Joe Williams' Blog
August 2, 2007
Who Is The Biggest Buffoon In This Story?
I thought for sure that this Sam Freedman story from yesterday would have created a bigger buzz by now. (Perhaps people got sidetracked by Frank Bruni's masterpiece on people who have vomited/gotten naked at Manhattan's most exclusive restaurants.)
So read Sam's piece and join us as we play "Who Is The Biggest Buffoon"... Warning: This is the kind of piece that makes education reform seem completely hopeless at times.
Continue reading "Who Is The Biggest Buffoon In This Story?"....
Posted by Joe Williams on August 2, 2007 2:04 PM
Toughness, Revolutions, Chavez, Merit Pay, and More
I was away from the computer for much of the day yesterday trying to sweeten my offer to buy the Wall Street Journal, but I was unfortunately not successful. Some other guy outbid me, rather wildly.
But there's a lot going on in the world and in other blogs that I wanted to jump in on very quickly:
Continue reading "Toughness, Revolutions, Chavez, Merit Pay, and More"....
Posted by Joe Williams on August 2, 2007 12:05 PM
July 31, 2007
Arthur Levine: Selfish Baby Boomers Are Turning Backs on Schools
Former Teachers College honcho Arthur Levine has done the math:
Of the first 12 hours of debates among the presidential candidates this year, they have given education less than 33 minutes of lip service.
And if you take out the 19 minutes that came from one Democratic debate alone at Howard University on June 28 (prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier in the day against voluntary integration efforts), and you get an idea of how little education seems to be penetrating the campaigns this season.
Levine suggests that this is only going to get worse in the coming years as Baby Boomers move on to more pressing Boomer issues:
Continue reading "Arthur Levine: Selfish Baby Boomers Are Turning Backs on Schools"....
Posted by Joe Williams on July 31, 2007 6:37 AM
Barr Can Not Be Contained
I'm honestly trying to cut back on the Steve Barr and Green Dot postings so we don't get accused of being on the payroll, but you really have to check out the article on the revolution out in LA in the latest issue of Forbes. What is going on out there really is spectacular.
Will use one of the quotes in the DFER Quote of The Day.
Posted by Joe Williams on July 31, 2007 6:01 AM
July 30, 2007
Crappy Schools Are Killing The Rain Forest
Per the story in this post about the lack of high quality school choices in Los Angeles, Sara Mead goes with the $400,000 mobile home angle, but then makes a series of great points which prove rather conclusively that bad urban schools are causing global warming. Al Gore, this is where you jump in...
Posted by Joe Williams on July 30, 2007 2:57 PM
Welcome, Frustrated Dems (And Curious Republicans?)
Seriously, the strangest looks I've gotten since I took this job have come from Republicans who wondered what in the world I was talking about. "Democrats? And education reform?" Totally!
But anyway, we've had a lot of new visitors coming to the blog the last few days, which is wonderful. I want to make sure you newcomers aren't missing some other features on our site while you come through:
1. The DFER Quote of the Day. I travel the globe looking for these, for no reason other than your enjoyment. That's the kind of guy I am. Feel free to send ideas my way from your own travels!
2. Our Statement of Principles. Help us show that there are Democrats out there who do care about getting rid of crappy schools. Sign on today, it only takes a few minutes!
3. Our contributions page. Help us elect reform-minded candidates to office. Make a contribution today!
Thanks again for stopping by.
Posted by Joe Williams on July 30, 2007 12:37 AM
July 29, 2007
Help Ed In '08 Rock The Online Vote
Former DNC Chairman Roy Romer, known in these parts as The Good Cop, wants us to let George Lucas' Edutopia know that we don't think the presidential candidates are talking enough about education. Writes Romer:
Many candidates have mentioned the need for strong public schools, but no one has really addressed how to improve K-12 education. We’ve heard plenty of talk about Pre-K education, but the benefits of early childhood ed fade out if kids go to weak schools. We’ve heard about college affordability, but almost a third of kids are unprepared for college. We’ve heard about local control and letting states decide, but we know it also takes strong presidential leadership to reform and improve K-12 schools.
On Friday I blogged about the opportunity the Democratic candidates had to be bold on education in their speeches before the National Urban League convention in St. Louis. You can watch the speeches yourself here and decide how much futher they have to go. My own feeling is that they are getting warmer, but still have a long way to go.
Continue reading "Help Ed In '08 Rock The Online Vote"....
Posted by Joe Williams on July 29, 2007 5:03 PM
