This is the second in a series of blog posts called EduFacts: The SOS March in Context.

As demonstrators prepare to gather in Washington, DC and other locations around the nation for this week’s Save Our Schools March, educators, journalists, and policymakers are trying to determine just what kind of changes to public schools the organizers are calling for. While much of the messagContinue Reading »

Wrapping up our week of 2011′s best graduation speeches, we conclude with Denzel Washington’s address to newly minted University of Pennsylvania diploma earners—a large crowd that made him “a little nervous… out of [his] comfort zone…” Telling the audience that he came to make a complete fool of himself, Washington goes on to urge graduates to take big risks Continue Reading »

In our fourth “Best of the Graduation Speeches” post, we feature technology entrepreneur and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Speaking to the all-female Barnard College Class of 2011, Sandberg challenges students not to sacrifice rewarding career opportunities because of society’s centuries-old expectation that women contribute more to family and home life. She also argues that Continue Reading »

Continuing with our “Best of the Graduation Speeches” series, today, we feature television comedian Conan O’Brien’s words of wisdom to the Dartmouth College Class of 2011. Avoiding all of the “reach for the stars” cliches, O’Brien touches on everything from the value of a college education to changing sexual orientations and tree-stump podiums—all of whContinue Reading »

Today, we continue to honor graduation across the United States by highlighting another thought-provoking commencement address.

Citation: Harvard School of Public Health

Atul Gawande, a general and endocrine surgeon and associate professor, spoke at Harvard Medical School’s graduation ceremony this May. Many of his ideas about the challengeContinue Reading »

Photo Citation: Gig Masters

At Education Sector, we dedicate a lot of time to writing about the virtues of graduation — from high school and college, among low-income and minority students, for economic prosperity and civic engagement. In celebration of this season of caps-n-gowns and Pomp and Circumstance, we’re sharing some of our favorite graduation speContinue Reading »

Mike Antonucci describing the changing relationship between Democratic governors and public employee unions: “This has happened so often over the past few years that it almost doesn’t qualify as news anymore. Still, probably the most important change in the education policy landscape has been the willingness of high-profile Democratic politicians to buck one of the primary sources of Continue Reading »

Richard Kahlenberg on students transferring from two-year institutions to four-year colleges: “Research finds that students who begin at two-year institutions are much less likely to receive a bachelor’s degree than equally qualified students from similar demographic groups who begin at four-year institutions. Weaknesses in the community-college sector are partly responsible, buContinue Reading »

Jerry Weast, superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, sharing his education ideas for facebook: “I’ve talked to Google, and our kids are all on Facebook — they’ve got profiles. There should be an icon with some jobs you ought to think about, or some futures you need to think about. Not any propaganda, not any advertising, but the idea that you’reContinue Reading »

Education Week reporting on the successes and challenges of the SIG program after one year of implementation: “The back and forth between the district and the state on staffing underscores another flaw critics point to in the SIG program nationally: The program is very prescriptive when it comes to what schools must do, but less clear on just what the state and district roles should beContinue Reading »