The Last Days of Public School

My son on his day in public school: We got to watch videos all day and no learning. As you might guess, I was thrilled to hear this.  Perhaps he should testify in front of the legislature when teachers claim they are overworked and underpaid?  And I supposedly live in a district with excellent schools!  I …

Waiting for “Superman”

I know I'm late to the game here, but I highly recommend that you see this documentary on the failure of our public schools.  Waiting for 'Superman'  isn't flawless, but it is very much worth your time.  It starts a bit slow but ultimately rewards your patience.  The "stars" of the film are compelling people, especially the kids.  The parents show …

Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread

For those of you who are trying to supplement your child's schooling or wish to buck the entire public/private school system altogether, I'd like to recommend the Khan Academy.  Started by former hedge fund manager Sal Khan, the Khan Academy is essentially a free on-line school that teaches everything from basic addition to the French Revolution …

Chart of the Day

From Cato@Liberty.

I Want a School!

I had one of those Wow! moments a few weeks ago when I came across a new policy analysis by Adam Schaeffer at Cato. The analysis took a close look at actual school district budgets from the nation’s five largest metropolitan areas and the District of Columbia.  Schaeffer found that, on average, these districts spend …

Ya’ Think?

So, I've often wondered what is the biggest problem with public education today. Is it something philosophical --like they are teaching kids to love the welfare state? Or perhaps it is financial--maybe insufficient resources, or poor allocation of resources? Or maybe institutional--a number of problems related to bloated educational bureaucracies, to excess regulation, to heavy-handed …