Now that cursive writing has been eliminated from the curriculum of many schools, only those with the means to learn it can write a love note in script or sign their names in style. Has cursive become a status symbol? Writer and high-school English teacher Abigail Walthausen argues that it has in this December 2013 …

Continue reading The Right to Write: Abigail Walthausen on Learning Cursive

Among the many controversies generated by the Common Core Standards, few generate more emotional debate than the decision to eliminate cursive writing instruction. Montessori educators Bobby George and June George enter the fray armed with the testimony of a famous 19th century scribbler. Their essay was published in Quartz in Sept. 2013. Read it here: George …

Continue reading The Stroke of his Pen: George and George on Cursive Writing

Online courses are a topic of hot debate, with schools large and small, public and private, hurrying to develop programs and establish themselves in this new educational frontier. Are they moving in the right directions? Are they making decisions that take student needs into consideration? This New York Times editorial published in February 2013 begins …

Continue reading Is It Still School?: The New York Times on Online Courses

The cost of higher education today generates countless debates and impassioned arguments. We hear a lot about government support of public institutions, student loan debt, rising tuition and fees, and the high price of textbooks. But wait. There’s more. Jenna Ashley Robinson says that the government should now eliminate tax credits for education that try …

Continue reading Too Many Credits?!: Jenna Robinson Says There Are

Many people are observing that higher education is in serious trouble, and as a student, you are one of the primary stakeholders. Online education solves some problems, creates others, and provides some interesting complications to the ongoing debate about how to shape our higher education policies and experiences. William Bennett, former U.S. Secretary of Education, …

Continue reading The Future of Higher Education?: William J. Bennett on an Exciting Innovation

“Higher education as we know it is about to come to an end.” This is the opening sentence of a recent opinion piece that was published in many newspapers around the country. We all love a good tragedy, don’t we? But college presidents Barry Glassner and Morton Schapiro may surprise you. Their article originally appeared …

Continue reading On Campus and Losing Sleep: Two College Presidents on the State of Higher Education

Higher education is a major issue in current public debate. Should it be accessible for everyone? Why or why not? If not, for whom? How much responsibility should federal and state governments bear for providing higher education? These questions are complicated, difficult, and likely to remain in open debate for a long time. Consider, for …

Continue reading College and Then What?: Lawrence Mishel and the Higher Education Debate

A college education is more expensive than ever. Is there anyone who doesn’t already know that? Not likely. But why? All Things Considered focuses on this problem and reasons for the increasing cost of higher education. Some of this information will likely be familiar to you, but we think there’s a thing or two to …

Continue reading Paying the Price: All Things Considered Asks “Why Is College So Expensive?”