The “Press” on the Press for Full Day Kindergarten
Diane D’Amico of The Press in Atlantic City, New Jersey had a good, comprehensive story (free registration required) on the growing interest in full-day kindergarten in New Jersey a few days back. She gives an overview of the investments New Jersey is making in pre-kindergarten in some school districts (principally those serving large populations of [...]
The “War on Toddlers”?
My ranting yesterday about “unschooling” and the coverage of it (see below) led me to snoop around on the web a bit and I learned that the homeschool/unschool crowd is adamantly opposed to publicly funded pre-kindergarten. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, I suppose, that the folks who oppose “government” schools would be opponents of [...]
Room for the Little Ones?
The schools in Fort Smith, Arkansas are facing an enrollment boom, which has led officials to put together an ambitious building program. At the same time, Supt. Benny Gooden wants to expand the district’s pre-kindergarten program. The coverage in the Fort Smith paper notes that “while a pre-K program is not mandated, various studies have [...]
(Un)schooling, (Un)hinged
I’ve been biting my tongue before commenting on the story on the “unschooling” movement that appeared over the weekend in the New York Times. “Unschooling” is a term coined in 1977 by John Holt, author of “Teach Your Own.” It means that rather than be taught by adults, kids ought to be free to explore [...]
“Unschooling” Letters
I decided to blog on the “unschooling” story because letters appeared in the Times today. A letter writer from Candor, NY repeats the notion that “when a child is ready to read, he will read.” When a child is ready to spell properly, he or she will do so. When a child is ready to [...]
More $$ for Pre-Kindergarten or High School?
Story in Saturday’s NY Times on the state Court of Appeals ruling in the long-running education finance case involving the New York City schools notes the tension between instituting universal pre-kindergarten and spending money for smaller classes or other enhancements to K-12. These tensions come up all the time. But journalists often don’t make the [...]
Catching Up From the Weekend: What Will it Take to Close Achievement Gaps?
Terrific, agenda-setting piece in the New York Times Sunday magazine on the achievement gap and No Child Left Behind. It’s a must-read for anyone who wants to understand, let alone write about, inequality in education and what might be required to reduce it. By an editor at the magazine, Paul Tough, the article explores the [...]
Tax Vote Leaves Denver Papers Flatfooted
Maybe it was the approach of the Thanksgiving holiday, but the Denver Post and The Rocky both seemed to be caught flatfooted in their coverage of the narrow passage of Measure 1A this week. The local NBC television station, Channel 9, was way out ahead in getting reaction and analyzing what lies ahead. The measure [...]
Kids or the “Vulnerable Tree Canopy”?
The Post ran a bizarre pre-election column saying the city had bigger needs, like an irrigation system and saving a “vulnerable tree canopy.” The columnist argued for expanding preschools already in the public schools, asserted that only the poor should get help, and questioned allowing private individuals to oversee the spending of the tax money. [...]
Anyone Got a Phone Number for a Parent?
I’ll be interested in seeing how this gets covered. Will the local journalists venture out into the preschools and see how well kids are being served and examine the quality of the programs the tax is supporting? Or, will they simply make calls to those setting up the program, the lawyers challenging the tax on [...]
