Education
Parents want choice
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice recently conducted a survey in Oregon along with the Cascade Policy Institute, asking parents how they would prefer to see their children educated. The survey found that almost nine out of 10 would prefer something other than a traditional public school.
Read moreHigh quality teachers needed
All 50 states have teacher-certification requirements, the justification being that, in order to determine who is a qualified teacher, prospects must be subjected to a lengthy process of schooling and testing. Typically, certified teachers have completed a degree in education (or have taken upwards of 30 hours of education-related coursework), completed a semester of student teaching and passed several hundred dollars worth of tests (which the would-be teachers usually pay to take).
Education myths
The Friedman Foundation released a great deal of information on education myths recently. The report includes both quick answers (for those who like it short and sweet) and detailed responses (for those who prefer academic erudition).
Higher (priced) Education
The Greenspun family, which owns and operates the Las Vegas Sun, has donated $37 million to UNLV to put the family's name on a very expensive building.
Rhee-forming education
Serious education reform is getting some unlikely allies these days. Washington, D.C.'s new school chancellor, Michelle Rhee, has become a no-holds-barred agitator for genuine education reform – starting with the administrators and then the teachers.
Presidential choice
President-elect Barack Obama has chosen to send his children to Sidwell Friends School, the elite private school where Bill Clinton sent his daughter during his presidency – a school that approaches $30,000 per year in tuition.
Funding failure
The Reno Gazette-Journal published an article detailing a recently released report, by the Institute for Higher Education Policy, which claims that Nevada needs to boost its higher education spending in order to improve its economy.
Solving Nevada's budget shortfall
Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Jim Rogers has outlined his plan for increasing government revenue. He proposes a mixture of raising fees, raising taxes, borrowing and begging.
Education palace
University of Arkansas education professor Dr. Jay P. Greene asks, in a recent blog post, "Why are schools so expensive?" That's a very good question to ask here in Nevada. Jay also made a great point on how it's not buildings that teach kids – a lesson our policymakers should learn, since a healthy chunk of Nevada's education spending is going toward building new schools.
We told you so
"Credit is frozen." "Interbank lending has frozen." "The government must do something to free up credit." "The bailout will free up credit and get this economy going." We have heard it all. And we at NPRI warned it was all bogus.
