by Katherine ManganStudents deserve to be educated in an environment free from sexual harassment, and professors, to speak and write freely about sensitive topics. But what happens when federal laws designed to protect those rights “butt heads,” as some say occurred during the fallout over a Northwestern University professor’s essays on what she termed “sexual paranoia” on college campuses?Read the rest of the story at The Chronicle of Higher Education.
For 180 days each year, most kids are in school, brains engaged and learning. Then along comes the summer and for many, learning comes to a screeching halt.It’s not like there’s absolutely no brain activity happening over the summer, but by the time they go back to school, many students forget some of the skills they learned. The Washington Post reports that in a recent survey, 66% of teachers say they spend most of the first month of school teaching concepts that students have forgotten over the break.
by Joe Heim
Analysis suggests that Poland is the best country at turning economic growth into the wellbeing of its citizens.by George ArnettPoland is outperforming the UK when it comes to education as well as being the world leader in converting economic growth into the well-being of its citizens, according to a new report.The Sustainable economic development assessment (Seda) by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) measures wellbeing across 149 countries.Read the rest of the story at The Guardian.
Discover how public-private partnerships empower schools to meet diverse challenges, boost control, and enhance resources without sacrificing leadership.
By Moriah Balingit and Susan SvrlugaSWEET BRIAR, Va. — In her first year as Sweet Briar’s dean, Amy Jessen- Marshall struggled to come up with the words to welcome the Class of 2015. But inspiration struck suddenly from deep beneath her feet.That was the year that a rare and mild earthquake shook the rural campus here. And it gave the class one of its nicknames: the earth shakers.Read the rest of the story at The Washington Post.
If you look at the numbers, there’s the typical mix of good news/bad news for this year’s crop of college graduates. Let’s start with the good news.According to the National Center for Education Statistics, colleges and universities expect to award about 1.8 million bachelor’s degrees. Experts are noting that this class faces the most favorable job climate in years, due to a pent up demand for workers.
By T. Rees ShapiroThis story has been updated.A University of Virginia associate dean of students filed a multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone on Tuesday, alleging that the magazine portrayed her as callous and indifferent to allegations of sexual assault on campus and made her the university’s “chief villain” in a now-debunked story about a fraternity gang rape.Read the rest of the story at The Washington Post.
by Valerie StraussWhen John Oliver, on his HBO “Last Week” show, did a recent segment on the problems with standardized testing, the one company that he mentioned at some length was Pearson — and that’s no surprise. Pearson is the largest education company in the world (Forbes magazine says it may control up to 60 percent of the U.S. testing market), and it has become a high-profile target of opponents of high-stakes standardized testing.Read the rest of the story at The Washington Post.