Community

In a syndicated Associated Press article written by Karen Matthews, she reports on a debate about the necessity of teaching algebra.

John McLaughlin, Ph.D. joined me for coffee to discuss recent news and research pertaining to the ever-challenging dropout issue facing public education in the U.S. McLaughlin breaks down his interpretations of the findings and sheds light on the issue of suspensions and the role they place in disengaging students from the school community. We also learn more about John’s affinity for tea as opposed to coffee too!

We recently explored the topic of dropout recovery from the perspective of the school district and public and private entities whose missions are to collaborate on solutions to reduce this pervasive and startling challenge facing our country. The discussion centered on the challenges districts are facing citing recent research and reports detailing both the financial and social impact of student’s leaving high school prior to graduation.  

Alex Terego sat down to discuss the role of optimism in K-12 education and the realities of the world we live in. Terego discusses the fourth Industrial Revolution and the needs of our economy to succeed in a global marketplace. Terego notes that “Knowledge Miners” are what employers are looking for highlighting the need for independent thinkers who can examine the world critically and in team settings. 

First some background. When I was eleven I was given an IQ test. I must have passed since I was sent to a different kind of school, than most of my classmates. This was post-war England and someone in the British Government had woken up to the fact that Britain had lost an enormous number of men between 1914 and 1945 and urgently needed to train replacements.

John McLaughlin, Ph.D. joined me for coffee to discuss Autism screening and the recent article in TIME about when parents should have their children evaluated. McLaughlin also discusses the efforts of communities to spread awareness through campaigns and the struggle so many are having to effectively reach audiences representing increased funding, new research and options for treatment. He specifically talked about the effective campaigns for the Dyslexia and Autism communities respectively and openly discussed his belief that society is struggling with the pathology of individualism. Learn more from our coffee session below! 

Thought leader and community advocate Bill Milliken took time (see interview below) to share his thoughts on education reform today and how we are currently impacted by yesterday’s lessons. Milliken has worked to integrate mentorship into the dropout recovery discussion ever since his first “street academies” opened up in the early 1960’s. 

In this country, President Obama signed a new education law last week. Much of the focus has been on testing and a debate over whether the law moved too far away from rigorous standards. But one group celebrating the law advocates for arts education. NPR’s Elizabeth Blair explains why.

By Antonio Gois
Tying teacher pay to student test scores. Creating public schools of choice with private operators. Setting common standards for all students. Those issues probably are familiar to any American reporter who covers education.