21st Century Scholar

by Randy Clemens The day after July 4th is a fitting time to finish a two-part blog about heroes and villains among education reformers and democratic action within local neighborhoods. Last week, I discussed the current trend of leaders who characterize people and reforms as either good or bad. I also discussed some of the [...]

by Randy Clemens In the comic book universe, identifying superheroes and supervillains is relatively easy. For instance, if you can’t tell by the ominous outfit or menacing scowl, you can certainly recognize villains by their evil machinations to takeover and/or destroy the world. In the education reform universe, the task is not so simple. First, [...]

The purpose(s) of compulsory education in modern America have not been clear. Today, during President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s announcement of the criteria for the “Race to the Top” Fund, they will become a little clearer. In The Washington Post, both the President and Secretary of Education discussed the new plan. Duncan outlined four reforms: “To reverse [...]

Forty-four of seventy-seven students did not pass the eighth grade at Bradwell Elementary School, a Chicago public school. The author of the article invokes an age old question: when students fail, who do we blame? This question irks me; the answer is always “everyone.” We live in a democratic society, which means equal participation and [...]

One percent of spending does not fully explain the impact of philanthropies. First, of all the thousands of foundations that contribute to education, 15 or so donate the majority of funds. What results are hugely powerful interest groups–or, perhaps more precisely, individuals backed by their foundations–with access to money, publicity, and influential people. Think about, as [...]

Philanthropic donations account for nearly one percent of all education spending, a seemingly paltry amount for sure. Yet, a cursory glance at this statistic belies the current and future significance of philanthropy and its step-child, venture philanthropy, in education. A report by the Future of Philanthropy predicts, as baby boomers retire, the number of foundations [...]

A contrary argument to Goldin and Katz is made by Andrew Hacker in The New York Review of Books. Hacker questions if we actually need a more educated workforce. He has roamed through the predictions of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and suggests that we don’t need all those engineers that are currently being trained. Instead, [...]