Education Archives - Page 31 of 45

Who is Opposed to Educational Opportunities

October 23, 2019 Steve MacDonald

Children have one opportunity at an education that fits their needs. Education is not one-size-fits-all; even good public schools cannot meet the unique needs of every child. This is why we are passionate about supporting children and families to access that “right fit” educational option, whether it is local public schools, chartered public schools, private … Read more

Edelblut, Cline Statements on Vote to Delay Learn Everywhere – Status Quo isn’t working for many NH students

October 21, 2019October 21, 2019 Op-Ed

Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut issued the following statement in response to the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR) voting along party lines to object to Learn Everywhere, stalling the innovative program that the Legislature last year directed the Department of Education to establish:

Serious Wetware Development

October 20, 2019 Ian Underwood

One of the first rules of serious software development is that you set up your tests first, before you write a line of code, so that you’ll be able to tell whether your program is working.

Revisiting Educator Credentials

October 20, 2019October 20, 2019 Op-Ed

Developments in the Concord School District over the last several weeks have put a spotlight on a number of things, including New Hampshire’s educator credentialing.

Beware the Educational Industrial Complex

October 19, 2019 Steve MacDonald

President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1961 Farewell Address remains consequential. A five-star general, Ike warned of the dangers of the Military-Industrial Complex—an informal alliance between our military and business establishments.

The #YellowNewDeal

October 19, 2019October 19, 2019 Ian Underwood

Once upon a time, public schools were largely a response to two constraints: scarcity of educational resources, and difficulty of travel. But those constraints are no longer as significant as they once were. In particular, travel has become easy enough that many people think nothing of driving 30 miles to go out to dinner. A … Read more

“Using ‘adequacy funds’ to buy adequacy” – a sequel

October 17, 2019 Skip

OK, tag teaming off of Ian’s post on why why we aren’t paying for “verifying achievement” instead of “verifying attendance” here because of a question of from a LONG time reader who worked with me for over a decade at my former employer (Epicor). Here was his email on Ian’s post and, of course, my … Read more

In praise of assembly-line schools

October 18, 2019October 17, 2019 Ian Underwood

One of the most common criticisms of schools is that they are too much like assembly lines in factories. But assembly lines are one of the greatest inventions ever, in terms of actually getting things done effectively and efficiently… provided that you use them properly.

There’s nothing wrong with setting up schools as assembly lines… provided that we do it properly.

Online Learning May Help the US Close Education Gap

Democrats Vote Against Education

October 17, 2019

JLCAR (Joint Legislative Committee Administrative Rules) voted 6-4 today on a final objection to the ‘Learn Everywhere Program’ that was proposed by Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut. Related: NH JLCAR objects to Learn Everywhere (July) The Learn Everywhere Program would expand educational opportunities for students based on the charter school model. The State Board of Education approved the … Read more

Why Does the Wakefield NH School Board suddenly Want Common Core?

October 14, 2019 Steve MacDonald

I recently received word that the town of Wakefield, that after years of resisting, it is opening its arms to Common Core Standards.

State of Our Schools

October 11, 2019October 11, 2019

Empowering Educational Options is a Priority of the US DOE Deputy Secretary Dr. Mick Zais visited New Hampshire on September 30th as guest of the Department of Education and Commissioner Frank Edelblut. He spoke to a large group of educators, administrators, legislators, parents, and family advocates about the US Department of Education’s view of … Read more

Help Starting a Charter School

October 8, 2019 Norm Silber

If the thought of being able to send your child or children to a public charter school appeals to you, but you have no idea of where to begin, may I suggest that the founding group of parents (yes- we need at least 10 parents to make this work) try to establish a working relationship … Read more

Budget Compromise Proves NH Democrats Want Economy To Tank so they Can Raise Taxes

September 30, 2019 Steve MacDonald

The comprises budget signed by Gov. Sununu sucks. It spends more, and it’s got Easter eggs, more suitably named poison pills. But it’s not a total loss. It proves that New Hampshire Democrats were lying about tax hikes.

Will reality have any real effect on political debate?

September 27, 2019 Percy Blakeney

The conservative/liberal debate is interesting because both terms are undefined. It’s healthy to have this debate. But what exactly is the debate today? The terms have any meaning anyone wants to assign them, any time they feel like using them. Which is to say, they are utterly useless except as pejoratives.

Government Bureaucrats Control Public Education

Government Bureaucrats Control Education

September 8, 2019

Government bureaucrats control public education. Are you one of the people who object to much of what goes on in government operated schools? Are you also willing to tolerate it because that’s where you property taxes go? It sure isn’t free… but it’s paid for. Would you rather have an extra car, a boat, vacation … Read more

Illiberal Left Excludes Freedom Loving People

August 30, 2019 Steve MacDonald

The statistics showing who gets abortions do not prevent movements like #ShoutYourAbortion from claiming the name liberal. Lindy West, Amelia Bonow, and Kimberly Morrison started this particular social media campaign. They have been widely publicized. How sad is that? Black women should understand the CDC says there are proportionally 5.7 times as many abortions in … Read more

NHPR Reporting That Sununu Caves on #SocialistBudget

August 29, 2019 Ed Mosca

This: HERE is a link to the Governor’s proposal. The bottom line: So Sununu is negotiating against himself. No concession or movement by the DemocRATS to his compromise proposal, so he is further compromising. Somebody get Chris a copy of The Art of the Deal. Quickly.

Learn Anywhere, Anytime, Anyhow

August 26, 2019 Ian Underwood

In 2017, the University of California at Berkeley put a substantial portion of its courses online for free in the form of video and audio lectures. Remember what happened next?

Many of the lectures were not closed-captioned, which prevented some people who were hearing-impaired from being able to listen to them. The U.S. Department of Justice forced the university to take all the material down, on the grounds that if someone, somewhere wouldn’t be able to benefit from it, then no one should be able to benefit from it.

The public school double standard

August 10, 2019 Ian Underwood

With Learn Everywhere back in the news, discussions about the program tend to involve errors of fact (e.g., that costs for the program would be incurred by local districts) and errors of reasoning (e.g., that offering more alternatives to some students somehow means harming other students). But to me, the discussions are most notable for the way they seek to perpetuate the double standard that defenders of the status quo like to hide behind.

A New Education Tax Credit Becomes Law in New Hampshire

December 22, 2019July 17, 2019 Steve MacDonald

Ever since the Education Scholarship Tax credit became law in the Granite State Democrats have been trying to get it repealed. They tried the courts. They propose “repeal legislation” every session. So, what gives with this bipartisan education tax credit the governor just signed into law?