Beth’s Briefings (7-13-15)

Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:

 

“Next, then, make an image of our nature in its education and want of education.” Thus begins Plato’s well-known “Allegory of the Cave” in The Republic, a dialogue about justice and the ideal society. For Plato, the task of education is to free people from their shackles and show them the way out of imprisonment. His argument hinges on this point: To be educated is to be emancipated—not only individually, intellectually, and philosophically, but also socially, politically, and ethically. Education, he contends, is what makes justice possible. (The Atlantic)

 

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) on Saturday said giving states power over their education systems could fix the No Child Left Behind bill. (The Hill)

 

If anybody was holding out any hope that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker would see even a modicum of reason and refuse to savage public education in his state, they can now let it go.  A day before jumping into the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Walker on Sunday signed a new state budget. (The Washington Post)

 

An education-focused news outlet run by the journalist-turned-advocate Campbell Brown plans to host presidential forums for both parties, with the first one held in New Hampshire. (The New York Times)

 

While the media chase the Bernie Sanders rallies, keep your eye on the political crowds that matter. On Saturday the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) endorsed Hillary Clinton—16 months before Election Day. (The Wall Street Journal)

 

In an early glimpse of how much tougher state tests could be in the Common Core era, a new federal report released in July shows that early adopters of the controversial standards are assessing their students using far higher bars of difficulty. (The Atlantic)