Education Research

Details about Sarah Palin's memoir, it's massive print run and her upcoming appearance on Oprah.

Great article about the beloved children's author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak (Where The Wild Things Are) and his artistic and literary influences.

The Harlem Success Academny takes its students on field trips that aim to help students do better on standardized tests by taking them on fields trips to introduce them to subject matter that will be on the test, such as a farm.

This article discusses Herta Muller's personal life before she became a published writer, as well as the events and influences that spurred her to start writing.

The movie adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Grey" is a good way for teachers and librarians to introduce high-school level students to the works of Oscar Wilde. Good article about the film, with a trailer at the end.

Yann Martel (author of "Life of Pi") has launched a new and very unorthodox literary project - he is sending a book to Stephen Harper, the Canadian Prime Minister bi-weekly with a note on how to read them.

Website devoted to literature research; combines a search engine with wiki-style pages and artificial intelligence. Use it to find an author's favourite influences, as well as who they in turn influenced.

Does the same apply to team collaboration in student groups? E.g. In a team of 6, maybe 3 lurkers, 2 intermittent contributors and 1 main contributor?

Education Secretary Arne Duncan is concerned that the Obama administrations goal of opening more charter schools cound in face be harmful. Duncan fears that the opening of more charter schools will only create more "second and third-rate schools to exist." Duncan suggests that the focus should be on fixing (remaking) the public schools that already exist and are in need of repair. The Education Department released the following figures regarding charter schools, "Since 1991, when educators founded the first charter school in Minnesota, 4,600 have opened; they now educate some 1.4 million of the nation's 50 million public school students." Is this the best answer for the problem in the education system or is it just a quick fix to the root of the problem?? Who is this really benefiting... the government or students?

Colleges are looking for any opportunity to make money over the summer whether it's camps, film/photo shoots, discounted summer courses, etc. Many colleges are also offering discounts if students apply for early admission. This is the reality of a recesion so everyone is trying their best to get by.

Although this article is not directly related to education policy, I think it provides an important look at the youth culture many students in DC schools experience.

This article discusses the conclusion to a Supreme Court case that was described in an article I book-marked earlier in the semester. The Supreme Court has ruled that parents of special-education students may seek reimbursement for private school tuition.

An interesting look at the charter school movement... Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently said that charter schools that are not top-tiered are actually hurting the charter school movement. This comes at a time when the Obama administration is stressing the value of opening more charter schools.