In the United States, the education debate has been framed as a zero-sum game. But a look at Finland, whose schools rank No. 1 in global surveys, shows that a national commitment to education can neutralize political debates over school reform.
Dana Goldstein
Dana Goldstein, a former associate editor and writer at the Prospect, comes from a family of public-school educators. She received the Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism, a Schwarz Fellowship at the New America Foundation, and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellowship at the Nation Institute. Her journalism is regularly featured in Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Beast, and other publications, and she is a staff writer at the Marshall Project.
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LAHOOD TO DOT.
When I reported from the Republican National Convention this summer on conservatives who see the light on mass transit and greater density, I didn’t expect that Barack Obama would end up appointing a Republican secretary of transportation. But as several outlets are reporting, that’s exactly what Obama has done, tapping GOP Congressman Ray LaHood , […]
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ON VILSACK.
An Iowa corn-man wouldn’t be my pick for secretary of agriculture, but Tom Vilsack talked some sense on school lunch programs in this tough, wonky November interview with the student newspaper at Macalester College in Minnesota. Here is Vilsack describing one of the duties of the agriculture secretary: You have the reauthorization of the school […]
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ON CAROLINE.
Maybe it’s a generational thing, but upon first reflection, I was little moved by the idea of my home state governor, David Paterson, sending Caroline Kennedy to the Senate. As much as I admire Ted Kennedy‘s achievements, and am proud of New York’s representation, once-upon-a-time, by Bobby, I simply saw little reason to reward Caroline, […]
Posted inEducation in America
ARNE DUNCAN AND TEST SCORES.
Ezra is absolutely right that the strength of Arne Duncan at the Department of Education will be his ability to synthesize the best approaches of both major camps in the Democratic education wars; those who focus on poverty, and those who focus on shaking up bureaucracies. But just a reminder to Ezra, Seyward Darby, and […]
Posted inEducation in America
MEET ARNE DUNCAN, OBAMA’S EDUCATION PICK.
With the Democratic Party embroiled in internal debate over public school reform, it is very much like Barack Obama to tap Chicago public schools CEO Arne Duncan as education secretary. Duncan is one of the only prominent education leaders in the country who signed both the Broader, Bolder and the Education Equality Project manifestos. Duncan, […]
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EDU DEPARTMENT SHORTLIST IS “REFORMER” HEAVY.
Denver schools Superintendent Michael Bennet at the Democratic National Convention. At TNR, Seyward Darby is reporting that three “reformers” comprise the short list to be Obama‘s secretary of education: Chicago schools CEO Arne Duncan; Denver superintendent Michael Bennet; and Obama campaign surrogate Jo h n Schnur, CEO of the non-profit New Leaders for New Schools, […]
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CARRION AND THE YANKEE PARKING CONTROVERSY.
Adolfo Carrion, the Bronx borough president and former Hillary Clinton supporter, is rumored to be Obama‘s pick as director of the White House Office of Urban Policy. Carrion was one of Mayor Bloomberg‘s foremost outer-borough partners in the failed fight for congestion pricing in New York City. A former city council member rumored to have […]
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WHY DON’T MEN TAKE PARENTAL LEAVE — EVEN IN FINLAND?
It is often said that the unfinished business of feminism is at home. I’ve been in Finland for the past week on a fact-finding trip about the country’s number-one in the world education system, and the experience has certainly brought home the truth of that statement. Finland’s excellent childcare system begins during maternity leave, when […]
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Getting Ahead of Congress
The president must begin reaching out to Congress to build support on key social issues right away.
