oflovefaithhopedream

After seeing a tremendous show in Madison, Wisconsin last Sunday evening with opening act Tift Merritt and headliner Amos Lee , it would be inappropriate not to give both artists kudos by recognizing their status as past Musical Electives. That accomplished, the Musical Elective of the Month (just under the wire!) for April 2010 is Luka Bloom . One of many in a line of fine Irish troubadours, Luka (née Kevin Barry Moore) is a 55-year-old Irish singer/songwriter. Appropriately categorized as folk, he brings heartfelt lyrics and a rich, grand voice to bear in his music. He was noticed in America and internationally beginning around 1990. Prior to and after that time, he has recorded 15 studio albums, including 1990's Riverside , 1994's Turf , and his latest, Dreams In America , released in 2010. He also has embraced numerous covers both on his albums and in concert, including U2's "Bad," Hunters & Collectors' "Throw Your Arms Around Me," and Bob D...

So far in 2010, it appears that the state of Arizona's contribution to public policy is two-fold: (1) First, the Legislature and Governor said: "Show me your papers (unless you look like you'd fit in at a Tea Party rally)" and (2) Now, the Arizona Department of Education is asking teachers to " say 'toy boat' three times in a row -- or you'll be reassigned." Am I missing something? But, lest one gets too depressed, there is plenty of good work happening in Arizona, in places like the Arizona K-12 Center and Expect More Arizona . So, chin up, Arizonans!

The College Board's Advocacy and Policy Center reports that "too many students are borrowing more than they are likely able to manage" and this is particularly true for black undergraduates. According to researchers, fully 27% of black BA recipients borrow more than $30,000 for college, compared to 16% of white BA recipients. The gap is especially large among independent students (those who are a bit older, are parents, or independent for other reasons)-- more than 1 in 3 black independent students who earn BA's graduate with high levels of debt, compared to less than 1 in 4 white independents. This is a trend we need to know more about. There have been a few articles written about race differences in college financing patterns and receptivity to financial aid, but none have been especially adept at sorting out the underlying reasons for variation by race/ethnicity. Are the patterns attributable to factors which map onto race in this country (e.g. pov...

Illinois is sure to be disappointed if it continues to move forward with a private voucher program ( SB 2494 ) for Chicago Public Schools. Just ask Wisconsin-- and Milwaukee . Clearly, the Chicago Tribune editorial board ( 'Liberate the kids' ), which is cheering the process on, has not done its homework, not checked its sources, and not looked to its neighbor to the north for guidance. Or it is simply drinking the Kool Aid mixed by Voucher Inc.: And there's evidence that vouchers improve public schools. A 2009 report by The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice examined 17 studies on the impact of voucher programs. Sixteen studies found that vouchers improved student achievement in public schools; one study found they had no positive or negative impact. In other words, competition works. There is also plentiful evidence that vouchers do NOT improve public schools, including the on-going evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program -- the longest-stan...

I have addressed the issue of how to view mathematics textbooks in K-12 several times before ( "Changing order of topics: an example from practice" , and " The Book Gods " amongst others, but it seems to rear its unlovely head periodically amongst real teachers and mathematics educators. A recent post to a math teacher list I read posed the following: I know this question might sound silly, but I need to know what you think. Do you believe it is counterproductive to literally teach math by the book? Today's text books are very complete and I have seen teacher developing strict routines on the book activities. Do you fully rely on your textbooks to teach Math? Given the relatively progressive orientation of the list in question, I was a bit surprised to see this particular notion raised there, but I figured that when I posted what follows, I was merely reflecting pretty much universally-held sentiments there: I think textbooks provide resources for teachers and...

Congratulations to my wife, Sara Goldrick-Rab , who was one of only four academics named yesterday as a 2010 William T. Grant Scholar ! UPDATE: University of Wisconsin-Madison press release . The W. T. Grant Scholars Program supports promising early-career researchers from diverse disciplines, who have demonstrated success in conducting high-quality research and are seeking to further develop and broaden their expertise. Candidates are nominated by a supporting institution and must submit five-year research plans that demonstrate creativity, intellectual rigor, and a commitment to continued professional development. Every year, four to six Scholars are selected and each receives $350,000 distributed over a five-year period. The four new William T. Grant Scholars and their research projects are: Elizabeth Oltmans Ananat, Ph.D. , Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy, Duke University -- “Economic and Social Determinants of the Educational, Occupational, and Residential...

Where do I begin in critiquing such wrong-headed and vitriolic analysis of Florida Governor Charlie Crist's veto of SB 6 , which would have eliminated tenure for teachers and based their evaluations primarily on a single year of student test scores? One cannot accurately and fairly evaluate an individual educator's performance by test scores alone, especially based on a single year's worth of data (as the Florida legislation would have done) and particularly for new teachers . I've said it before and before that -- and I'll undoubtedly say it again. On this specific issue, I'll take the "what they said" approach. Read Claus von Zastrow , Sherman Dorn , David Kirp , and Steve Peha who provide the right amount of counsel and insight. Today's blog post by Rick Hess on value-added methodologies is also worth reading. But, first, I'll say a little more. It appears that a fair number of the forces pushing SB 6 and now bemoaning its veto admi...