There’s a lot to keep up with in education. To keep you informed, here are some relevant stories from around the web:
NYTimes. Class Matters? Why Don’t We Admit It?
“A final rationale for denying the correlation is more nefarious. As we are now seeing, requiring all schools to meet the same high standards for all students, regardless of family background, will inevitably lead either to large numbers of failing schools or to a dramatic lowering of state standards.”
EducationNext. A Christmas Carol for Our Schools.
“A new round of the popular education board game, Poverty Matters, began last week with a New York Times op-ed by Helen Ladd and Edward Fiske, titled, “Class Matters: Why Won’t We Admit It?” (Interestingly, the essay is really about poverty, not class, and the paper that Ladd wrote on which the essay is based is titled Education and Poverty: Confronting the Evidence. See also Kathleen Porter-Magee’s The `Poverty Matters’ Trap from last July’s Flypaper.)”
Indystar. My View: New IPS starts with shifting funds, granting autonomy. “This week, The Mind Trust released a plan to transform Indianapolis Public Schools into a national model of success. The plan has already generated community conversation, and we look forward to more in depth conversations in the months ahead… IPS now gives schools $6,600 per student. Our plan would almost double that to $12,000 — giving teachers and school leaders unprecedented opportunities to make strategic investments to improve student achievement, without raising taxes.”
The Huffington Post. Trenton Gilstrap, Teen With Asperger’s, Launches Hidden Inspiration Project To Help Disabled Kids Learn. (via CNN)
“While Trenton is satisfied with his accomplishments, he wants to make sure that other young people, suffering with similar disabilities, have the same opportunities… So, Trenton and his mom, Tatia, launched the Hidden Inspirations Project, a nonprofit that offers scholarships to kids living with a range of disabilities.”