Posts Tagged ‘ politics ’

The politics of American anti-intellectualism

3/23/2010

Nothing is more political than education. The Texas State Board of Education reminded us of the phenomenon this month, rewriting textbook guidelines to match their conservative, theological worldviews. Not since the Kansas Board of Education voted to restrict the teaching of evolution has an entire state backlashed so strongly against science and reason. In an [...]


Hope.

1/20/2009

I just returned from Washington, DC, where, although ticketed, I was not able to attend President Obama’s inauguration. I had a purple ticket. That disappointment aside, change and hope are here. Here are some highlights for what the Obama administration is working on for education: Zero to Five Plan: The Obama-Biden comprehensive “Zero to Five” [...]


Yes, we can!

11/4/2008

I’m in Mexico until late this election night. I voted absentee, and I hope you’re voting, too. (Sí, se puede!)


McCain and Obama on educational change

6/14/2008

Few topics are as political as education, in which at least basic schooling is compulsory for all Americans. It is fitting, then, that we conclude this week’s focus on change with a look at the changes that presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama each propose for U.S. education. After analyzing educational policy statements on [...]


Repost: 10 ways U.S. education is failing to produce creatives

5/14/2008

Our third item this week on the United States’ unstable orbit around mediocrity is a repost of our top ten list of how U.S. education is failing to create students that will succeed in creative, knowledge- and innovation-based economies (first published last June). We apologize for beating a dead horse, but No Child Left Behind [...]


Intellectual property rights in 2025

5/8/2008

The European Patent Office engaged in a two-year futuring project on futures for intellectual property rights in 2025, interviewing 50 key players – including critics – from the fields of science, business, politics, ethics, economics and law. Their opinions were sought opinions on how intellectual property and patenting might evolve over the next fifteen to [...]


Move over Kansas, here comes Oklahoma!

3/10/2008

Phil Plait says it better: The Oklahoma House of Representatives has passed a bill that says that a student can receive a passing grade in an Earth Science class if they say that the Flying Spaghetti Monster created the Earth an hour ago, and then planted false memories into every single living creature on Earth [...]


American anti-intellectualism? Say it ain’t so!

3/9/2008

From the slightly off-topic department… After laughing with Idiocracy‘s critiques of anti-intellectual culture in American society, this quote from Bill Maher hit home (via Crooks and Liars): Maher: “New rule, politicians must stop saying, ‘the American people are smarter than that.’ No they aren’t! If the Bush era has taught us anything, it’s that voters [...]


The second most dangerous “hate” organization

10/25/2007

News of the absurd: Conservative front group Family Security Matters (FSM) today released its list of “The Ten Most Dangerous Organizations in America.” Universities and colleges earned the #2 spot in the rankings. FSM writes that these 10 “hate” organizations are “growing powerful in the world of politics” and share a common “unwillingness to bend [...]


Top ten list #7: Ways U.S. education is failing to produce creatives

6/26/2007

Today’s list discusses how U.S. education is failing to create students that will succeed in creative, knowledge- and innovation-based economies. Not surprisingly, No Child Left Behind heads-off this list as failure #1: No Child Left Behind. NCLB is producing exactly the wrong products for the 21st Century, but is right on for the 1850′s through [...]


Related posts

Friedman: U.S. education system endangering global competitiveness

New York times columnist Tom Friedman speaks out: A Washington lawyer friend recently told me about layoffs at his firm. I asked him who was getting axed. He said it was interesting: lawyers who were used to just showing up and having work handed to them were the first to go because with the bursting [...]


The role of schools in Education 3.0

Note: This article is a part of the Designing Education 3.0 series at Education Futures. An an era driven by globalized relationships, innovative social technologies, and fueled by accelerating change, how should we reinvent schools? Education 3.0 schools produce knowledge-producing students, not automatons that recite facts that may never be applied usefully. Education 3.0 substitutes [...]


Repost: 10 ways U.S. education is failing to produce creatives

Our third item this week on the United States’ unstable orbit around mediocrity is a repost of our top ten list of how U.S. education is failing to create students that will succeed in creative, knowledge- and innovation-based economies (first published last June). We apologize for beating a dead horse, but No Child Left Behind [...]


Top ten list #8: Ways to transform schools into centers of knowledge production and innovation

Today’s list discusses how to move beyond the failures of U.S. education and transform our schools, communities, and families into centers of knowledge production and innovation. Schools of the agricultural and industrial ages produced graduates suitable for their economies and societies. Change is accelerating, and students that are being prepared for old society jobs cannot [...]


Top ten global trends that force us to rethink education

We open our ten days of top ten lists with a list of global trends that force us to rethink education. What does the future hold for today’s students in the 21st Century? In a future driven by globalization, knowledge, innovation, and accelerating change, education will need to be re-missioned to meet new needs: A [...]


About

Education Futures explores a New Paradigm in human capital development, fueled by globalization, the rise of innovative knowledge societies, and driven by exponential, accelerating change. Education Futures is owned and published by Education Futures LLC.