We’ve all heard the saying money talks, but can money teach?

In a handful of cities across the country, school districts are offering their students money in exchange for improved academic performance. According to a recent article in the Baltimore Sun, more than 5,000 city students who have failed state-mandated exams will be eligible to receive up to $110 if they improve their test scores. The Fulton County School District in Atlanta will begin a similar program, giving kids cold hard cash to attend after school and weekend tutoring sessions.

I commend school districts for trying to make a difference, especially in high-poverty areas that need it the most. But is bribing a student to produce results the answer? (more…)

Perhaps a few more of you are paying attention to Barack Obama since his big win in South Carolina, so if you’re just getting into this conversation, I’m picking back up on my discussion of Obama’s higher education plans from last Friday.

I think his ideas for partnerships between the Federal government and community colleges are possibly his most feasible and savvy. He wants to encourage community colleges to create degree programs that reflect industry’s emerging needs. Grants will be provided to encourage community colleges to analyze business needs and to create the new programs.

Community colleges don’t get much glory, but they are key contributors to educating the populace. And I think he touches on another important part; (more…)

Barack Obama has electrified a good portion of the nation’s electorate—especially the youth—with speeches about hope and unity. I can’t lie; I’ve been enthralled by the Illinois Senator’s eloquence. Checking into his plans for higher education, I think that voters can find a few more things to get excited about along with a few questions to ask.

Obama intends to offer a tax credit to “ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans.” He wants to cover tuition for community colleges and cover at least 2/3 of the cost of tuition for the average public college or university. Plus, he wants to get rid of the FAFSA by adjoining it to our annual tax forms—essentially, you’d check a box to apply for financial aid.

Like John Edwards, Obama is suspicious of the government subsidies for banks. (more…)

Professional sports are big business. Mega events like the Super Bowl induce millions of die-hard fans to crowd in front of 50-inch plasma TVs with a foot-long frank in one hand and a frosty mug of Coors Light in the other. Even those who loathe the prospect of watching four hours of football tune-in to enjoy hilarious commercials and over-the-top halftime shows.

In addition to unruly partygoers, these multi-billion dollar spectacles also draw a host of collegiate athletes to the world of professional sports. College seniors who have finished their degrees try desperately to find a team that will pay them to exhibit their unique physical gifts on national television. Some are even invited to do so. More and more often, however, students who have not finished their postsecondary educations are making the leap to the pros as well. (more…)

Inside Higher Ed noted today that Yale University has announced a 17% reduction in its carbon emissions since 2005. The storied school has also made a public pledge to reduce its carbon emissions significantly, despite its skepticism of Second Nature’s “American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment,” which calls upon colleges and universities to become carbon-neutral.

Go Yale. When you hit a 90% reduction, let us know.

Mike Huckabee. “Who’s that?” you’re asking. The winner of the Iowa Republican caucus, that’s who. He’s a political outsider that seems to have made some segments of the GOP establishment a little nervous. More to our purposes, he’s a huge supporter of the arts in education. I know. You need a moment to accept that a Republican not only is a strong education supporter, but a champion of the arts as well. Take a breather. I’ll be right here.

Huckabee brings in a decent education resume to the office of the President, if he manages to climb into that position. From 2004 to 2006, Huckabee was Chairman of the Education Committee of the States. (more…)

Plan A: Carson City

I intended to see Senator Barack Obama speak on Monday night. A friend and I made the 30-mile trek to Carson City to hear the Democratic candidate’s views on the state of education in our country (and to collect a little fodder for this blog post). Yet as we approached the community center slated to house the town meeting, we were greeted by a never-ending python of Obama supporters with over-sized campaign signs and poorly drawn banners grasped firmly in hand. Visions of my first trip to Disneyland immediately came to mind, especially the three-hour wait at Space Mountain that my father and I suffered through in the blistering heat of southern California. And though my friend and I contemplated weathering near-freezing temperatures to wait in line with the rest of the lemmings, the allure of a late dinner and a cocktail proved too much for us to ignore.

Plan B: Vegas!!! (more…)

This public service announcement brought to you by the American Council on Education, which has caught another one of the fraudulent online education business that makes the rest of us look bad. The important thing to take out of this brouhaha: You can get your high school diploma online, but you can’t take the GED online. (more…)

Rudy Giuliani is no stranger to the public eye, so I’m sure you’re at least familiar in passing with the former mayor of New York City who was thrust into the limelight during 9/11. However, as far as I’ve seen and read in the media, he’s been almost as absent as discussions about education. Nonetheless, I’ll try to summon his ghost and see where he comes down on higher education.

After perusing his Web site and the Web, I can’t say that Giuliani is much concerned with higher education. His focus is primarily on elementary and secondary education. Coming from a quote in the article “Giuliani: Willing to Play Hardball With Higher Education” by The Chronicle, Giuliani lauds the quality of the higher education system. He credits the system’s success to the following: (more…)

Did anybody watch the New Hampshire debate on Saturday? I did. Six Republican candidates and four Democratic hopefuls squared off in back-to-back Q&A sessions in front of a select audience at St. Anselm College. Moderator Charlie Gibson of ABC News and Scott Spradling of WMUR-TV posed a number of questions that addressed various issues facing our country today. Here’s a quick rundown of the estimated time given to each topic: (more…)