The New York Times reported yesterday on the increasing frequency of prescriptions for stimulants (commonly used for ADD and ADHD) being given to children who have no medical problem. These children receive medication because they have been struggling in school. According to the article, children who are struggling in school, especially those in low-income situations, can … Continue reading
Category Archives: Education
Let the Sunshine In
On September 18th, 8 days after taking to the streets of Chicago with their picket signs and their rhytmic chanting, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted to end their grandscale strike and return to class. The vote was the culmination of a bitter clash between the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Board of Education … Continue reading
Let’s talk about education.
Today, the Washington Post reported on the D.C. area’s new target achievements for students in public schools. These goals vary by school, with the changes largely based on socioeconomic status (SES) and race, along with standardized test scores for each school. This new program is aimed to create more attainable goals for each school based … Continue reading
To Scientific Education and Beyond
I must be straightforward: I have something of an idea of what I am going to be writing about in this post, but I am by no means an expert in this area. Be ye warned. Today, I attended Washington Post Live’s Panel on Advancing Medical Innovation. It was fascinating. They had a great collection … Continue reading
Reverse Teacher Crisis
You heard it all over the Democratic Convention 2012 last night. President Obama calling for the hiring of “100,000 new math and science teachers.” He also said, “I don’t believe that firing teachers or kicking students off financial aid will grow the economy, or help us compete with scientist and engineers coming out of China.” … Continue reading
Fact-Based Opinions: The User’s Manual
The game of politics. Some wish they could win it; everyone wishes they could understand it. Naturally, the game involves playing. (It is a game, after all.) So, it comes as no surprise when, during this political season, “Fact Checkers” pop up left and right. We laypeople need the plain truth, not the politicized version … Continue reading
Smoke and Guns: Pulling the Parent Trigger
What are Parent Trigger Laws? The Parent Trigger movement has caused quite a stir in the education world ever since the first enactment in California. It is now in full effect in six other states including Texas, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia, with a pilot program in Columbus, Ohio as well. Furthermore, it … Continue reading
Why Fixing Student Loan Interest Rates Doesn’t Fix The Problem
On July 6, President Obama signed a bill that will hold student loan interest rates at 3.4% for the next year. Students all over the country greeted the bill with relief. With college tuition rates increasing faster than the inflation rate, students are relying more and more on loans to pay for their education. Tuition … Continue reading
Higher Education and Consumerism
According to the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEF), since 2006, the average enrolment in public higher education institutions has increased by 16.9%, with some states, such as Oregon, seeing spikes in enrolment as high as 33.6%. However, these rises in enrolment have been coupled with relatively stagnant state and local higher education appropriations. In … Continue reading
For Hispanic-Americans, Education a Top Priority
Recent reports suggest that Hispanic-Americans, in contrast to Non-Hispanics, list education as a major policy concern when ranking the issues. Right behind jobs and the economy, most Hispanic-Americans indicate that they are concerned about the state and quality of their children’s education. This should not be surprising, as various studies illustrate that a rather large … Continue reading
Policy Interns 
You must be logged in to post a comment.