Divided on Unions

Bill Boyarsky / Truthdig Mar 2, 2011 In the national battle over the future of unions, labor’s greatest danger is division among liberals over schoolteachers’ rights in dismissals, evaluation testing, assignments, promotions and tenure.In the national battle over the future of unions, labor’s greatest danger is division among liberals. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

‘Daily Show’: Revenge of the Curds

Staff / Truthdig Feb 23, 2011 Let's get a couple of things straight about this situation going down in Wisconsin: First, yes, the clash between thousands of union-friendly employees and Gov. Scott Walker is a big deal, but no, this conflict is not at all like the one that just occurred in Egypt. Or Tunisia. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Madison-Washington Connection

Bill Boyarsky / Truthdig Feb 23, 2011 The demonstrators in Madison, Wis., are fighting to preserve American hopes for opportunity and security that conservative Republicans are trying to destroy. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Survey Says Teachers Lack Backbone When It Comes to Evolution

Staff / Truthdig Feb 3, 2011 A couple of political scientists out of Penn State University went looking into the way evolution is taught in classrooms, and discovered that the vast majority of teachers are overly cautious in their presentation of the concept, contrary to National Research Council guidelines. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste—Except in Ohio

Marcia Alesan Dawkins / Truthdig Jan 30, 2011 Kelly Williams-Bolar, an aspiring teacher and mother of two, was sentenced to 10 days in jail for sending her children to school outside her district. But in this time of economic crisis, it is hard to believe that a single mother such as Williams-Bolar is a criminal. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Job Cuts Outpace Hiring

Staff / Truthdig Oct 8, 2010 What's bad? September saw 159,000 public sector employees laid off. What's worse? A good number of those layoffs were teachers, as private sector hiring failed to keep pace with job cuts by federal and local governments. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Schooling Scholars on Classroom Success

Moshe Adler / Truthdig Aug 21, 2010 There is of course no doubt that our public education system is broken. There is also no doubt that wages are too low. But blaming “bad teachers” is not the answer to either. These days everyone seems to think teachers need improving -- even people who uncover evidence to the contrary. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

$26 Billion for States and Schools

Staff / Truthdig Aug 6, 2010 A $26 billion aid package was passed by the Senate on Thursday that aims to ensure that school districts and states do not have to can tens of thousands of teachers and government workers. Just two Republicans crossed the ideological aisle to support the bill, which now heads to the House. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Kindergarten: A Lasting Legacy

Staff / Truthdig Jul 29, 2010 Economists used data on 12,000 Tennesseans to conclude that while test score gains built by successful elementary teachers had faded by high school, more meaningful outcomes (income, college, divorce, savings) seem to show a strong link between quality education as a child and success in the "real world." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Obama Wants $50 Billion For Teachers, Cops and Firefighters

Staff / Truthdig Jun 14, 2010 With a relative drop in the bailout bucket, the president thinks he can save 300,000 teachers who would otherwise be kept by economic calamity from annoying America's children. The money would go to state and local governments struggling to make ends meet. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Do the Math

Mike Luckovich / Truthdig May 10, 2010 Dig deeper

Blinded by Reform

Mike Rose / Truthdig Oct 22, 2009 The Obama administration has committed serious money to education reform, but many of the Department of Education's big ideas are flawed. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )