Most states still have weak curriculums and graduation requirements that make high school diplomas useless. Source: The Counterfeit High School Diploma – The New York Times I tried to point out the connection. As a former math professor, I am quite aware of the cause of the problem – and it’s not high school. It’s […]
The Counterfeit High School Diploma – The New York Times (Do They See the Connection?)
December 31, 2015 by
New Federal Teacher Preparation Rules Need to Focus on Content Preparation
February 4, 2015 by
(For other posts on this topic see the category for “Fed Teacher…” on the right.) The public comment period is now over. I submitted the following suggestion. (This is the link to all public comments.) My recommendation addresses the heart of the problem in teacher preparation – especially for high school teachers: Future teachers […]
Frank Bruni of New Times Sees The Connection – But Not All
January 21, 2015 by
College, President Obama and the Common Core – NYTimes.com. Finally someone is realizing that education in America is a continuum. That continuum starts at the top. Unaccountability at the top is why American education now so bad. I’m a former math professor. Let me explain how it works. (For the details – and evidence – […]
Support Our Students – by David Brooks
January 20, 2015 by
Support Our Students – NYTimes.com. I commented. “..The important task is to help students graduate..” No, the important task is to help students acquire an “education”, not a just “graduation”. This lack of content in so many “degrees” – whether they are high school degrees or college degrees – can be traced to the greed […]
“Expanding Community College Access” or University Revenues
January 15, 2015 by
This is from the Editorial Board Expanding Community College Access – NYTimes.com. I commented. As a former math professor, I have seen firsthand how past attempts to expand education only expanded “degrees”, while limiting education, especially in high school. In a nutshell, here is what happened. In the 60’s and 70’s, money flowed into universities […]
Obama’s free community college tuition plan: Four questions – The Washington Post PLUS ONE FROM ME
January 12, 2015 by
Obama’s free community college tuition plan: Four questions – The Washington Post. Here is what I wrote. Here is the most important question: What will this do to quality? Will we start paying universities to mint new community college teachers, and just take their word that they are doing it honestly? I am a retired […]
An Example of College Benefitting From the Dumbing Down of High School
November 18, 2014 by
Remedial Courses in College Stir Questions Over Cost, Effectiveness – WSJ. Here is what I wrote. “From decades of observation – as a math professor – I can shed light on a fair amount of the problem. Poor high school education starts in college, not high school. In a nutshell, here is what happens. (Actual cases, […]
America’s elite: An hereditary meritocracy | The Economist
America’s elite: An hereditary meritocracy | The Economist. I tried to explain my view. The most important fact about higher education is missing from this analysis. That fact explains much of what we see happening here on many fronts: socially, politically, economically. The eminent sociologist David Riesman observed (in 1980)how corrupt American universities were becoming; […]