Around the Web

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush again defended his support of the Common Core education standards, which are deeply unpopular within the Republican Party.Read the rest of the story at CBS News.

Photo Credit: Caleb Roenigkby Suzanne WrightMy mother, now in her 70s, has beautiful handwriting. As a young girl, I admired and emulated her expressive script, ultimately winning a couple of penmanship awards for my efforts. My mom was proud and so was I.But with cursive writing instruction in decline since the 1970s in many elementary schools, widespread pride in the almost artistic form of penmanship seems to be waning.Read the rest of the story at USA Today.

Photo credit: P. MorganThe Chinese education system – with its long school days and tough discipline – tops global league tables. But how did British pupils cope when five Chinese teachers took over part of their Hampshire school?Read the rest of the story at BBC News.

by John K. WatersNew “micro” online certification programs are changing the educational pathways to success in certain industries.Read the rest of the story on Campus Technology.

Photo credit: Jon Limby Barbara KurshanThe topic of women in technology has been much discussed over the last few years; more precisely, the problem of not enough women in technology has been much debated. Some cite the pipeline as the issue; others argue culture (particularly “brogrammer” culture) is the major barrier to more women entering and sticking with tech as a profession. Unfriendly maternity policies — both those put in place by “brogrammers” as well as those sanctioned by the US’s generally family-unfriendly culture — also make a huge contribution (many agree) to women leaving technology careers. Be that as it may, this debate is pretty stale at this point — probably the safest conclusion is that it’s a little bit of everything hampering the rise of female rank-and-file technologists as well as female CIOs.Read the rest of the story at Forbes.

by Nicole Gorman, Education World ContributorA recent report looking at research into Head Start programs—or federally funded early education programs for low-income families—has revealed that research is not conclusive enough to determine the effectiveness despite 50 years of operation and 30 million children served, said The Hechinger Report. Read the rest of the story at Education World.

By Mitsuro ObeTOKYO—Japan is retooling its public universities, sacrificing liberal-arts programs in collaboration with a business community eager for better-skilled graduates.Read the rest of the story at The Wall Street Journal.

Photo Credit: The Gold Guys Blogby Kyle VanhemertIF YOU WANT to teach your kid about ecology, sustainability, or the future of interactive education, take them to the New York Hall of Science and head for the giant virtual waterfall. Read the rest of the story at Wired.

Photo Credit: Artemas LiuHundreds of students in Taiwan have stormed the education ministry, protesting against proposed changes to the curriculum.At least 200 students scaled the building’s fences overnight and camped in the compound in the capital, Taipei.Read the rest of the story at BBC News.