THE ABSENT An installation of 857 empty school desks, representing the number of U.S. students who drop out of school every hour, every school day, displayed at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images via The Telegraph)
Best of 2012: The Five Most Extraordinary Things to Happen in Education
- Nikhil Goyal wrote in Education
It’s been quite an incredible year in the education space. While we’ve witnessed a surge in the number of politicians with no education experience make decisions on how schools should run and a wider adoption of nonsensical ideas like the “flipped classroom” and value-added teacher evaluations, there have been some memorable, equation-changing events and initiatives that have emerged.
So, let’s highlight five of the most extraordinary things that happened in education in 2012:
- The Students Speak Out
- Alternatives to Higher Education
- Caine’s Arcade
- Chicago Teachers Strike
- Massively Open Online Courses—MOOCs
Illustration by Corinna Loo
Women Make Less Than Men at Every Education Level
Among Americans with some form of post-high school education—a vocational, associate’s, bachelor’s, or advanced degree—men make more than $800 above women’s pay every month. And the gap widens as men and women climb educational ranks. In short, education is valuable, but it’s most lucrative if you’re male.
That $4 Billion George Lucas Is Getting From Disney? He’s Giving it to Education - by Liz Dwyer
With the news that George Lucas is selling Lucasfilm to Disney for a reported $4.05 billion, there’s been plenty of speculation over who will write and direct Star Wars: Episode VII and what Lucas, who owns 100 percent of Lucasfilm, will do with all that cash. Will Jar Jar Binks return? No plans for the film have been shared, but a spokesperson for Lucasfilm told The Hollywood Reporterthat most of the money will go toward an education foundation.
Lucas’ commitment to education is nothing new. Over 20 years ago Lucas established the George Lucas Educational Foundation, which is “dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process by documenting, disseminating, and advocating for innovative, replicable, and evidence-based strategies that prepare students to thrive in their future education, careers, and adult lives.” In part, the foundation runs the nonprofit website Edutopia, which produces the excellent profiles of innovative, effective schools in their “Schools That Work” series.
And in 2010 Lucas also signed on to Warren Buffet and Bill Gates Giving Pledge, which asks extraordinarily wealthy individuals to give the bulk of their money to philanthropic causes. At the time Lucas released a statement saying he was “dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education,” because “it is the key to the survival of the human race.” Lucas continued, “we have to plan for our collective future—and the first step begins with the social, emotional, and intellectual tools we provide to our children.”
Whether Lucas will pour more resources into GLEF and Edutopia, or fund other initiatives around the country—similar to how the Gates Foundation has become a major player in the education space—is anyone’s guess. But with Lucas’ interest in whole child-based, innovative education practices and the integration of the arts in schools, it’s pretty exciting to imagine what kind of shifts in our education system could result.
No Arts at Your School? There’s a Law for That
- Kristen Rae posted in Education, Arts and California
Arts educator Carl Schafer was shocked to find a few lines in the California education code requiring arts to be taught to all California students. Unfortunately it has no teeth. What are your ideas for incorporating arts education into curriculum on budget?
President Obama has a goal that 100 percent of students should be college or career ready, and in the next decade, most jobs will require at least some post-high school education. The opportunities for high school graduates are declining and generally offer lower earning potential. But are we educating students with the right kind of post-secondary education to meet the demands of the workforce of the future?
Infographic: Educating the Workforce of the Future - Education - GOOD
Could “Cram Schools” Be on Their Way to America?
Prepare to hear a collective wail from school children across the U.S. As education becomes more test-centered and competitive around the world, the pressure to log sky-high scores is on the rise. According to The Economist, Japan’s renowned juku—after-school education programs also known as “cram schools"—are more popular than ever. Given America’s tendency to use testing as the ultimate measure of achievement for students, teachers, and schools, could formal cram schools become popular Stateside?
Why I’m Taking a Year to Learn and Do the Things I Give a Damn About
- Manasa Yeturu wrote in Education, Entrepreneurship and San Francisco
I’m taking one full year to focus on what I most give a damn about: entrepreneurship education to empower girls.
The decision to take this adventure wasn’t an easy one—I loved the projects I worked on during the two years I worked at GOOD/Corps, GOOD’s social innovation consultancy. But my “a-ha” moment came when I visited India last summer as part of a project with Gap Inc.’s Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement program. I got to meet female factory workers who are part of the P.A.C.E program, and the conversations I had with them shattered my preconceived notions of what life is like for these women. They exuded “empowerment” and all cited positive life changes due to the entrepreneurial skills they were learning through the program.
More Creativity, Less Standardization: Why You Should Support National Opt Out Day
- Peggy Robertson wrote in Education, Students and Teachers
…we at United Opt Out National, a grassroots organization committed to ending the influence of high stakes testing and corporate-driven education reform, are declaring January 7 as National Opt Out Day. What does it mean to opt out? It means a refusal to buy into something—in this case the stranglehold that high stakes testing has on public education. We must resist and rebuild public education this year…
This Sandy Hook Elementary Teacher’s Paying America’s Kindness Forward
- Kaitlin Roig wrote in Education, Empathy and K 12 Education
As I fled Sandy Hook Elementary on the morning of December 14, 2012, clutching two of my student’s hands tightly, I thought, “thank you, thank you.” From that moment on I realized it is not the moment that defines you, it is how you react to the moment that defines you.
As I reflected in the days following, I knew we had to make a choice for ourselves, our students, our nation, and our world. If we were going to choose love, kindness, compassion, empathy, and hope after such terror and destruction, then we needed to teach this to our students. But at this point, I still had a large question to answer. How?
…American educators work the most hours of all industrialized nations, but are the fifth lowest paid after 15 years on the job. Only Luxembourg, Hungary, Iceland, and Norway pay their teachers less.
American Teachers Do More Work for Less Pay Than Their International Peers - Education - GOOD
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