The Children Still Left Behind

In National Affairs , Fred Hess makes the point that over-emphasis on racial/class/ethnic "gaps" risks shunting aside most of what Americans should expect their schools to do. [D]isadvantaged and advantaged children have different educational needs and stand to benefit from different kinds …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday October 19, 2011

Hold Students Accountable in Testing

While many people blame teachers for the decline in test scores, scrutiny needs to be placed on students as well. The results just came back, and just 31 percent of my tenth grade English students passed their state high school exam this year. This was my first year teaching a tested …

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Written by Thomas Gibbon on Saturday July 9, 2011

Are the Birthers the Next Black Panthers?

Bruce Bartlett wonders if conservative elites today see the teabaggers, birthers and others as cannon fodder to promote larger conservative goals the same way liberal elites originally viewed extreme left groups in the 1960s. Bartlett's comparison is thought-provoking, but I think it fails for a …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday September 2, 2009

New School Year, Same Frustrations

The start of another school year does not signal a new day in our worst urban schools. Last year’s colossal problems had three months off. As soon as the bell rings and the buses roll in, the embarrassing reality of “education” in inner city schools will resume. The problems of last year will have …

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Written by Thomas Gibbon on Monday August 31, 2009