Dec 012011
 

According to a New York Times article, Florida education officials recently released a set of rules requiring that all incoming students must demonstrate that their parents are legal Florida residents before they can receive in-state tuition to any public college or university. The rule, which does not affect admission, is supposedly aimed at illegal immigrants, who will find their tuition quadrupling.

While I cannot speak for the authors of the rule, my guess is that there are two reasons behind the increase:

1) To disincentivize living in Florida if you are an illegal immigrant
2) To respond to a general complaint among some voters that illegal immigrants do not pay their fair share to society, and should not be rewarded with any kind of government assistance.

It seems to me, however, that this law will have an unintended consequence that could have serious negative consequences for the state of Florida: to reduce the feeling among immigrants and their children that we live in a fair and just society. Continue reading »

Science: The Next Generation

 Posted by Mike  Education  1 Response »
Nov 042011
 

The New York Times published a piece today speculating why 40% of incoming college freshman who are leaning towards majoring in math, science, or engineering end up either dropping out or majoring in a non-technical field. The article further notes that the percentage of engineering and computer science degrees has dropped steadily in recent years–and all of that despite presidential and Congressional initiatives to push for an increase in the number of American students who are adequately trained in mathematics and the sciences. The New York Times speculates three reasons for these trends:

1) Low-Level math and science courses tend to be boring and overcrowded lectures that involve mostly rote learning.
2) Low-Level math and science courses tend to grade substantially harder than other college courses.
Continue reading »

Reasonable Risk

 Posted by Mike  Education, Football, Science, Sports  2 Responses »
Jul 192011
 

It’s really easy to feel like you aren’t doing enough to protect your children. But how much is too much?

I say this as someone who takes his young nephews to the park on a pretty regular basis. My general philosophy is that there is very little that can go wrong on a playground. My job is to watch them to make sure that they don’t do anything too reckless and to encourage them to stretch their boundaries. But if a kid wants to climb a jungle gym that the warning label says he’s too young for, or he wants to climb up a slide the wrong direction, my reaction is usually “go for it.” And then I sit back and nervously watch them, idly wondering where the nearest emergency room is.

Of course, compared to the nannies and young mothers that I see at the park (and I’m not stereotyping here; in my experience it is incredibly rare for a man to take children to a park on a weekday morning) I am a reckless caregiver. They tell their children not to climb jungle gyms if it is at all challenging, not to walk up a slide backwards, not to play with sticks, not to run too fast…. And I’ve had them tell me to not let my child do those things, because it is dangerous and they don’t want their kids getting any bad ideas. On the one hand, I feel sorry for those kids; on the other hand, a part of me wonders if I am doing something wrong.
Continue reading »

On Bullying

 Posted by Mike  Crime, Disasters and Tragedies, Education  6 Responses »
Apr 012010
 

Bullying has been in the news a lot lately, unfortunately due to a teen’s suicide in a small Massachusetts town and the ensuing prosecution of some of the kids who were involved for statutory rape and civil rights violations.

That particular case is a tragedy all the way around. The behavior of the kids involved was reprehensible, and I do not doubt that it contributed to the suicide of the victim. (Although there is a difference between “contributed to” and “caused” which is often missed…) But I don’t think that charging them in criminal court as adults is the right response.
Continue reading »

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