archive

American schools

Kehinde A. Durowade (NIU): The Role of American Individualism in the Current State of Public Schools. Charlotte Garden (Seattle): Teaching for America: Unions and Academic Freedom. Has Teach for America betrayed its mission? Liberals don’t want to admit it, and conservatives don’t want to pay for it, but building character — resilience, optimism, perseverance, focus — may be the best way to help poor students succeed. The risks of a "Sputnik moment": Do we really want the federal government to launch a national curriculum? Kelly Catalfamo interviews Lawrence Blum, author of High Schools, Race, and America’s Future: What Students Can Teach Us About Morality, Diversity, and Community. Let’s be frank: Legal segregation is no more in the United States, but the de facto segregation of far too many American schools and whole school districts continues to this day. The Conscience: Jonathan Kozol has spent 45 years reporting on the children left behind. Charter-school entrepreneur Chris Whittle is finally chasing the real money in education — delivering New York’s new international elite to the country’s most selective colleges. Rachel Tabachnick on the Right-wing machine behind “school choice”: Think public-school teachers are bad and vouchers are good? You may be prey to a well-funded stealth campaign.