Economics Professor Wants More Attention Focused on Pre-Kindergarten
When Professor Robert Lynch appeared before Congress Tuesday to testify about the economic benefits of pre-kindergarten, he hoped it would focus more attention on an issue he believes is dramatically under covered by the press. “Pre-kindergarten doesn’t get the attention it deserves, although now that there is more activity on the state level, it is [...]
Push For Pre-K Standards Gets a Boost from Editorial Writers in Rapid City South Dakota
Editorial writers at the Rapid City Journal are pushing for voluntary pre-kindergarten school standards in South Dakota, one of only nine states that doesn’t provide state funding for pre-k. Pre-kindergarten standards have been a tricky topic for journalists in the state, even though, as the Feb. 13 editorial pointed out, a poll by the advocacy [...]
Former Cabinet Member Robert B. Reich Says Better Preschools Can Reverse Inequality
With the economy fizzling and the U.S. appeared headed for a recession, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich calls for good pre-schools, small class sizes and higher quality education in low and moderate income communities. Reich, now a faculty member at Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, made his remarks [...]
Too much too early in the UK?
The Daily Telegraph of London reports on a Cambridge University review of primary education that found schooling there too stressful, rigid, and oriented toward “performativity.” English kids start school at age 4. The study found too much emphasis on testing young children.
Budget coverage highlights early ed proposals
The Associated Press coverage of Alabama Gov. Bob Riley’s budget announcement highlighted two of his ideas related to early education–a tripling of the state’s investment in pre-kindergarten and expanded support for the Alabama Reading Initiative. (You will recall that the reading initiative in Alabama, as in many states, has gotten support from the federal Reading [...]
Pre-K Fight in Tennessee
Theo Emery of the Tennessean turns in a good story about Gov. Phil Bredesen’s plan to expand pre-k spending that goes beyond the politics to report on research done on the effect of pre-K. Read it here. As newspapers work to make their Web sites interactive the comments on articles have become an important element [...]
Cats and Dogs, Lying Down Together…
Strange things happening in politics these days: Rush Limbaugh hammering away hatefully at the soon to be crowned Republican presidential candidate John McCain; Ann Coulter, who has made a career out of childishly calling anyone not a card-carrying member of the John Birch Society stupid, saying she’ll vote for Hillary Clinton rather than support McCain. [...]
When Covering Expansion Plans, Watch for Roadblocks
As governors continue to push expanded pre-kindergarten programs, journalists are right to do some reporting and find out what may stand in their way. That’s what Josh Bean of the Press Register in Alabama did earlier this week, noting that Republican Governor Bob Riley’s plan to expand the state’s highly praised but small pre-kindergarten program [...]
