RAPSA - Publications

Publications

Half a Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

By Alan Brinkley, Newsweek, November 14, 2009

In the heady progressive years of the early 20th century, few things were more alluring than the promise of scientific knowledge. In a world struggling with rapid industrialization, massive immigration, and chaotic urban growth, science and technology seemed to offer solutions to almost every problem. Newly created state colleges and universities devoted themselves almost entirely to scientific, technological, and engineering fields. Many Americans came to believe that scientific certainty could solve not only scientific problems, but could also reform politics, government, and business. Two world wars and a Great Depression rocked the confidence of many people that scientific expertise alone could create a prosperous and ordered world. In the aftermath of World War II, the academic world turned with new enthusiasm to humanistic studies, which seemed to many scholars the best way to ensure the survival of democracy and to resist tyranny. American scholars fanned out across much of the world—with support from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright program, and the U.S. Information Agency—to promote the teaching of literature and the arts in an effort to make the case for democratic freedoms.

Is America Losing its Mojo?

By Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, November 14, 2009

By most measures, America remains the world leader in technological achievement. Consider the 2009 Nobel Prizes: of the 13 people honored, nine were American. Once you take out the economics, literature, and peace prizes, the United States, with 5 percent of the world's population, still won close to 70 percent of the awards. Even amid a terrible recession, the country still dominates the fields of information technology, life sciences, and nanotechnology, all key industries of the future. The World Economic Forum routinely cites America as having the most competitive economy on the planet (though this year it was narrowly overtaken by Switzerland). When decision makers are asked to rank countries on innovation, the United States always comes first by a large margin.

Fighting for Quality and Equality, Too

How State Policymakers Can Ensure the Drive to Improve Teacher Quality

Doesn’t Just Trickle Down to Poor and Minority Children

By Craig D. Gerald, Kati Haycock, and Amy Wilkins, The Education Trust, November, 2009

Everyone says the new stimulus package offers state leaders a historic opportunity. But an opportunity for what? Is it an opportunity to make the kinds of general improvements in teaching quality that eventually might trickle down to the students and schools who most need help? Or this time, can we build in fairness from the beginning? If state leaders invest resources and energy wisely, they don’t have to choose between excellence and equity. They can improve overall teacher quality and remedy the shameful inequities in access to the single most valuable resource in education—effective teachers.

Eliminating At-Risk

Want to eliminate at-risk kids? Call them something else.

By Jay Mathews, The Washington Post, November 15, 2009

I sympathize with those who may not be comfortable with the latest plan to rid our schools of at-risk kids. Several educators across the country, including Alexandria city schools superintendent Morton Sherman, have decided not to call them that anymore. Henceforth they will be known as “at-promise” children.

“We use the term ‘at-promise’ in Alexandria City Public Schools to describe children who have the potential to achieve at a higher rate than they are currently achieving,” Sherman said in a July 23 op-ed for the Alexandria Gazette Packet. “Really, all children are at-promise, because we, as educators, have made a promise to each and every child that we will work toward higher achievement for all.”

Valuing Diversity

Value of Diversity in Schools

Interview with Laurie Posner, for Connect for Kids

When it comes to improving education, we can draw on what we already know; there's a lot of knowledge about what works: there are leaders who are making a difference and holding high expectations for all students, and making sure young people themselves have a chance to weigh in on what their futures should be, and what they need to help them prepare. We need to recognize the value of diversity in our schools and the contribution that students and families bring, and make the most of those strengths.

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