Debt and educational equity. The already crushing student debt will rise on July 1 as federal interest rates on students loans are set to double. Randy Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, urges Congress to act quickly to pass the Student Loan Affordability Act.  

More flexibility on flexibility waivers. The U.S. Department of Education will allow some states thaContinue Reading »

Want to enhance the creativity and sophistication of your thinking? A study by researchers at the University of Toronto suggests that reading fiction increases a person’s comfort with ambiguity. Fiction readers tend also to be more open-minded, and less restricted in their thinking. (Pacific Standard)

Reinventing public schools. Combatting high dropout rates and violence, 87 schools in OContinue Reading »

“Saundz Like American English.” This up-and-coming software app that allows students to practice English pronunciation may provide the support needed for traditional ESL curricula. (Getting Smart)

Be afraid. Be very afraid. At least, that’s what Ed Helms suggests to new graduates in his Knox College commencement speech. Fear, he says, can help you become “your best possible self.” (HuffiContinue Reading »

Teaching with Google Glasses. The first teacher to ever have Google Glasses describes how she used them to teach physics in the “first person” and how it could change the future of teaching. (Edutopia)

Looking to the future. Lindell Stone from Texas and Nathan Tilford from California both recently received football scholarships to attend to college. The amazing part? They are both still Continue Reading »

Welcoming new charter schools. Baltimore City has approved three new charter schools to open in 2014 and 2015. The schools include an all-girls school, a sciences and arts school, and an environmentally themed school. (The Baltimore Sun)

A second chance. The superintendent of Newark, NJ. has stopped school closures to conduct research on each school’s vulnerability. Schools slated to cloContinue Reading »

Double trouble. Highcrest Middle School in Wilmette, Il. has two dozen sets of twins in one grade! The school—which is awaiting declaration from the Guinness Book of World Records—beats out three schools that hold the record for 16 sets of twins in one grade. (Boston.com)

“The look of leadership.” Check out this tool that allows you to see the diversity of leaders at ivy league schools. Continue Reading »

Culture for graduation. Students at the University of Washington will be required to take a course in diversity in order to meet the school’s graduation requirements. The course can be in social, political, or economic diversity, and the requirement will take effect this fall. (Oregon Live)

Attending school electronically. Lexi Kinder was diagnosed with a heart disease that prevented herContinue Reading »

Facebook isn’t just a distraction. A new study found that Facebook helps boost the confidence of first-generation college students. These students felt almost two times more confident in the application process, but the same correlation doesn’t apply to students whose parents went to college. (University of Michigan, h/t Inside Higher Ed)

“I love it!” Students at Devonshire Elementary inContinue Reading »

Independence is costly. Universities are free in Sweden, but the average amount of student debt is nearly $20,000. The reason? Many Swedish students move out during school and take on debt to pay for an apartment and the cost of living. (Quartz)

College-ready may not always mean a degree. A tenth of college-ready students don’t enroll for college and nine percent of students who do enrolContinue Reading »

Pre-historic MOOCs. Before computers even existed, MOOCs were occurring in thousands of households across the United States. Between 1957 and 1982 students earned college credits by watching a television program operated by NYU and CBS. We also took a look at the history of distance learning and the opportunities for building an affordable online public higher education system in State U OnlineContinue Reading »