Free Republic

Something that should give would-be education reformers pause but probably won’t: when ephemeral education fads finally come in for much-needed criticism, they have already done their damage. Case in point: the self-esteem courses popular 15-20 years ago. “Raising it in isolation was counter-productive,” Martin West, an associate professor of education at Harvard said at the Brookings Institution on March 31, 2015. West is also a nonresident senior fellow with the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings. He was chairing a panel on “Incorporating noncognitive skills into education policy.” “Education is very faddish and there’s a danger that the fads...

ONCE upon a time in America, baby boomers paid for college with the money they made from their summer jobs. Then, over the course of the next few decades, public funding for higher education was slashed. These radical cuts forced universities to raise tuition year after year, which in turn forced the millennial generation to take on crushing educational debt loads, and everyone lived unhappily ever after... In fact, public investment in higher education in America is vastly larger today, in inflation-adjusted dollars, than it was during the supposed golden age of public funding in the 1960s. Such spending has...

After reading yesterday’s AT article "Teaching Racial Hatred" by David Deming, professor of arts and sciences at the University of Oklahoma, I realized something that had not occurred to me earlier about the goal of teaching college kids about white privilege. Many people believe that white privilege is a tool that is used to make white Americans feel guilty about their success by claiming that the mere fact that they were born with white skin gave them an upper hand in life (especially white heterosexual males). Once made to feel guilty, the white individuals soon begin to hate themselves for...

The other day I was at Trent University in Peterborough. I was giving a talk on why student unions and political groups should be held accountable for their use of student and taxpayer money. During the question-and-answer period, I inadvertently offended a bright young woman. She’d suggested removing automatic student funds from political groups would remove political discourse from campus altogether. Of course not, I responded. I was a student activist who never received student money, yet was completely immersed in politics. Passionate people debate, regardless. I said people like her, who are zesty and politically active ... Then I...

Those traveling down Durham Drive may have noticed a new sign recently at 812 W. 28th St., the site of the former Holden Elementary and interim facility for HISD’s Energy Institute High School. The bright green sign for HISD’s new Arabic Immersion Magnet School (AIMS) is up, repairs and enhancements are underway on the campus and Principal Kate Adams is preparing to welcome the first batch of students this fall.

Seamus Johnston and partner (YouTube screenshot) A federal district judge in Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit filed by a transgender student who wanted to use men’s bathrooms and restrooms on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.The student, Seamus Johnston, was born female but identifies as a male.Officials at Pitt’s Johnstown campus eventually expelled Johnston for repeatedly using a men’s locker room despite the school’s order that she not do so.Johnston filed her federal lawsuit claiming that the school violated her civil rights by preventing her from using men’s locker rooms and restrooms. (RELATED: Another Transgender Student Claims Discrimination Over...

Governor Scott Walker did not shy away from educational reforms in his 2015 State Budget Address. The second-term administration proposed sweeping changes that included a statewide school voucher program, A-F grades for all publicly funded schools, the creation of a statewide independent charter school authorizer, and a $141.9 million per-pupil funding supplement in 2016-17. That's a lot to process, so let's just get down to brass tacks. Here are the major reforms that Gov. Walker unveiled in his 2015 Budget Address: Voucher Expansion Walker's biggest announcement was the creation of a new statewide school choice program that would allow students...

A gay student in Louisiana says she is going to skip her prom because the school principal won’t let her wear a tuxedo. Claudettia Love is a senior and one of the top students at Carroll High in Monroe. She says she was planning on going to the prom with a group of friends, but now they are staying away because of the policy. …

IN 1997, I was sexually assaulted by a fellow student at the University of Virginia. At a closed hearing, the university’s committee on sexual assault found him responsible. His punishment? A letter in his file. It’s not clear how many women have won their cases through the university’s system since they were first allowed to enroll as undergraduates in 1970. I am one of the women who won, but winning wasn’t really winning, was it? The hearing on my case took place in March 1998, two months after a criminal trial that ended in disappointment and frustration for me when...

<p>A student at Appalachian State University says she was cyber-bullied after she called out a dormitory's "Check Your Privilege" bulletin board.</p> <p>The board showed memes to depict so-called white privilege, heterosexual privilege, Christian privilege, and able-bodied privilege, among others.</p> <p>A female student, Laurel Littler, objected to the board's apparent shaming, so she posted a photo of it on her Facebook page and was surprised to receive some harsh responses.</p>

(Snip) The framework requires that all questions take up sweeping issues, such as “group identity,” which leaves little place for transcendent individuals. Men and women who were once studied as inspirational figures have become examples of trends, and usually not uplifting ones. The immigrant story that the exam tells is of oppressed people escaping to America only to find more oppression. That many came seeking the Promised Land—and found it here—is no longer part of the narrative. (Snip)

This is an advice column about getting into an elite college. And, like every column about the anxiety of getting into an elite college, it must begin with a massive caveat: If you and your parents are worried about getting into an elite school, odds are that you are already elite. The raw numbers are instructive. There are more than 4 million 18-year-olds in the United States. About 3.5 million of them will go to college. And just 100,000 to 150,000 of those—somewhere around 3 percent of the entire age group—go each year to selective schools that admit fewer than...

CONCORDIA Two school districts plan to end the academic year early to save money, citing financial pressures caused by reduced state aid for this academic year. The Concordia school district will release students May 15, rather than May 21. And the Twin Valley School District, which includes Bennington and Tescott, will dismiss May 8, rather than May 20. Concordia Superintendent Bev Mortimer said students have hugged her in thanks for the early release. “They remember me as the snow day lady,” she said. “We are popular with the kids but not the parents.” Kansas school districts are facing financial pressures...

<p>When the mayor vetoed the building of a sports stadium in a residential neighborhood, SAU sold the property to Assumption High School which was not restricted to the residential zoning regulations.</p> <p>This has been going on for a couple of years now.</p>

In 1998, Vijay Chokal-Ingam was “determined to become a doctor,” but his 3.1 GPA significantly reduced his chances. When he realized his application wouldn’t cut it, he came up with a back-up plan — he pretended to be black. Chokal-Ingam, brother of famous actress Mindy Kaling, said he “knew that admission standards for certain minorities under affirmative action were, let’s say… less stringent.” In a blog post, Chokal-Ingam explains how he ended up getting into the St. Louis University School of Medicine despite his low GPA and MCAT score: So, I shaved my head, trimmed my long Indian eyelashes, and applied to...

Have you wondered why militant GLBT activists adopted something as seemingly benign as a rainbow, incorporated it into a flag and attempt to use it as a statement for "equality"? Like many and movements symbols, origins and meanings use by those movements are not necessarily what they purport to be. In fact, sometimes they are outright lies. The current politically correct meaning of the rainbow flag is as follows. Now of course such terms seem perfectly innocent. Who could possibly disagree with any of the above concepts or words? You're not against sunshine and nature are you? If you do...

ATLANTA Eleven former Atlanta public school educators were convicted Wednesday of racketeering for their role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to inflate scores on students’ standardized tests. One of those convicted was Tamara Cotman, a former upper-level administrator for Wichita schools. Only one teacher was acquitted of all charges. The 11 convicted represented teachers, testing coordinators and other administrators who were accused of participating in the conspiracy dating to 2005, motivated by pressure to meet federal and local standards to receive bonuses or keep their jobs in the Atlanta Public Schools district of about 50,000 students. A state investigation in 2011...

Alevtina is one of several teachers who lost their jobs in St. Petersburg after being outed by an anti-gay activist. While most resigned quietly, the 27-year-old music teacher decided to fight her dismissal in court — an unusual step in Russia where gays have faced increasing pressure in recent years. The rising anti-gay sentiment has coincided with the passage of a controversial Russian law that prohibits exposing children to gay "propaganda." The law has made it easy to target teachers, because they work directly with children.

Remember those 15 people who refused to repay their federal student loans? Their “debt strike” has picked up 85 more disgruntled borrowers willing to jeopardize their financial future to pressure the government into forgiving their student loans. And the government is starting to listen. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has invited the group to Washington on Tuesday to discuss their demand for debt cancellation. Although the CFPB doesn’t have the power to grant that request, the agency’s overture shows that the strike is being taken seriously. It’s been a month since 15 former students of the failing for-profit giant Corinthian...

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is busy making good on its promise to fight for students’ free speech rights through a massive litigation campaign. Since last year, FIRE’s Stand Up For Free Speech effort has filed nine First Amendment lawsuits against campuses that quash the First Amendment, according to its website. Four of the cases have already enjoyed successes in FIRE’s favor, and the others continue to wind their way through the court system. FIRE’s early victories in its litigation campaign illustrate that colleges’ limits on free speech are onerous and unconstitutional. But the battle continues.