Confidence in U.S. public schools plunged to a scary new all-time low — just 29 percent! And schools aren’t alone. Across the board, it looks like Americans are losing faith in institutions.
Other record lows were recorded for the church or organized religion, 44 percent; banks, 21 percent; and television news, 21 percent.
Congress ranked last — as it has for the last three years — at 13 percent.
— ICYMI
How Do We Protect Our Trayvon Martins?
- MarkNaison wrote in Education, Race and News
What makes the verdict all the more more painful is that the situation that led to Trayvon Martin’s death is one that is very familiar to me. I have walked in George Zimmerman’s shoes. I have been on block patrol in my Brooklyn neighborhood. I’ve escorted very tough kids off my block when they’ve come to cause trouble. I’ve run basketball leagues in tough neighborhoods where I’ve had to make peace with neighborhood drug dealers.
If that were me on patrol, nothing would have happened to Trayvon Martin. There would have been no reason for me to approach him because he was doing nothing wrong. However, let’s say that I decided to do so anyway. I would have approached him politely with an air of confidence and concern, as one physically confident person to another, showing him respect. And Trayvon, like the hundreds of the young people I have dealt with from comparable backgrounds, would have shown me respect back—because he was merely an innocent teenager walking home from the corner store with a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea.
Murals and Math: One School’s Solution to Graffiti
- Ellie Balk wrote in Education, New York and News
The act of painting murals is empowering. Once a student makes a mark on a wall, it becomes his or hers. When you walk down the busy street of Graham Ave, almost every wall is covered in random tags. We help the students create public art that means something and has significance. Students living in Brooklyn need this kind of connection to their communities because when the students invest in their communities, the communities invest in them. These murals are also made for the neighborhood. The results are not only beautiful images, but also sparked conversations.
Announcing The Great American Teach-Off 2013: Nominate an Innovative Teacher to Win $10K
- GOOD Maker wrote in Education, Great American Teach Off and News
GOOD and University of Phoenix are proud to announce the launch of the second annual Great American Teach-Off for teachers in grades K through 12.
This program is a nationwide competition to celebrate U.S.-based elementary, middle and high school teachers that are engaging students to learn effectively and graduate successfully. Whether these teachers have innovative teaching methods, create unique classroom projects, or organize inspiring after-school programs that encourage community involvement in their school, we want to hear more about them!
Here’s how it works: Nominate an outstanding teacher currently teaching in grades K through 6 or 7 through 12—it can be a teacher you’ve had, your child’s, or even yourself—by February 15 noon PT. We’ll select the finalists based on how they foster creativity in the classroom, help students learn beyond the classroom, and impact the greater school community.
We’ll announce the top 20 finalists on March 4 noon PT. Finalists will share videos responding to a short list of questions about their teaching experience, and the GOOD community will vote for their favorite teacher over the course of five weeks. At the end of five weeks, the top voted K through 6 teacher and the top voted 7 through 12 teacher will each receive a $10,000 classroom grant.
Dedicated teachers that are pushing students to learn and think in different ways deserve to be recognized. Give these teachers the chance to further learning in their classroom by nominating them in The Great American Teach-Off by February 15 noon PT. Watch profiles of last year’s winning teachers, Terry Dougherty and Daryl Bilandzija to get inspired.
You can join the conversation with this challenge on Twitter at @GOODmkr and @TeachOff via #teachoff.
This post is brought to you by GOOD with support from University of Phoenix
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.
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
GOOD has recently been on a bit of a media blitz, with our editors getting out in front of the camera to talk about recent news events, and discussing articles from our most recent issue, Beg, Borrow, or Steal.
Here is a clip (advance to about the 37 minute mark) is GOOD’s education editor, Liz Dwyer, discussing her moving piece about what the Trayvon Martin case means to her not just as a concerned citizen—if you are unsure of how bad this law is, please reference our infographic—but what it meant for her as a mother of two black sons. She also talks about this poignant discussion she filmed with her kids (who are the best, by the way) about racism in their day to day lives.
In this clip from The Big Picture with Thom Hartman, our associate editor, Nona Willis Aronowitz, chatting about her piece from our latest issue, “Minimum Rage”. This has been a big topic for our editorial team, with us launching a new Tumblr for all the Minium Ragers out there.
We’re incredibly proud of the work from these talented people, and bonus points that both can look so good on camera. Watch the shows to hear their thoughts on these topics, and hopefully we can keep spreading these topics, and others, more in the future.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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