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New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman argues that the "world is flat," but complains that student performance in the United States is, well, flat.  Washington Post blogger Valerie Strauss is not amused…neither am I.

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• The E.A. Morris Fellowship for Emerging Leaders is now accepting applications for the 2010-2011 class.  Applicants must be between the ages of 25 and 40, reside in North Carolina, and commit to a yearlong program of activities designed to examine, develop, and enhance their leadership skills.  There is no cost to individuals accepted into the program.  For additional information, please visit the E.A. Morris website at http://www.eamorrisfellows.org/.

• The North Carolina History Project would like educators and homeschool parents to submit lesson plans suitable for middle and high school courses in North Carolina history. Please provide links to NC History Project encyclopedia articles and other primary and secondary source material, if possible.  Go to http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/edu_corner/ for further information.

• Become a member of JLF’s Freedom Clubs!  We have seven regional clubs covering every part of North Carolina, so there is one near you and your like-minded conservative friends.  For more information, visit https://www.johnlocke.org/support/.

CommenTerry

In a post on The Answer Sheet blog, Washington Post writer Valerie Strauss wrote an interesting response to an opinion piece written by Thomas Friedman, the famous New York Times columnist and admirer of authoritarian rule.

The central theme of Friedman’s column is that the United States continues to be "out-educated" by the world.  Ever the cheerleader for government intervention, he writes that the federal government is "fighting back" through their Race to the Top grant program — specifically initiatives designed to raise the status and quality of the teaching profession.  After several paragraphs of quotes from President Obama’s Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Friedman concludes his column by acknowledging the need for "better parents — parents who turn off the TV and video games, make sure homework is completed, encourage reading and elevate learning as the most important life skill."  He does not specify how "we" get better parents or even who "we" represents.  I assume that Friedman speaks on behalf of all "better parents," but that is rather presumptuous, even for a New York Times columnist.

Valerie Strauss responds to Friedman’s column with a commentary titled, "What Tom Friedman got wrong about schools and why it matters."  Strauss is not fond of the reforms preferred by the Obama administration and does not think they are innovative…that is — they are not changes that she can believe in.

Strauss dispels the theory that federal Race to the Top funds went to states with the most innovative reforms.  Rather, she believes that Obama administration officials made political decisions that rewarded "the states that promised to make the reforms that the Education Department liked most," like merit pay, charter schools, alternative licensure, and teacher evaluation systems. Yet, even that generalization is difficult to substantiate.  The feds liked North Carolina’s Race to the Top application to the tune of $400 million, but in our state’s appeal for federal dough, education reforms such as merit pay, charter schools, and alternative licensure took a back seat to teacher evaluation.  On the other hand, states like California rushed to pass extensive charter school reform and teacher quality measures, but still failed to win a grant.

Apparently, Strauss admires high-achieving nations like Finland because of what Obama campaign advisor and teacher education professor Linda Darling-Hammond called Finland’s "intensive investments in teacher education."  [Go figure.] Although there is nothing particularly innovative about throwing money at teacher education, public school spending in Finland is worth noting.  According to a 2010 report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Finland spends around $4,000 less per primary school student and $3,500 less per secondary school student than the United States.  (Figures are for 2007 and include all services in US dollars.) As a percentage of GDP, Finland spends less (5.6 percent) than the United States (7.6 percent). According to the OECD, teacher salaries are slightly lower in Finland than in the US, perhaps a product of spending considerably less time in the classroom than their colleagues in the United States.

In her concluding paragraphs, Strauss complains that Friedman never mentions poverty in his column (probably because he is too busy quoting Arne Duncan), although I doubt that there is substantial disagreement between the two journalists.  She laments the fact that political leaders do not want to provide "proper supports for these children" like food and eyeglasses.  Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that Strauss identifies physical needs, whereas Friedman’s desire for better parenting suggests that he is most concerned about emotional needs.  On the issue of physical needs, Friedman likely agrees with Strauss that the federal government should beef up the American welfare state.  What could be more innovative than the federal government’s war on poverty?

Facts and Stats

Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Education at a Glance 2010.

Mailbag

I would like to invite all readers to submit announcements, as well as their personal insights, anecdotes, concerns, and observations about the state of education in North Carolina.  I will publish selected submissions in future editions of the newsletter. Anonymity will be honored. For additional information or to send a submission, email Terry at [email protected].

Education Acronym of the Week

PISA — Program for International Student Assessment

Quote of the Week

"To summarize: it is a well known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.  To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.  To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem." — Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe