EducationNews Commentaries and Reports

Waiting for the Watermelons: Remembering 9/11
Tom Sticht
Columnist EducationNews.org
International Consultant in Adult Education
In my lifetime I have witnessed two major acts of war against America. The first occurred on December 7th, 1941 when the military forces of the nation of Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. "A day that will live in infamy"
declared President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Four years later, the allied forces of World War II celebrated VJ Day – Victory in Japan! The war was over.

My book is called “Betrayed.”
by Laurie Rogers
Curiosity, questions and a tape recorder: That’s what I had in January 2007 when I met with the superintendent and the curriculum director of Spokane Public Schools. I thought I’d write an article about why my daughter's 4th-grade class wasn't working. I brought my recorder because I’m a former journalist, and that’s what journalists do.

The Difficulty of School Reform
David W. Kirkpatrick
Columnist EducationNews.org
Few things are as difficult as reforming the public schools. Since the early beginnings of the public school system, with the enactment of the Common School Act in Pennsylvania in 1834 and Horace Mann as Commissioner of Education in Massachusetts a few years later, the schools have remained relatively unchanged in their fundamentals. Changes have essentially been of solidifying the system rather than of what could be or should be.

An Interview with Teresa Rowlison: Encounter with John McCain
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Senior Columnist EducationNews.org
Eastern New Mexico University
Teresa, I understand that you recently had an opportunity to ask Senator Mc Cain some questions about education. Where and when did this occur? This occurred during Mc Cain’s visit to New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces, New Mexico on Wednesday, August 20, 2008. Basically, what were your concerns?

Commentary: World Class Writing
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Senior Columnist EducationNews.org
Eastern New Mexico University
Over the past few weeks, much has been said by Senator Clinton, Michelle Obama and Senator Obama about “world class education”. Those three words have resounded in all of their speeches of late. I would like to acknowledge some “world class writing” which has recently appeared in The Concord Review, edited by Will Fitzhugh.

An Interview with Kevin Donnelly: Testing in Australia
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Senior Columnist EducationNews.org
Eastern New Mexico University
Kevin, recent events in Australia have caused some commotion. Tell us a bit about it. In Australia, the left-of-centre Commonwealth Government, led by Kevin Rudd, has released a policy forcing schools to be more publicly accountable by making them release performance details. Sounding very much like an education conservative, the Prime Minister argues that parents have the right to know how well their child’s school performs in relation to other ‘like’ schools, that is, schools with a similar socio-economic profile.

An Interview with Russell Eisenman: Malevolent Creativity
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Senior Columnist EducationNews.org
Eastern New Mexico University
Russell, how do you define ' malevolent creativity"? It is creativity that is done for an evil purpose. For example, in being a creative criminal, one would use their creativity in an anti-social way. Creativity does not have to be for good, pro-social purposes, but we tend to think of it that way. Also, a secondary definition could be creativity that is intended to be good but results in evil results, such as a new chemical that is supposed to help, but kills many, or pollutes the skies.

It Was Something Close to a Miracle
by Harry & Rosemary Wong
“I had been a teacher for exactly three weeks and never felt so ineffective and totally out of control in my life,” wrote Stacy Hennessee, a first-year lateral entry teacher who had spent only three weeks teaching Business Education/Computer Technology as this story begins.

You Make the Mirror of Your Future
by Ron Isaac
Columnist EducationNews.org
Generalizations ands cliches often carry an element of truth. The same can be said of "self-fulfilling prophecies," which are usually negative and, when linked to lack of confidence in the good-faith of the Department of Education, frequently provoked.

In Defense of Testing Series: CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference
The Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation 28th annual conference
September 25-27, 2008, Anchorage, Alaska.

An Interview with Reece L. Peterson: About Restraints
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Senior Columnist EducationNews.org
Eastern New Mexico University
First of all, let's be clear about terms---how do YOU define restraint and seclusion? “Restraint” is defined as a method of restricting an individual’s freedom of movement, physical activity or normal access to his or her body. The term is often used to address three different types of restraint strategies: using mechanical devices or objects to restraint a person’s movement (handcuffs as one example), using chemicals which have the effect of restraining movement (for example psychotropic medications), or having one or more other person prevent movement by holding another (often called physical restraint).

Labor Day Recalls Struggle, Triumph
David McGrath
Columnist EducationNews.org
For Chicagoans, 25 degree temperature is practically jacket weather in the second week of January. But we had been standing on the frozen concrete since early morning, and the persistent wind off the lake was beginning to penetrate the layers of clothing we had thought would sustain us through another day on the picket line.

Beware of the Anderson School of Staatsburg New York.
SchoolWatch Report
by George Deabold
The School Watch Task force received several reports on the Anderson school. The first report was filed on july 17, 2008 ..The report was from a parent whose child attended the Anderson School in Staatsburg, New York. The child was removed from Anderson after the school attempted to force the child to be medicated, and threatened legal action against the parents if they did not consent to the medication.

New York City Teacher Theodore "Teddy" Smith and the Perfect Storm of Injustice
Parentadvocates .org
by Betsy Combier
The Special Commissioner of Investigation, Richard Condon, and his group of former police officers/investigators must be fired, and the Department of Investigation must be re-organized. Teddy Smith is just one of hundreds of teachers, public school staff, parents and children who have been maliciously prosecuted by the corrupt New York City Board of Education-SCI-OSI-Corporation Counsel Complex.

Rebuttal: School Choice: A Q & A Primer
Bill O'Dea
I was very dismayed at the article School Choice: A Q&A Primer by David W. Kirkpatrick. The title suggests an objective overview of the school choice debate. Instead, it is a pro-voucher diatribe containing little actual fact and plenty of opinion.

School Choice: A Q&A Primer
David W. Kirkpatrick
Columnist EducationNews.org
As various school choice programs continue to develop across the nation a review of related issues might be helpful. Q. Why should school choice become universal? A. It's a constitutional right. In 1925 a 9-0 U.S. Supreme Court, saying "the child is not the creature of the state," ruled that no child can be legally compelled to attend government schools if parents use another option.

An Interview with Paula Fitzgerald: About My Animal Family
Michael F. Shaughnessy
Senior Columnist EducationNews.org
Eastern New Mexico University
First of all, what got you interested in children's books? We saw a need in children’s publishing to develop meaningful books that address issues affecting children throughout their lives, such as character development, values, and living skills. Our books and our multi-media products and programs are about promoting the positive growth and development

Eurofield Information Solutions wants to give every school library in the USA a free copy of the Random House Unabridged WordGenius electronic dictionary

Computers & Internet

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