The Long-term Impact of Early Childhood Education on Student Outcomes

Tuesday 20 Mar 2012 by TES | 3 Comments
Filed under: Education Tags: , , , ,
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Does going to a high-quality early education program help young disadvantaged children do significantly better at the age of 28? That is the question Reynolds, Temple, Ou, Arteaga, & White sought to answer in their comprehensive 2011 study of the Child Parent Center (CPC), an early childhood-based intervention program in the heart of Chicago's high poverty neighborhood. As the second oldest pre-K program (after Head Start), CPC emphasizes "basic skills in language arts and math through relatively structured but diverse learning experiences that include whole-class instruction, small-group and individualized activities, and frequent field trips." They also offer comprehensive services for parents, including a parent involvement component, outreach services, and attention to health and nutrition. Researchers measured the "well-being" of the 28-year old participants under four categories: 1) educational attainment; 2) socioeconomic status (SES); 3) health status; and 4) crime and justice-system... Read More →


Richard Rothstein: How To Fix Our Schools

Wednesday 30 Nov 2011 by TES | No Comments
Filed under: Education, Politics, Society and Culture Tags: ,
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Richard Rothstein, research associate at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), has written a lucid article on How to Fix Our Schools, which I have reprinted in its entirety below. Essentially, he asserts that education reform is more complicated than the accountability reformers would have you believe, and he happens to be right on point. Enjoy. Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City public school system, and Michelle Rhee, who resigned October 13 as Washington, D.C. chancellor, published a “manifesto” in the Washington Post claiming that the difficulty of removing incompetent teachers “has left our school districts impotent and, worse, has robbed millions of children of a real future.” The solution, they say, is to end the “glacial process for removing an incompetent teacher” and give superintendents like themselves the authority to pay higher salaries to teachers whose students do well academically. Otherwise, children will remain “stuck in failing schools” across... Read More →


Thomas Friedman: How About Better Parents?

Tuesday 22 Nov 2011 by TES | No Comments
Filed under: Education, Politics, Society and Culture Tags: ,
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The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has finally asked the question that I, along with other critics of the current teacher accountability reform movement, have been covering in this blog since its inception: How about better parents? His column, printed below in its entirety, will hopefully be the tipping point in shaping a more holistic education reform. In recent years, we’ve been treated to reams of op-ed articles about how we need better teachers in our public schools and, if only the teachers’ unions would go away, our kids would score like Singapore’s on the big international tests. There’s no question that a great teacher can make a huge difference in a student’s achievement, and we need to recruit, train and reward more such teachers. But here’s what some new studies are also showing: We need better parents. Parents more focused on their children’s education can also make a huge difference in a student’s achievement. How do we know? Every three years,... Read More →


Applying the Right Business Mentality to Education

Monday 21 Nov 2011 by TES | 1 Comment
Filed under: Education, Philosophy, Politics Tags:
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Why is it that the business people who are increasingly influencing education policy do not follow the doctrines that have made them successful in their industry? Chief among them is how executives and managers allocate limited time and resources on the things that generate the biggest returns, not on the least profitable ones. This metaphor is particularly relevant now, given the pervasive influence of business practices in schools. Powerful forces within this industry, whether they be individuals (e.g., Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg) or private foundations (e.g. the Walton Family Foundation, the Eli & Edythe Broad Foundation, and of course the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) have shaped education reform in unprecedented and sometimes misguided ways. The relentless focus on teacher accountability is one such reform lifted straight out of the business world. In theory, it was a godsend concept whose time had come, given the bureaucratic failings of both the public school system... Read More →


Broadening the Mind Part II: Basing Decisions on the Bell Curve

Sunday 30 Oct 2011 by TES | No Comments
Filed under: Philosophy, Society and Culture Tags:
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Rationally speaking, people should make decisions based on sound, scientific evidence, especially when it comes to policy. The No Child Left Behind Act was one example of such "evidence-based education," which was supposed to integrate professional wisdom with solid empirical evidence in making decisions about how to deliver instruction. Though its focus on accountability is laudable, The Department of Education's limited focus on performance (students and teachers) displays an alarming ignorance of the conditions required for real learning and achievement to take place, especially if innovation is the 21st century goal. A similar parochialism seems to also afflict the government (as well as pundits and the general public) in other areas of policy (e.g., economic, social, public health, and foreign), which reflects America's identity struggle dating back to its inception. Essentially, there have always been two conflicting interpretations of the American ideals of freedom and democracy.... Read More →


Broadening the Mind Part I: Know Your Target Audience

Sunday 16 Oct 2011 by TES | No Comments
Filed under: Economy, Philosophy, Society and Culture Tags: , ,
target-audience

As a former advertising executive, I learned an important lesson: Know your target audience. It means that you need to get into the minds of whoever you are selling to. For example, advertisers ask questions like: Why do people want to buy an iPhone instead of a Blackberry? Why should one use an online bank over a brick and mortar one? More importantly, What problem do they have that we can solve? And Why should they care about our product? When a consumer sees that a company "gets" them (i.e., by clearly communicating the problem that she is facing), she might be more amenable to the company's solution (i.e., our smartphone is easy to use and looks great, or our bank offers more money back and no annoying fees, etc.). It's a simple lesson that most people know, but people rarely apply this to other parts of their life. Sometimes, marketers forget this too (see an intriguing video about how condom marketers failed to understand the Congolese mindset). It boggles my mind when I see someone... Read More →


The One Thing Successful People Have Isn't Taught in Schools

Monday 26 Sep 2011 by TES | No Comments
Filed under: Economy, Education, Society and Culture Tags: , , , , ,
determination

Success can be defined in many ways and can be seen in people as diverse as Steve Jobs, Jay-Z, Gandhi, or Lance Armstrong. They all have different skills that range from the entrepreneurial to the athletic, but one trait they have in common is the one thing that schools neglect to teach. A certain character of mind and habit. Grit. Grit is the internal character that makes one resilient, and it happens to be the new buzzword in education, business, and self-improvement. It is not something that schools have traditionally focused on, but David Levin, co-founder of the KIPP network of charter schools has been taking notice. He found that although his middle schools performed highly in NYC over ten years ago, only 33% of them graduated from a four-year college. But the KIPP alumni who had exceptional character strengths like persistence, optimism, and social intelligence did graduate, despite their less than stellar grades. By collaborating with psychologists and like-minded professionals,... Read More →


Charter Schools vs. Public Schools: Comparing Apples and Oranges

Monday 11 Jul 2011 by TES | No Comments
Filed under: Education Tags: ,
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This is not another article bashing charter schools -- far from it. They continue to thrive not only because of widespread dissatisfaction with public schools, but more importantly because they have duplicated the quintessential culture of education that I have advocated for (i.e., that student learning and subsequent success are possible when surrounded by support and commitment from all parties equally: the family, administration, teachers, and the community). I wrote about the limited success of Harlem's Promise Academy, whose modest gains were only accomplished when health and other non-academic interventions were as equally emphasized as academic ones. This comprehensive approach is lacking in public schools; but even more so, the charter school culture of quality education over everything else reminds me of the singular focus of education in Asian cultures. Public schools and charter schools should not be competitors in a zero-sum game. Though both are publicly funded, they are... Read More →


Parenting TV

Tuesday 14 Jun 2011 by TES | No Comments
Filed under: Education, Society and Culture Tags: , , , ,

With the spotlight starting to shift toward parent accountability in education, I have been asked to detail concrete ideas that would help establish good parenting foundations. Like some educators, I have broadly advocated for a parenting education program that begins as soon as the mother is pregnant. Specifically, a universal opt-out program, meaning that any new mother is automatically enrolled in this program, as opposed to given an option up front. This prenatal period is a time fraught with both joy and anxiety as parents seek information about infant care, setting up the home, and preparing to nurture their child's mental and physical development. Middle class parents, like teachers, can have the same insecurities as disadvantaged parents and would welcome practical information relating to child care and development. I also recommended the system of family support via parenting programs offered by David Kirp from his Kids First agenda. However, up front costs can be a huge factor... Read More →


Legislating Parenting is Still Missing the Point

Sunday 12 Jun 2011 by TES | No Comments
Filed under: Education, Society and Culture Tags: ,
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Recently, two articles (one by The New York Times and the other by Psychology Today) have brought to light the movement toward parent accountability - the notion that parents should to be liable (even punished) if students are chronically absent or if they rarely complete homework, for example. Alaska already fines parents for child truancy. This year, California law allows misdemeanor charges to be brought to parents as well as required attendance to parenting classes if necessary. Though teacher accountability has drawn the majority of public scrutiny in education reform, it was only a matter of time for teachers to point the finger at parents. Chronically low-performing or behaviorally disruptive students reflect poor upbringing and apathetic parenting, say fed-up teachers. As a result, representatives of Indiana and Florida have introduced legislative bills that would require either parent participation in school or parent grades of some kind. The author of one of the articles, educator... Read More →


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