The collegiate curriculum now includes capstone projects, which allow students to apply their academic knowledge to real-world problems. These programs are crucial to education in the U.S. and Brazil, although their execution and impact vary due to educational philosophies, resources, and institutional aims. This essay compares these disparities with teacher perspectives from both countries. The…
Undoubtedly 2022 is going to be another massive year for the advancement of school choice. Coming off 2021, a year in which 18 states passed educational choice legislation, K-12 stakeholders are excited to continue providing students and families with the opportunity to attend schools that work best for them. In fact, they are so excited…
The Chicago Teachers Union’s effort to go remote across the district is rooted in racism. Asking members to force a work stoppage without acknowledging the critical state of our babies is wrong. It ignores the fact that large numbers of children suffered the last time academically, physically and emotionally. Remote learning hurt Black and brown…
It’s been an excellent year for school choice! 2021 has rightly been called a “breakthrough year” and “The Year of School Choice,” as 18 different states enacted seven new school choice programs and worked to expand 21 existing programs. And 2022 may prove to be even better! What’s really impressive is that school choice is…
If there is one thing we know for sure about this pandemic, it’s that interest in homeschooling has been on the rise as families search for a learning environment that meets all their childrens’ needs. In fact, the number of families choosing to homeschool has more than doubled since 2020! As families took control of…
While adults in schools split hairs over what to call what just happened to young people during the pandemic—“learning loss” vs. “unfinished learning”—the students send us a very different message. Behavior is communication. And right now, national problems with student behavior in school communicate that adults are completely out of touch. In Oregon, a middle…
“The wolf took one last look at his mother and father…” My son is reading aloud in the other room. I hear his little voice recounting the story of a wolf who became the first wild wolf in California in a very long time. He reads with expression—exclamation points invoke excitement in his voice, question…
The continued killing of unarmed Black men by police has spurred action across the country. Some people are looking at how we fund law enforcement. Some people are looking at their own biases and participating in training about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Me? I’m looking at how we educate children of color. I’m the founder…
Just a glance at student attendance rates confirms what many have suspected for a while now: The pandemic had a profound impact on public school enrollment — and not in a good way. Across the country, enrollment in public schools declined by over a million students during the 2000-2021 school year. And this year enrollment…
When I became a parent, it seems like ages ago, my favorite book to read to my sons was “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” As a social scientist, I appreciated the book’s message that actions have consequences that often delight. Thus, I was especially eager to pull together a talented group of researchers…
Samantha Bee decided to go on the attack against school choice this week during her show, Full Frontal. Based on the first clip she played during her school choice rant, it was clear that the president’s support for parents having educational options for their children has really gotten under her skin. And she’s not alone—if…
Thank your agent, thank your God, and fuck off. Okay? When comedian Ricky Gervais took a flamethrower to the Golden Globes last night and called out the Hollywood elites for their hypocrisy and faux-wokeness, I immediately thought of Matt Damon. The father of four who shot to stardom after his lead role in Good Will…
After what happened last night at Elizabeth Warren’s rally in Atlanta, Democrats might want to reconsider their strategy of attacking school choice. Black and brown parents, some who have been fighting chronically failing schools locally for decades, have had enough. A group of hundreds of mostly black parents —and grand parents and great grandparents —descended…
If you had told me when I started working in education that we’d face a day when the United States prioritized bars and gyms over children, I wouldn’t have believed you. Yet that day is here. Even as New York Mayor Bill de Blasio recognizes that there is an “unbelievably low level of transmission in…
Elizabeth Warren wants to batten down the hatches but unlike a ship captain who feels a duty to protect his passengers from an impending storm, Warren’s mission is to prevent them from escaping to safety—well, at least the poor ones. In her just released education plan, she isn’t throwing educational lifeboats to anybody who can’t…
This week’s column has also been cross-posted over at our sister blog, Education Post. One of my favorite Gandhi quotes is, “There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.” I’ve never found a person who disagrees, even among the most ardent believers in the transformative power…
September 3rd isn’t really recognized by anyone as a day to celebrate freedom, but it is for me. For the last few months, I’ve been blessed to work on a project that’s been personally and professionally meaningful: Creating a place where people like me who believe in limited government and the rights and responsibilities granted…
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf recently vetoed a bill that would have expanded private school choice for low- and middle-income families. Less than two months later, Wolf is calling to further regulate the commonwealth’s public charter schools. At first glance, his new plan sounds like a great idea. I mean, who can argue with slogans like…