'This Building Has Caused More Problems Than It Solved'
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on schooling during COVID-19, the future of higher ed, and why her cabinet department probably shouldn't exist at all
Education
School Threatens 12-Year-Old With Arrest for Allegedly Missing 90 Minutes of Zoom Class
"Who in their right mind could do that?"
School District Bans All "Political Speech" on Student T-Shirts
Pretty clearly unconstitutional, it seems to me, whether applied to pro-Trump T-shirts (as in a recently-filed lawsuit) or to other such material.
Joe Biden Has No Realistic Plan To Reopen Schools
Trump didn't offer much in terms of concrete solutions either.
Fairfax Teachers Union Wants Schools Closed Until August 2021
"No one should return to in person instruction until there is a widely available scientifically proven vaccine or highly effective treatment."
'Where Would the Black Lives Matter Movement Be Without the Right to Free Speech?'
Ira Glasser, former head of the ACLU, is worried that his former group is embracing identity politics over free speech.
San Diego Public Schools Will Overhaul Its Grading System To Achieve 'Anti-Racism'
"If we’re actually going to be an anti-racist school district, we have to confront practices like this that have gone on for years and years."
San Francisco Won't Reopen Schools. But It Will Rename Them.
"To hear that the District is focusing energy and resources on renaming schools is offensive," says Mayor London Breed.
North Carolina Mother Sues School Resource Officer Who Handcuffed and Pinned Her 7-Year-Old Autistic Son
Just the latest in a string of incidents involving school police and children with disabilities
Ira Glasser: Would Today's ACLU Defend the Speech Rights of Nazis?
The subject of the new film Mighty Ira explains why social justice warriors are wrong to attack free speech.
A Group of Scientists Wants To Reopen Society. Here's What Everyone Is Getting Wrong About What They Said.
The Great Barrington Declaration asks how much collateral damage is too much.
How COVID-19 Is Spreading School Choice
The growing movement to fund students rather than government monopolies
Promoting On-Campus Discourse: Recommendations
Here are some ways to build a campus culture more open to free inquiry and discourse.
The Problem with Mandated Diversity Statements in Faculty Hiring and Promotion
Improving diversity is a worthy endeavor. But compelled “diversity statements” are a form of social engineering that, ironically, can be exclusionary.
Public School Superintendent Who Warned Pod-Based Learning 'Causes Inequities' Is Sending His Own Kid to Private School
Alexandria City Public Schools is still in virtual mode, and top education official Gregory Hutchings has enrolled his child elsewhere.
Corey DeAngelis: COVID-19 Is Super-Spreading School Choice
Lockdowns are forcing students, parents, educators, and even taxpayers to look for all sorts of alternatives to the status quo.
Why a Broad View of Academic Freedom Is Essential
Most things faculty publish don’t lead to a backlash. But that doesn’t mean that there’s not an academic freedom problem.
Three Core Beliefs that Define the Boundaries of Free Inquiry and Discourse on Many Campuses
These beliefs shouldn’t be considered the only legitimate way to see the world.
Trump's Student Visa Disaster
There are 1.2 million foreign students in the United States, and ICE keeps leaving them in the lurch, threatening to kick them out (and then rescinding that guidance).
How Social Media Have Changed Campus Climate
The dynamics of the information ecosystem have impacted research and teaching.
"Unassailable Ideas: How Unwritten Rules and Social Media Shape Discourse in American Higher Education"
Profs. Ilana Redstone and John Villasenor are guest-blogging this week about their new book.
Amy Coney Barrett Condemns Purdue University's 'Fundamentally Unfair' Adjudication of Sexual Assault Claims
The opinion, which suggests a strong concern about due process, will nevertheless be cited as evidence of the SCOTUS nominee's "uniformly conservative" record.
USC Marshall Business School Dean E-Mail on the Greg Patton / "Neige" Controversy
"The university's Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity and Title IX (EEO-TIX) ... concluded that ... Professor Patton's actions did not violate the university's policy."
Louisiana School Threatens 9-Year-Old Boy with Expulsion for Having BB Gun During Virtual Class
"They’re applying on-campus rules to these children, even though they’re learning virtually in their own homes."
Unlock the Damned Playgrounds, Already
Playing outside is one of the safest group activities kids can do, yet Gavin Newsom and other pols are extending the pandemic misery indefinitely.
K-12 Schools That Reopened Have Avoided COVID-19 Surges So Far
In communities where young kids returned to classes, it's mostly good news.
Are 'Pandemic Pods' a Symptom of the Public School Monopoly? A Soho Forum Debate
The University of Illinois' Jon Hale and Reason Foundation education analyst Corey DeAngelis go toe to toe
USC Faculty Reaction to the Great USC Chinese Homonym Panic
"Scathing comments" from an anonymous faculty survey (reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education), plus an article in the Atlantic. You can't buy publicity like that, as they say, or faculty morale like that.
Petition to "Impose Further Disciplinary Actions" on University Students for TikTok Singalong
The students are at Florida International University, "Miami's first and only public research university."
Could All Parents Have 'Pandemic Pods' If There Were More School Choice? A Soho Forum Debate
As K–12 education goes remote, groups of parents are hiring teachers to teach their kids in person. Is that wrong?
Affirmative Action in College Admissions Will Be on California's Ballot in November
A November ballot initiative would pit minority communities against each other.
Trump's 1776 Commission to 'Promote Patriotic Education' Is Executive Overreach
Plus: Child mortality has dropped sharply, progressives have retro ideas about sex, farmers get $14 billion, and more...
NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio Delays School Reopening at the Last Minute, Infuriating Parents
He also refused to apologize.
Department of Education to Investigate Racism at Princeton University
An open letter from the university's President acknowledging pervasive racism at the school prompts an inquiry
An Online Student Attended a Rooftop Party. He Was Reported to NYU and Suspended Indefinitely.
Universities are punishing kids for partying—after cashing their tuition checks, of course.
"Students Demand Skidmore College Fire an Art Professor for Observing a Pro-Cop Rally"
"David and Andrea Peterson didn't even participate in the rally—they just watched it. The students don't care."
The Great USC Chinese Homonym Panic of 2020
Global reactions, plus a question [UPDATE: which has been answered, see below]. (This post, put up yesterday afternoon, was bumped so people can see the UPDATE.)
Students Demand Skidmore College Fire an Art Professor for Observing a Pro-Cop Rally
David and Andrea Peterson didn't even participate in the rally—they just watched it. The students don't care.
How Should Universities (Especially Law Schools) Treat The Powerful?
a response to an important and thoughtful argument by Jacob Levy
Statements from USC Dean and Provost About the Greg Patton / "Neige" Controversy
The framing is now that Prof. Patton's example was unduly "polarizing" -- but does that normally call for a professor to be switched in the middle of the course?
