The Two Million Minutes Blog

Obama: "If We Can't Help All Kids, We'll Help No Kids"

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT - March 29, 2011
H.R. 471 – Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act

"While the Administration appreciates that H.R. 471 would provide Federal support for improving education in the District of Columbia, the Administration opposes the creation of private school voucher programs that are authorized by this bill. 

The Federal Government should focus its attention and available resources on improving the quality of public schools for all students. 

The Administration opposes targeting resources to help a small number of individuals attend private schools rather than creating access to great public schools for every child."

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"My daughters attend the Sidwell Friends private school without the aid of vouchers," said President Obama.

Sasha Obama (age 11) commented, "I'm SO glad my daddy is President!"

With that, the entire Obama family burst into uncontrollable laughter.

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Higher Education is America's Secret Weapon...well, not exactly

While our K-12 school system has sunk well below the global standard, most US pundits have pointed to our 3,000 colleges as the source of America's excellence and as the reason the US will always lead the world in innovation and creativity.

Hold on!!

Now comes a new publication that calls that belief into question: Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. 

What the authors found:

1- 45% of college students "did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning" during the first two years of college.

2- 36% of students "did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning" over four years of college.

"How much are students actually learning in contemporary higher education? The answer for many undergraduates, we have concluded, is not much," write the authors, Richard Arum, professor of sociology and education at New York University, and Josipa Roksa, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia.

Uh oh...

From The Department of Mixed Messages

The world's top performing school systems share one cultural trait - they value education, academic excellence and intellectual achievement by their children - above sports, clubs or a job. From India to China to Korea to Finland.

Society gets what it celebrates. In American high schools we celebate sports and social standing. We rarely celebrate our academic or intellectual stars.

So it is not without irony that the STEM and ROBOTICS EXPO in Washington, DC is being used to hawk tickets to the Washington Wizards basketball game.

Here's the message: we'll put up with some kids and their science projects, then chug a few beers and really enjoy oursleves - watching a basketball game!!

And the adults will delude themselves into believing they're supporting STEM education. 

Parting company with a poorly performing teacher - how hard can that be?