In yesterday’s “Room for Debate” feature, The New York Times asks whether public-school teacher compensation should be increased. The answer we give, based on our recent report, is that teachers already receive more compensation than comparably skilled private-sector workers. If the current compensation bonus has yet to increase the quality of the teacher workforce, it is not clear how an additional raise would produce better results. Public school districts should focus on maximizing the value of their existing resources rather than spending even more money inefficiently. But why is there …
“The power and influence of education unions has a significant effect on schools today. But is that good for American students?” Education Unions: Made Simple, the fourth in a series of short videos, explains the stifling effect of unions on the nation’s schools using a simple analogy. Sunny, a talented musician who is adored by his fans, is suddenly forced to join a musicians’ union. While the union provides perks, it also pushes rules upon him, such as restricting how long he can meet with fans and the time he …
Another year, another reminder that the National Education Association (NEA) is a far-left organization that is grossly out of step with the views of millions of teachers and works diligently to maintain the failed status quo for children. At the union’s convention this year, labor leadership endorsed resolutions, amendments, and new business items that seem far from benefiting their members or improving education.
President Obama had no shortage of things to say at yesterday’s Twitter town hall meeting, even if he didn’t always have firm grasp of the facts or reality. A reader ran the numbers: Obama used a total number of 8,519 words in his answers — or roughly 38,703 characters. At 140 characters each, that’s about 276 tweets (excluding space for @replies, links or hashtags). In the course of the conversation, Obama didn’t let the facts get in the way of his answers. Heritage investigative reporter Lachlan Markay noted Obama’s false …
It began in Wisconsin, but it’s not stopping there. When legislators in the Badger State moved to reform unions’ collective bargaining power earlier this year, their action not only stirred movement in their own state but sent a ripple effect across the nation. And it continues to spread. As Charles Krauthammer noted in February, “Wisconsin is the epicenter. … When Gov. Scott Walker proposed that state workers contribute more to their pension and health-care benefits, he started a revolution.” This revolution has extended to states near and far, including Ohio, …
After days of lost class time for Wisconsin students, teachers have returned to school. Yet Governor Scott Walker (R) is still faced with the demands of teachers unions who are pushing against reforms that would restructure teacher pension and benefit plans and reform unions’ collective bargaining power. While unions announced over the weekend that they would concede the pension and health benefits piece of the proposal, they continue to demand that their collective bargaining authority remain intact. Some may see this as a good start, yet such action only manifests …
Yesterday, President Obama traveled to New Mexico to deliver remarks on education at the home of a local Albuquerque family. According to the Associated Press, “Obama argued that Republicans would cut education spending to pay for tax cuts for the rich.” While the politics of Obama’s assertion can be left to debate by Members of Congress, it is clear that over the years, conservatives have pushed for policies that better target educational dollars. Instead of just throwing more money into the monolithic public education system, which in many instances ends …
NBC News is on Day Two of its week-long series Education Nation. You cannot turn on any of the NBC family of networks (MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, A&E, Telemundo, etc.) without seeing Education Secretary Arne Duncan, or some Obama administration surrogate, flacking for the President’s education agenda. There are plenty of issues the journalists at NBC could be asking about but aren’t: the silent push toward national standards, the assault on for-profit learning, the waste in education spending. But most galling is NBC’s continued refusal to ask about the Obama administration’s …
Today, the much-talked-about film Waiting for Superman will make its premier. The movie, produced by David Guggenheim, reveals the gridlock created by school district bureaucracy, apathetic teachers, and teachers’ unions. According to reviews, the movie graphically displays how a broken school system is failing America’s children, leaving them in failing schools with little hope for a promising future. Reports William McGurn in The Wall Street Journal: It’s one thing to talk about “failing schools.” It’s another to see a man standing in the hallway of Alain Leroy Locke Senior High …
The Lottery, a new documentary about charter schools in New York City, is changing the debate on parental choice in education. Madeleine Sackler, a 27 year old graduate of Duke University and creator of the film, follows 4 students who have been entered into a lottery to be selected for one of the spots at Harlem Success Academy (a transformative system of charter schools that is catching the eyes of policymakers across the country.) The film will be screened today at 5:30 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. …
