Great observation from John Carroll:
Best line of the political-ad season so far: the Kerry Healey supporter who says in one spot, “She’s consistent, she’s articulate, and she tells it like it is.” This, about a candidate who has yet to say a word in her commercials.
We’ve been flooded with political ads lately, from everyone except […]
Chris Gabrielli seems to be shaping up into a savvy enough candidate, and I can foresee that he has a good shot at winning the primary - I’d place his odds well ahead of Reilly. His emphasis on “innovation” probably plays well. Still, am I the only one who finds the innovation fetish a little bit […]
Sachem Head puts forth a reasonable case for unions in the comments.
Before I come off as a total right-wing crank, let me add that I don’t think primary and secondary ed teachers get compensated enough. The couple that I know well - one charter school, one private - work their tails off and put their heart […]
Since my last post on Deval Patrick’s merit pay proposal elicited confusion on what exactly my gripe was, let me step back and clarify that the part of the reason it strikes me as wrong-headed politically is that it will be seen as stonewalling for teachers’ unions.
Now, I’ve never understood the demonization of teachers’ unions as some […]
Oh, God, please no….
DEVAL PATRICK CALLS FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF MERIT PAY – CASH INCENTIVES FOR WHOLE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT AND EXCELLENCE
06/13/2006
Pledges to Lead State in a Shift from Emphasis on Sanctioning Schools to Rewarding Schools; Advocates Incentives for Collaboration that Benefits Students
BOSTON – Tuesday, June 13, 2006 — Deval Patrick today pledged to institute a […]
At Blue Mass, Bob has some fun at the expense of the HubPolitics writer who mangles a bit of the English language himself in his statement, ”We can thank the overwhelmingly liberal legislature for the poor fluency amongst the non-native English speaking students, after all, it was the Democrats on Beacon Hill who gave the axe to the voter […]
On the Democratic side for Lieutenant General primary, a four-way race among relative unknowns (Tim Murray, Worcester mayor, probably has the most prominent profile) has meant that only insiders were following, and it was unclear to the wider public (OK, it was unclear to me) what the differences were the candidates were, what stake in […]
Some worthwhile posts on policy issues/from policy blogs today:
Third Decade isn’t buying the justification for local utilities’ rate hikes. I’m not either.
Sterling Newbury rails against wind farm NIMBYism.
Eduwonk advises liberals against pressing the academic freedom too far in public lower ed: "While it might sound like a great idea to let people like […]
Ray Davis at the Valve calls the debt-heavy funding of higher ed a pernicious social policy, and Brad DeLong replies:
As an economist, I have to look at student loans differently. College educations are expensive things–colleges are expensive to run. A generation ago your average college-educated American earned an average salary 30% more than that of […]
Judith Baker and Felix Arroyo have an op-ed today listing ten challenges for the incoming Boston Schools Superintendant. Some of the list strikes me as grandstanding (any candidate will be well aware of these challenges), but I agree with much on the list, and it’s certainly worth reproducing (numbering is mine):
Figure out the true school […]
Jay Fitzgerald discusses the degree mill scandal swirling around Bill Weld. He’s probably right that the big story here is the dampening effect on Weld’s NY gubernatorial run. But I find intriguing the larger ramifications about educational credentials. Jay writes,
Spare me the argument that this proves the pitfalls of for-profit education. Student-loans have become […]
The Globe Magazine had a great cover story this weekend about the rising costs of UMass Amherst. I was impressed by its bridging of anecdote and politics/policy analysis:
What began as an affordable ticket to a higher standard of living for anyone who was willing to work hard enough is now, according to a recent USA […]
Conservatives like to complain that liberals have a misguided belief that more spending leads to better education. I’m inclined to distrust their motives (cutting corners in basic government spending is often penny wise, pound foolish), but when I read stuff like this, I have to consider that they may have a point. High school accreditation […]
Matt Yglesias on the ideal of universal college education:
Take any given poor kid, and you could give that kid a real boost in life by putting him through college. But he gets that boost precisely because a large number of people don’t go to college, so he winds up having a competitive advantage in the […]
60 Minutes had an excellent report on for-profit degree mills. Apparently, they’re under investigation for a range of shady practices, including false advertising, nonexistent job placement, and treating “admissions” staff as a sales force. The real scandal, of course, is that much of the money flowing through these for-profit colleges and trade programs are federal […]