Twigmore » Uncategorized

NYC Public School Kids Learning Firsthand About Business

Peter Baer — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:21:20 +0000

Today I had the privilege of being a judge in the NYC Department of Education Virtual Enterprises Business Plan Competition. The program offers students the opportunity to experience in a simulated business environment all facets of being an employee in a firm. The presentations by groups of 5-10 kids ranged from a chocolate company to an ad agency and were very impressive, as is the program in general. Introducing kids to real world business is a terrific idea and I’m excited to get more involved.

Issues with Teach for America Program

Peter Baer — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:58:14 +0000

Interesting NY Times article on the corps of recent college graduates who sign up to teach in some of the nation’s most troubled schools and the fact that their dedication to improving society at large does not necessarily extend beyond their Teach for America service. We found this surprising. Doug McAdam, a sociologist at Stanford University says the reasons for the lower rates of civic involvement include “not only exhaustion and burnout, but also disillusionment with Teach for America’s approach to the issue of educational inequity.” This is a shame, but all in all, the program does seem to be having a positive impact on the public school system.

Colleges Offering More and More ‘Green’ Majors And Minors

Peter Baer — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:57:16 +0000

A good USA Today article on green studies programs filling up fast. Nationwide, more than 100 majors, minors or certificates were created this year in energy and sustainability-focused programs at colleges, says the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. That’s up from just three programs added in 2005. “There’s a great perception that there’s a sweet spot with energy to do good and do well, and it appears to be the place of job growth,” says Rob Melnick, executive dean of the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. It’ll be interesting to see where this trend leads.

Colleges Actually Less Selective Than 50 Years Ago

Peter Baer — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:30:00 +0000

Interesting NY Times article explaining why this is true 90% of the time. Caroline M. Hoxby, professor of economics at Stanford and director of the Economics of Education Program for the National Bureau of Economic Research, points out that while high school graduation rates are up, so too is the number of freshman seats on the market. She acknowledges that this doesn’t apply to the most elite schools, but asserts that increased selectivity in these schools has nothing to do with a shortage of seats. Our question is if supply is growing appreciably faster than demand, why are prices skyrocketing?

Colleges Turn the Economic Crisis Into a Lesson Plan

Peter Baer — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:15:28 +0000

The financial crisis has brought upheaval to many corners of American life, but on college campuses around the country the turmoil is being embraced as a valuable teaching tool according to this NY Times article. Academics say they cannot recall a time when so much of the curriculum has had to be revised so quickly to reflect the sweeping developments in the economy. It’s nice to see business schools and economics departments moving quickly and nimbly to adapt coursework to the changing times.

Pennsylvania School Adds BMI Test for Graduation

Peter Baer — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:45:56 +0000

A short, but interesting U.S. News & World Report piece on Lincoln University’s recent decision to require students to undergo a physical examination before graduation. If a student’s body mass index is above 30, he or she must take a physical education class. Obviously, we’d all like college students to be healthier, but this may not be the best way.

Four teachers named U.S. Professors of the Year

Peter Baer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:00:39 +0000

USA Today piece on the four 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year, who are being recognized today by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. “These are not people who are simply standing in front of a classroom and lecturing to students,” says Rae Goldsmith, vice president of advancement resources for CASE. “These are all people who are letting the students participate in their own learning process, engaging students in research.” With all the negative press about the education system, it’s nice to see some positive stories as well.

School districts retooling how they evaluate teachers

Peter Baer — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:28:23 +0000

Chicago Tribune article on how teachers’ fates are increasingly dependent on student performance. We think this makes a lot of sense. The more their evaluations — and their pay — depend on how their students do, the better.

Student engagement: It’s different at every institution

Peter Baer — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:07:26 +0000

Interesting USA Today article on student engagement and what it looks like. Indiana University researchers, who administer the National Survey of Student Engagement, looked at the performance of 443 schools that participate in USA TODAY’s database of NSSE schools to find schools whose scores suggest they do a good job of engaging different kinds of students based on a number of different factors. The article shows examples of what some of these schools are doing.

More teachers take nontraditional path to class

Peter Baer — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:52:07 +0000

Chicago Tribune article on the fact that an increasing number of teachers without traditional education degrees are poised to enter Indiana’s classrooms. Their are pluses and minuses to this approach, but it does seem to have some merit. A good example is a retired Navy submarine commander who taught for two years at Howe High School, inspiring students to love science and also coaching its science team to two state titles.