Category Archives: Uncategorized

Lots of people know how to close the achievement gap: better teachers, more standardized instruction, longer school days, free preschool for all, stricter discipline, more testing, less testing … the list goes on and on. No single solution is a silver bullet that can deliver success. Continue reading →

In my last post, I wrote about the study by Greg J. Duncan and Aaron J. Sojourner, Can Intensive Early Childhood Intervention Programs Eliminate Income-Based Cognitive and Achievement Gaps? They found than an intensive early childhood program including home visits and full-time, high-quality preschool from age one to three could essentially eliminate the income-based achievement gap by age three. Continue reading →

Wow – I can’t believe that I agree with an entire David Brooks column, in which he advocates “building lifelong social and emotional development strategies from age 0 to 25,” including ready access to contraception, teaching parenting skills, “counseling and treatment, in which the psychic traumas that go with poverty are recognized and addressed,” for kids in elementary schools, and lots of programs to help teens.  “It Takes a Generation” comes at the end of a week packed with news about what children need to succeed. Continue reading →

“We must talk about poverty, because people insulated by their own comfort lose sight of it,” Dorothy Day said. We must also talk about homelessness, because it’s still here — right here in St. Paul (and also, of course, in Minneapolis and the rest of the state.) Continue reading →

In early January, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder jointly announced new federal guidelines on school discipline. Why? “Racial discrimination in school discipline is a real problem today, and not just an issue from 40 to 50 years ago,” said Duncan. Continue reading →

Poor people run out of food at the end of the month. No mystery about it: when you run out of money, you run out of food. Every mother struggling to stretch food stamps knows it, and so does every food shelf manager. Continue reading →

I just signed up for another MOOC. So far, I’m batting .500, completing one MOOC and withdrawing from a second. That puts me way ahead of the average, since the average completion rate is only four percent, according to one recent study. Continue reading →

(Photo from Scott Sonnen Facebook post)

Suspended coffee? The Facebook post looked intriguing – looking it up made it even better. Continue reading →

With temperatures below zero most of this week, and on schedule to dive even lower next week, what happens to homeless families and individuals? Usually, shelters shoo people out in the morning, allowing them to return in the evening. But with highs of 25 below zero, that’s not practical. In cold weather, says Stephen Horsfield, “We now have confirmation that St Stephen’s Human Services will also be keeping their shelters open, along with us at Simpson Housing Services, our friends at Our Saviour’s Housing and The Salvation Army Harbor Light Center, Minneapolis keeps open as a warming center on cold days like these.” Continue reading →

Is the GED the same as a high school diploma? No, but for people who have dropped out of high school, it’s often the next best thing. In 2012, 9,712 Minnesotans took the GED test and 5,562 passed, getting a credential that can open doors to jobs and college or vocational training. Next year, the test will get harder, and more expensive. What’s up with that? Continue reading →