Education News
Reports on education reform, school choice, and classroom policies. The Daily Signal provides conservative commentary and opinion alongside education news.
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opinion
A Glimmer of Hope in Black Education
In reference to efforts to teach black children, the president of the St. Petersburg, Florida, chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Maria Scruggs, said: “The (school) district has shown they just can’t do it. … Now it’s time for the community to step in.” That’s a recognition that politicians and… -
opinion
Americans Don’t Agree On Education. That’s Why We Need More Options.
When it comes to education, Americans are divided on what quality and accountability in our schools actually look like. Although we’re unlikely to all agree anytime soon, increased school choice could help satisfy everyone. Two December surveys from leading education research organizations spelled out the reasons for this sharp divide. One report from Echelon Insights found that… -
opinion
Beware Silicon Valley Santas in the Schools
When it comes to Silicon Valley Santas bearing gifts for our children, I am a big Scrooge. Every responsible parent should be, too. In 2016, Apple CEO Tim Cook showered a rural Idaho school district with 500 iPads and Apple TVs for every classroom, along with free training as part of a 29-state $100 million… -
opinion
Podcast: Reforming Our Education System
Education in America has radically changed just in the last 50 years, and with it has changed the way students learn about our past. Our colleague Rachel del Guidice sits down with Rick Graber, president of the Bradley Foundation, who’s working to reform higher education and K-12 education in America. Plus: It’s almost Christmas, and… -
news
UNC Chapel Hill Suggests Moving Toppled Confederate Statue Inside Campus Building
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is considering a relocation for a Confederate statue that was toppled and vandalized to an indoor on-campus location. Silent Sam could be moved into a new $5 million campus building if the proposal is approved by the board of governors, The Associated Press reported Monday. The board,… -
opinion
Podcast: The Importance of Civics Education
On today’s show, we’re talking about civics. At a time when students across the country lack a basic understanding of government and economics, one university is doing something about it. We’ll feature an interview with Paul Carrese, founding director of the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University. We’ll also… -
opinion
Students’ Safety Is No Small Consideration in Parents’ Private School Choice
It goes without saying that parents are more concerned than anyone else for their children’s well-being. So, no one is surprised, as The Daily Signal has noted, when parents hesitate to send their children to schools where “violence and intimidation were so bad that eight police officers patrolled the school every day, yet kids were… -
opinion
Podcast: A Homeschooling Mom Shares Why, and How
Where do you begin if you’re thinking about homeschooling? Can you do it if you’re not a teacher? And how can you make sure your kids get enough socialization? We’re joined by a special guest, Colleen Trinko—yes, Kate’s mom! Colleen, who is a teacher, homeschooled her five children for many years, and now works with… -
opinion
DeSantis Gets Unexpected Boost From African-American ‘School-Choice Moms’
Conservative Republican Ron DeSantis and progressive Democrat Andrew Gillum presented voters with starkly different choices on an array of issues, none more distinctively polar than their plans for charter schools. In short, DeSantis proposed expanding them while Gillum espoused “siphoning them off” as drains on the public school system. That distinction—rather than the personalities and… -
opinion
Micro-Schools Offer Kids a Customized, Hands-On Education
There’s a world of difference between telling kids what they are supposed to know and teaching them how to learn. As parents look for more and better education options, the up-and-coming phenomenon of micro-schooling aims to bridge the gap between facts and experience with project-based learning. Although the micro-school movement launched in the U.S. and… -
opinion
Regulations Threaten to Limit Best Schooling Options for Children
What is the measure of a good school? And who is best positioned to decide what works? For decades, policymakers and education officials have attempted to bolster school “accountability” by increasing regulations on schools across the board—public, charter, and private. They have tried to do so at the federal level for half a century, with… -
news
4 in 10 College Students Say It Is OK to Disrupt a Speaker on Campus, Survey Finds
An overwhelming majority of American college students say they support the First Amendment, yet more than 4 in 10 think it’s OK to disrupt a speaker on campus. That’s according to findings released Thursday from the 2018 Buckley Program Survey sponsored by the William F. Buckley Jr. Program at Yale University. The survey shows that… -
opinion
How School Choice Is Lifting Up Puerto Rico’s Children After Hurricane Maria
Thirteen months ago on Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria slammed the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, devastating homes and infrastructure and leading to loss of life across the island. The storm greatly exacerbated the problems of a school system already in crisis: Puerto Rican fourth- and eighth-graders, for example, are roughly five grade levels behind… -
opinion
Proof That ‘See Something, Say Something’ Can Stop a School Shooting
What could have been a news cycle about yet another mass school shooting in America instead focused on a different type of terrorism this week—suspicious packages sent to high-profile public figures, all of them critics of President Donald Trump. Thankfully, none of the apparent mail bombs actually detonated, and everyone is safe. Law enforcement authorities… -
opinion
Problematic Women: Meghan Markle Says University Education Is a ‘Right’
The Trump administration proposes changes to Title IX, Meghan Markle says university education is a “right” in her first royal tour speech, and Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court, reveals that she has been diagnosed with dementia. O’Connor was named to the highest court in the land by… -
opinion
A Better Way to Spend Our Education Dollars
With the recent release of a study on education spending, many are reiterating a hackneyed conclusion: that the U.S. needs to funnel more money into schools. The study, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, compared human capital, or the quality of a country’s workforce, in different developed countries…. -
opinion
The Daily Signal Podcast: Betsy DeVos on Giving States More Power in Education
Betsy DeVos received heaps of scorn from the left when she became education secretary, but since taking office last year, she’s accomplished much—and given a good deal of power back to the states. In this episode, Rob Bluey, our editor-in-chief, sits down with DeVos to talk about the progress being made. We also talk to… -
opinion
Segregation Is Back With a Vengeance on Campus. Academic Liberals Made It Happen.
I’m thankful that increasing attention is being paid to the dire state of higher education in our country. Heather Mac Donald, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, has just published “The Diversity Delusion.” Its subtitle captures much of the book’s content: “How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine Our Culture.” Part of… -
opinion
Federal Education Programs Are Bloated and Failing. Now, Congress Wants to Give Them More Money.
Here we go again. Congress plans to ignore the glaring education policy errors of the past five decades—and, worse, spend even more money on them. As policymakers place the finishing touches on the Labor-Health-Education bill—a spending measure that funds education programs at the departments of Education and Health and Human Services—Americans stand to have more… -
news
By Any Other Name: White Students Get Safe Space at This University
Use of terms such as “safe space” and “white privilege” is increasingly common on college campuses, but when the University of Maryland at College Park announced creation of a weekly “safe space for white students” called White Awake, the negative response quickly prompted the school to change the name. Campus Reform reported the renaming Friday,…