EDUCATION TIPS

Real Unemployment (U6)

The U6 unemployment rate counts not only people without work seeking full-time employment (the more familiar U-3 rate), but also counts "marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons." Note that some of these part-time workers counted as employed by U-3 could be working as little as an hour a week. And the "marginally attached workers" include those who have gotten discouraged and stopped looking, but still want to work.The U6 rate shows over 16% seasonally adjusted unemployment in June, greater than any recession since the...

Stormy times ahead for "mumbo jumbo" education talkers

Here is a column widely circulated in Indiana. I particularly note these remarks by Indiana’s governor, Mitch Daniels. Stormy weather ahead for foundations scholars and other “mumbo jumbo” talkers.“Arne Duncan could not be superintendent or principal in Indiana,” Daniels said of Obama’s education chief and former superintendent of Chicago schools. “He doesn’t have the right credentials.” The governor enunciated “credentials.”Asked about how the Ball State University teachers college will have to adapt, Daniels explained, “When the Professional Licensing Board begins starting next week to redefine...

The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love and the Meaning of Life

I haven't read this book (it comes out Aug. 4), but this review makes it look fascinating."Children are unconsciously the most rational beings on earth," says Alison Gopnik, "brilliantly drawing accurate conclusions from data, performing complex statistical analyses, and doing clever experiments." And not only does empirical work reveal this about babies and small children, but what is thus revealed throws light on some of philosophy's more intriguing questions about knowledge, the self, other minds, and the basis of morality. . . .Llearning proceeds, says Gopnik, in ways that a scientist would...

It's not Competitiveness it's Altruism

Seems to me that this has some implications for education:Standard economic theory states that people are interested only in their own material gain. But new insights from behavioral economics show that altruism rather than avarice is our primary motivation.Interesting corollary from Fantasia's work on unions and strikes showing that people go in strike much more because one of their brethren has been insulted than about wages. Our old friend Herbert Gintes (of Bowles and Gintes fame) is in the thick of it:With this wealth of new findings, the challenge...

Video Games and Learning (etc.)

From the very cool blog Neuroanthropology:Gaming Round Up – Learning, Research, Addiction and Des...

Hungry Children in America

Summertime: The Living Ain’t Easy For Children In Pove...

"Everyone's mutual interests are absolutely aligned"

On Monday, the Chicago Tribune published a Q & A with Arne Duncan focusing on the relationship between the interests of businesses and the need for educational reform. The first question asked of Arne was:Q Why include business in the policy debate about public education?Arne's answer?A We all need to work together on this stuff, business leaders and educators. Everyone's mutual interests are absolutely aligned.Further along in the interview, Arne said:We've lost our way educationally as a country. We've basically flat-lined. We have to educate our way to a better economy.I agree with Arne....