Editorial Staff

The Washington Post’s Jay Mathews on An Optimist’s Guide to American Public Education

/in , , , , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Gerard and Cara talk with Jay Mathews, an education columnist for The Washington Post and author of the recent book, An Optimist’s Guide to American Public Education. Jay describes the three key trends in K-12 schooling that he views as cause for hope. They also discuss the tensions between high-profile, college prep-centered school reformers and the dominant pedagogical outlook found across many of the major schools of education. They explore teacher-driven school reforms, whether led by legendary figures such as Jaime Escalante in traditional public schools, or in charter networks such as KIPP, which have established high-caliber teacher preparation programs. Drawing on his decades spent covering K-12 education for The Washington Post, he shares observations about the quality and success of the U.S. Department of Education’s policymaking, and the strengths and weaknesses of federal education efforts in contrast to what he has observed in states, districts, and schools. They also talk about the most effective ways to spend the massive infusion of federal money school districts are receiving through COVID relief. Next, he offers insights on American journalism, print media’s struggles to adapt to a digital world, the impact on K-12 education coverage, and suggestions for improvement. As someone whose education background and early career focused on Asia, he offers thoughts on U.S.-China relations and the wider implications for America’s global competitiveness in K-12 school reform. He concludes with a reading from his new book.

Stories of the Week: Are unnecessarily severe middle school discipline policies and practices that disproportionately target students of color exacerbating the school-to-prison pipeline? Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Education Next‘s Ira Stoll explores the debate in Boston about changing admissions policies at exam schools, and whether outside organizations, such as the Red Sox baseball team, should weigh in on the issue.

Guest

Jay Mathews is an education columnist for the Washington Post and washingtonpost.com. His column appears once a week. He has been with the Post 50 years and is the author of 10 books, including five about high schools and a New York Times bestseller, Work Hard. Be Nice, about the birth and growth of the KIPP charter school network. He is the biographer of Jaime Escalante, the most influential U.S. teacher of the last 40 years. His book, Question Everything, explores the nation’s largest college prep program, AVID. He recently authored, An Optimist’s Guide to American Public Education.

The next episode will air on Wednesday, April 21st, 2021 at 12 pm ET with guest, Professor Arnold Rampersad, the Sara Hart Kimball Professor Emeritus in Humanities at Stanford University, and the recipient of the National Humanities Medal for his books, Life of Langston Hughes and Ralph Ellison: A Biography.

Tweet of the Week:

News Links:

Suspensions, handcuffs, jail — middle school discipline falls heavily on vulnerable kids

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/04/08/middle-school-discipline-still-falls-heavily-most-vulnerable-kids/7125491002/

WSJ/Ira Stoll from Ed Next: The Red Sox Speak Up for Racial Engineering in Boston Schools

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-red-sox-speak-up-for-racial-engineering-in-boston-schools-11617920491

Get new episodes of The Learning Curve in your inbox!

Recent Episodes

The Institute for Justice’s Tim Keller on Espinoza v. Montana DOR & ongoing school choice litigation

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Tim Keller, Senior Attorney with the Institute for Justice, which is representing the plaintiffs in the high-profile Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court,.

Stanford Pulitzer Winner David Kennedy on Lessons for COVID-19 from the 1918 Flu Epidemic & Great Depression

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Pulitzer-winning historian David Kennedy, the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus at Stanford University.

The Washington Post’s Jay Mathews on schooling during COVID-19 & lessons from teaching great Jaime Escalante

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Jay Mathews, Washington Post education columnist.

Ambassador Ray Flynn on Public Leadership During Global Crisis & the Case for Catholic Schools

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve” (St. Patrick’s Day edition), Cara and Gerard discuss COVID-19’s ongoing toll on families and K-12 education, and interview Raymond Flynn, former Ambassador to the Vatican and three-term Mayor of Boston, about the world-historical moment presented by the Coronavirus pandemic as well as his advocacy for religious education.

NC State’s Anna Egalite on School Choice in America & Abroad

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard talk with Dr. Anna Egalite, Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University, about her experiences and research on K-12 education systems in her native Ireland, as well as America and India.

Kevin Chavous on the Promise & Potential of Quality School Choice Options

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Kevin Chavous, President of Academics, Policy, and Schools of K12, Inc. about how to promote quality education options that meet the diverse needs of all kids.

Citizen Stewart on Changing the K-12 Education Power Structure

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard engage in a candid conversation about education policymaking with Citizen Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of Brightbeam.

CREDO’s Macke Raymond on Charter Schools’ Quality & Growth

0 Comments
/
CREDO's Margaret “Macke” Raymond joins "The Learning Curve" this week to discuss charter school performance; the types of charters that are succeeding consistently and replicating; and the formula for quality both in instruction and policymaking.

Cato’s Neal McCluskey on School Choice & Educational Federalism

0 Comments
/
This week on "The Learning Curve" podcast, Cara Candal welcomes new co-host Gerard Robinson and guest Neal McCluskey, Director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom. They discuss America’s growing interest in school choice, and some of its many benefits.

Julie Young, Virtual Schooling Pioneer

0 Comments
/
Julie Young, CEO of ASU Prep Digital High School, joins The Learning Curve podcast this week to talk about the digital learning revolution.

Susan Wise Bauer on Classical Education & Homeschooling

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Bob Bowdon & guest co-host Kerry McDonald talk with Susan Wise Bauer, writer, historian, homeschool parent, and author of The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, as well as numerous other books.

Dick Komer on Espinoza v. Montana & the Bigoted Legacy of Blaine Amendments

0 Comments
/
On this episode of “The Learning Curve,” Bob & Cara are joined by Dick Komer, Senior Attorney with the Institute for Justice. Komer led the oral argument this week before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the plaintiffs in the high-profile school choice case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue.