Jay Mathews on the State of Schools in China and India

Jay Mathews wrote an interesting story on the state of schools in China and India. He argues that when one looks beneath the surface of the public education system in these two countries, the story is much different than the one presented in Two Million Minutes.

Is Immaturity a factor?

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26317942/?GT1=43001

Dude, check this out.

Using Technology in Schools

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/technology/17essay.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

In the words of the mighty Floyd, "Hello. Is there anybody out there? Just nod if you can hear me."

Seriously, this is an interesting article.

Why Young Americans Are The Dumbest Generation

In his provocative new book The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein argues that "the digital age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future" by turning out hyper-networked kids who can track each other's every move with ease but are largely ignorant of history, economics, culture, and other subjects he believes are prerequisites for meaningful civic participation.

Check out Bauerlein's comments during an interview for Reason.tv.

R U Reading?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?th&emc=th

I know it's been a while, good people. This was a fascinating article both in the light of this blog and in the light of our summer book group.

Take the Third World Challenge Exam

Evidently when Bob Compton screened his "Two Million Minutes" to the faculty of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the response was negative. One faculty member remarked, "We have nothing to learn from education systems in Third World countries, much less a Third World country that lacks freedom of speech."

So, Compton decided to make the India profeciancy test available to the public. According to Compton, "[The test] is a shortened and greatly simplified version of the multi-day proficiency test that 10th graders in India must pass to go on to the 11th grade."

Take one of the exams by going here, and tell me what you think.

New Report on NCLB

According to a new report by the Center on Education Policy, more students have improved their reading and math exam scores, and the performance gap between lower-income and more affluent students has narroed since NCLB was enacted six years ago.

Here's a link to the story in WaPo.