Kevin Phillips – Political and Economic Analysis from a Guy Who Keeps Being Right

I like to read books on economics. I’ve found time and again that my field, education, is inextricably tied to economic shifts and economic policy. Two books I’ve read recently deal with the details of what’s been going wrong in finance, monetary policy, fiscal policy, and government that has led to the current recession, and [...]

U.S. National Curriculum Standards – for the future of the Nation

The following is a blog post from Luke Laurie’s Blog: Teacher Blog. http://lukelaurie.wordpress.com/ In this post, I explore reasons why implementing a National Curriculum is a vital piece for future educational and economic policy. I also discuss some of the guiding principals that must be adhered to in order to make a National Curriculum functional [...]

Move Your Money

So, you may have heard of the new video and movement, Move Your Money, encouraging the patrons of big banks to move their accounts to small community banks. The video is quite compelling, featuring clips from It’s a Wonderful Life, along with damning clips of modern bank malfeasance. The video is worth viewing, even if [...]

Money Makes Money Better Than Work

Luke Laurie- Teacher Blog    http://lukelaurie.wordpress.com Money Makes Money Better Than Work I’ve always been a believer in hard work. Indeed, for most of my life I’ve worked hard, probably too hard sometimes, at my job, my hobbies, and my projects. Weekends, evenings, and vacations have all been sacrificed for my commitment to my career. [...]

Speech- Uncertainty and Opportunity in Education

I gave the following speech at the BTSA End of the Year Seminar. Thank you. I am honored to speak to you today. Introduction I started teaching 12 years ago, before BTSA, I think. If there was BTSA back then, I didn’t go. Was there BTSA? Am I in trouble now? I was trained and [...]

Auto Bailouts- Where’s the Demand for Cars?

In the conversation about how to handle the collapse of the American auto industry, a key component of the discussion seems to receive little attention: Demand. Can we honesty have any hope of saving an industry that produces a product that is urgently needed by almost no one? I used to be really into cars. [...]

There are Worse Things to Leave Our Children than Debt

Leaving our children and future generations with a burden of debt is a small price to pay compared with the what could result from political inaction or insufficient investment in areas such as education, energy, and health care.

Pink Friday- Teacher Cuts in California

On Friday, March 14, I joined the thousands of teachers, educators, students, and other citizens in the statewide rally “Pink Friday” to protest the California budget cuts that are adversely affecting education. While the new Obama Administration has committed billions in education funding increases as part of the national economic stimulus package, the State of [...]

A Tax Cut for Every Problem

(This post is a repost from before the election, but it warrants repeating due to the current debate about spending versus tax cuts for economic stimulus.) John McCain used to be more honest about tax policy. He voted against the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy. He knew at the time, as most people would [...]

Let’s Run Schools Like Businesses

No Child Left Behind, did, in fact, include some of this business-like mentality with its emphasis on ‘products’, ‘quantifiable results’, and ‘accountability’, as well as a degree of privatization. But it could have been worse.