Category — General

We have written a good many times regarding the growing concerns related to America’s poor school completion rates. In addition to all the students who disappear from our school systems prior to ever reaching high school, current data also reveals that one of every four high school students fails to graduate within the standard four-year secondary-school span.

Accompanying this sad trend is an enormous debate as to why drop out rates are so high. We noted that within the school setting there tends to be one ongoing tension between the various schooling levels:

While many elementary folks insist that schools at the upper grade levels tend to put curriculum ahead of students, folks at the secondary level insist that students all too often arrive at high school without the requisite skills needed to handle more challenging academic materials.

Those wanting to point a finger at the high school folks may be surprised to learn that Lynne Strathman, director of Lydia Urban Academy in Rockford, Ill., noted that for many students the final year of school where a significant majority of students felt successful was in fourth grade.

That led us to the conclusion that for a good many American kids, school is not an answer. It is in fact the problem, the biggest issue or obstacle they face in life.

Problem Across the Pond

As the concerns mount in America, it is interesting to note that in England drop out rates are also becoming an enormous issue. The BBC recently discussed this troubling trend, pointing out that record numbers of “young people are not in school, college or work.”

What makes the numbers from England worth examining is the fact that an additional category is used to assess those not in school: working students. In fact, the term NEET is used to describe the most troubling of groups in the UK: those not in education, employment or training.

According to the BBC, the total number of NEETS in the 18-24 age group “has risen by more than 100,000 in the past year.” In addition, the data reveals a significant “surge in the numbers of 16 to 18-year-olds considered NEETS,” the total increasing by 13,000 this year when measured against the first quarter of last year and 24,000 when the second quarter time frame is examined.

What is interesting to focus in on is that England differentiates between those who have dropped out of school but are gainfully employed. While we continue to insist that our young people remain in school, England notes that training and employment are viable alternatives to attending school.

It is a position we should examine more thoroughly in America.

At the same time, two other elements emerge. First, the drop out trend is not unique to America. Second, when jobs become scarce, this data further reveals the least educated are generally the most vulnerable.

In fact, many experts from across the pond insist that the growing numbers are more a sign of the employment times than a greater disinterest with school. We tend to think that it is probably a bit of both.

But the summation is unequivocal – there is a growing concern that England may see a lost generation, a group of youngsters who can never shake the government welfare ranks.

It is a concern we must have as well. But the similarities that our countries face reveal a message.

Sense of Entitlement?

While many want to point fingers at out-of-date and impersonal school systems, the fact that England is experiencing a similar problem just might speak to a different issue. Here in America, a good number of folks tend to think our young people carry with them such a strong sense of entitlement that the idea of working towards a goal is simply deemed as asking too much.

Indeed, the outstanding performance collectively of Asian-American students provides strong evidence that we need to look at our culture as well as our schools. Because when a sense of entitlement is removed from the mix and hard work emphasized, this group of students represents living proof that teens can and will actually focus on their education and their future in the right circumstances.

Drop outs are an important issue and schools must be part of the solution process. But to continue to insist that the problem is one that can be solved solely by schools demonstrates a dramatic failure to understand the true scope of the issue.

It has been nearly two years since Alberto Gonzales resigned as Attorney General. At the time of his departure, he left Washington with his tail between his legs and a Justice Department mired in scandal.

Whether it be the controversy over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, his post-Sept. 11 policies on presidential power, torture and domestic spying, his failure to properly see that critical evidence in the Valerie Plame leak case was preserved, his misleading if not downright false testimony before Congress, etc., etc., Gonzales’ tenure as Attorney General will forever leave a stain on the Justice Department.

One would have to think that given his performance his career might be difficult to resurrect. Apparently, not so.

It seems that on August 1st, Mr. Gonzales began a career in academia. That is correct; the former AG accepted a visiting professor post within the political science department of Texas Tech University.

University Loves their Man

According to a written university statement, Gonzales will be teaching a junior-level special topics course: “Contemporary Issues in the Executive Branch.” In addition, he is expected to provide guest lectures in classes across the campus.

A Latino who was once held in high regard, Gonzales will also reportedly assist Texas Tech University and Angelo State University “with recruiting and retaining first generation and underrepresented students.”

Of the latter aspect of the Gonzales appointment, Texas Tech chancellor Kent Hance had this to say:

“His own upbringing in Houston as part of a migrant family with eight children makes him qualified to tell underrepresented Texas students that college is possible.”

In the same prepared university statement, Lawrence Schovanec, interim dean of Texas Tech’s College of Arts and Sciences, offered:

“Judge Gonzales brings a unique experience to our classroom. His career in law, government and public service will provide our political science students a rich perspective of the executive branch and issues and challenges facing our nation.”

Minimal Uproar

Much to the chagrin of this writer and perhaps to the majority of the citizens of the U.S., the appointment has seen only minimal resistance. There have reportedly been a few critical editorials in various newspapers, a faculty petition, and two Facebook groups (Alberto Gonzales Doesn’t Belong At Texas Tech and Citizens Against Employing Alberto Gonzales at Texas Tech). But the protests seem rather minimal overall.

However, faculty petition creator Walter Schaller, a Tech philosophy professor since 1986, was unequivocal in explaining his opposition to the hiring of Gonzales. Stated Schaller, “With the emphasis on ethics the university has adopted, a guy that misled Congress is not the kind of person we want to represent Texas Tech.”

However, the Chronicle of Higher Education recently contrasted the Texas response with that of two other high powered institutions and their faculty appointments:

Objections to Gonzales pale “in comparison to the resistance that Condoleezza Rice has encountered in going back to Stanford University, where she was provost before joining the Bush administration, in 2001, or the debate surrounding the University of California at Berkeley’s continued employment of John C. Yoo, a law professor who, while on leave to work in the Justice Department, wrote the Bush administration’s memos authorizing harsh interrogation techniques.”

One would think that Gonzales would face the same kind of fight Henry Kissinger faced when he tried to teach at Columbia. Student protesters accused the former Secretary of State of breaking the law and essentially ran him off the campus.

Perhaps it is a sign of the times or the location. A negative Facebook campaign could jump start the student body but without an uproar from this important constituency it seems that Gonzales will be able to ride out the storm.

We do have an amazing country. And Texas Tech has a new visiting professor.

He does begin with a one year contract.

The question is, will students see to it that it is his last?

Flickr photos courtesy of Mike Licht and MMMMichelle.

With the passing of Frank McCourt, remembrances are understandable. His brilliant Angela Ashes, of course, marks him as a literary giant, but to many kids he was far more important, he was their teacher.

What a superb teacher he must have been. As with most of the great ones, he could create a lesson out of anything imaginable, including the art of forged notes and excuses for missing school or unfinished homework.

The true brilliance of course lay in his ability to first reach kids where they were at, then take them someplace they would never have gone on their own.

He doesn’t just get these kids to review the notes they forged, he takes them on a creative journey, having them write such notes for some of the world’s most famous historical figures.

A brilliant author.

An equally brilliant teacher.

Once the magic word was plastics. Today, however, the magic advice might lie in a two word phrase:

Keep working.

According to recent research, it turns out that the solution to preventing dementia might well be the very same one proffered to help our underfunded social security system remain solvent.

Yes, it might be time to forget about retiring early. Heck, it might just be time to forget about retiring period.

Mental Activity Is Critical

It has long been suspected that those who remain mentally active later in life may be able to postpone and/or lessen the effects of Alzheimer’s. While that notion has spawned a whole industry devoted to brain fitness, it turns out that simply working later in life might be that ticket to warding off the effects of the debilitating disease.

That fact came as a result of the research of the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London. Experts took a look at more than 1,320 dementia patients, approximately 30% of them men.

Those who retired later in life developed Alzheimer’s at a later stage. As a simple association, for each additional year of employment there was about a six week later age of onset of the disease.

Use It or Lose It

There is a growing body of evidence pointing to the concept of cognitive reserve. For example, research shows that a quality education correlates to a reduced risk of dementia.

What is still unknown is whether we can continue to create cognitive reserve later in life or if by remaining mentally active we are able to preserve that brain status for a longer period. But the new philosophy of use it or lose it has moved from the world of physical fitness into the mental health field.

The study reveals that brain fitness may be maintained simply by the stimulation of the work environment.

Still, there were no findings to suggest that working longer would end the risk of Alzheimer’s. And others, like Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, noted that the study’s small sample size minimizes the ability to draw firm conclusions.

“There could be a number of reasons why later retirement in men is linked with later onset of dementia,” Sorenson told the BBC. “Men who retire early often do so because of health conditions, such as hypertension or diabetes, which increase your risk of dementia.”

Time to Keep Working?

Sorenson went on to add that working helps keep your body active as well, another key factor to reducing the risk of dementia.

One aspect that was mentioned but received little discussion is that it might well be time to put an end to the notion of working full time until that one magic day when a person draws the retirement line. Currently, for many the process is a precipice that marks the end of the world of work and the start of the retirement years.

It would stand to reason that for a vast array of reasons, financial, societal (social security and medical impact), as well as mental, the shift away from the work world should be more gradual. Instead of calling it quits one day, older workers should be able to reduce both their weekly and their yearly number of hours on the job in a more gradual manner.

Brain images courtesy of jj_judes and Institut Douglas.

Back in September we noted the gradual recognition within higher education of the merits of social media. At that time, based on the potential for social networking to revolutionize teaching and learning, we suggested that the moment had arrived for teacher preparation programs to consider providing all teachers some fundamental training in social networking tools.

While social networking may be able to help transform education, the use of such media to enhance the business world is already in full swing. Whether it be to establish their online brand, market services, or communicate with clients and corporate partners, businesses are now utilizing the likes of Facebook and Twitter as part of their everyday operation.

Given that development, it has become clear that universities would have to further acknowledge the importance of social media as legitimate area of inquiry. One college in the UK appears to have done just that – this fall Birmingham City University will offer a graduate level program that focuses on social media as a business tool.

However, not too surprisingly, the idea of a graduate program that entails the study of Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter has not been met with universal acceptance.

Flickr photo courtesy of C4Chaos.

Are you one of those folks who struggle with commitments? Someone who struggles with a lack of will-power or suffers from the propensity to procrastinate?

Then it just may be time to turn to stickK.com, a web site that uses the age-old method of public shaming to help people stay on track when it comes to personal goals and commitments.

A Yale Creation

Since New England was home to Hester Prynne and the “The Scarlet Letter,” it likely comes as no surprise that a couple of New Englanders were the source of a web site that puts the power of public shaming to work. Dean Karlan, a Yale professor of Economics, cofounded the site with Ian Ayres, a Yale Law School professor.

According to the story, Karlan created the concept while a graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He and a friend wagered $10,000 on a personal weight loss plan.

The website is designed so as anyone seeking a specific personal goal can post their name and their goal for everyone to see. Like Karlan’s wager with his MIT colleague, the site also allows those posting to put up a wager.

The cash goes up front with the money pledged to a charity. If the person is able to meet their respective goal, the money is returned to them.

As added incentive, it is suggested that you select a charity you do not support. That way, the loss of money is even more painful.

Site Getting Activity

As of February, the site reported more than 23,000 users with the highest percentage focused on weight loss goals (42 percent). Other popular choices, to no one’s surprise are to get more exercise or quit smoking.

Originating from two elements, the web site name is based on one aspect that most could pick out. The first five letters, stick of course represent the enforcement that comes from a “carrot and stick” approach. However, the final letter, the capital K, represents the legal shorthand for “contract.”

Apparently for those people who are relatively weak, the accountability the site provides may well be just what the doctor ordered. The public nature of stickK.com seems to serve as the blunt instrument needed to ensure follow through.

Self-reporting is one general method utilized in the process though the site encourages contractors to solicit a “referee.” Whether it be a friend or relative, this third party observer then provides oversight and reports any infractions on the site. As part of the contract, stickK.com suggests you also identify a group of supporters.

The Effect of Money on the Line

Not too surprisingly, stickK.com reports that those who put money down and assign a referee are far more apt to follow through on their pledges than those who simply go it alone or opt not to put some cash on the line.

As the site notes choosing a “Foe” can be the perfect catalyst. “Wouldn’t it just kill you to hand over your hard-earned money to someone you can´t stand? That’s a pretty strong incentive to achieve your goal now isn´t it?”

StickK.com will take a credit card and the protocol is to charge your card weekly if you fail to meet muster. In the end, even with a referee in the mix, stickK.com will simply take your word.

Power of Reinforcement

Users can assign levels of privacy so that only those given permission are able to access key information. Still, the site reminds us of how strong reinforcement, whether it be positive or negative, is for certain individuals.

And that large numbers of people are simply not intrinsic by nature.

The data recorded by Natalia Palacios regarding immigrant children’s early learning could have major ramifications for educators seeking answers to America’s high drop out rates.

Her findings in fact have caused some to ask, “Is the process of becoming an American a developmental risk for future generations?”

Palacios Work
The recent work of Palacios is actually consistent with other studies done on immigrant adolescents. Palacios’ longitudinal study of 17,000 children from kindergarten through third grade examined the reading achievement levels of first-, second- and third-generation immigrant children.

Those unfamiliar with what has been dubbed the “Immigrant Paradox” will no doubt be startled by the researchers findings. Once she had controlled for English language proficiency, she found that first-generation children demonstrated higher performance reading levels than their second- or third-generation peers when measured at the end of kindergarten. Perhaps even more importantly, the gap grew even larger by third grade.

In addition to the reduced levels of academic success reported by Palacios, other studies have noted that the physical health and the ability to stay out of trouble also decline from first- to third-generation immigrant children. Once we control for socioeconomic status, the health of children from most immigrant groups worsens from the first to the third generations, the number of teenagers reporting substance abuse rises between generations and the levels of violent behavior increases.

What makes the data so difficult to understand is that new immigrants do extremely well in America particularly given the initial challenges they face. Despite limited language skills and little money, many first generation immigrants find success.

Of course, what makes the data interesting to educators is the fact that so many native-born American students are doing poorly in our schools. Moreover, it appears that the paradox does not exist in many other countries. In most other countries, the first generation does worse than the second and third generations – the exceptions being the US, New Zealand and Australia.

One Plausible Explanation
One simple explanation for the issue occurring here is that America is the land of immigrants. Therefore, there are potential networks in place for new immigrants to access and to help them make that initial transition. Such networks do not appear to be as well-established in other countries.

A second thought, one postulated by researchers, is that immigrants often come with a strong educational background. That background is likely more important than the socioeconomic status of those seeking entry into America.

Unfortunately, as the future generations become more acculturated and more language proficient, they seem to do worse in school. Researchers surmise that these individuals may begin to buy in to the stereotypical notion regarding minorities in the United States, the belief that even if one works hard, discrimination will prevail.

Ultimately, the result is that foreign-born students outperform their American-born counterparts. Foreign-born students test higher, have higher school attendance rates and lower rates of participation in special education programs. They also graduate from high school at higher rates than the native-born.

One Not So Positive Possibility

In a recent article for EdWeek, Scholars Mull the ‘Paradox’ of Immigrants, Mary Ann Zehr first reports on a perplexed parent from Providence. In trying to put his arms around the issue, Tony Mendez spoke of the cultural differences he currently sees.

Mendez, who came to the United States when he was 12, noted he was puzzled by the differences of family members still living in the Dominican Republic. There, youngsters “take it as a given that they will finish high school and go to college.” Yet here in America, Dominican parents “find it hard to persuade their children to stay in high school.”

In essence, Mendez offers that the lack of success in school is perhaps due to the fact that second and third generations may suffer from a diminished sense of urgency regarding trying to make a better life. It may be as simple as, dare we say it, that the acculturated students begin to do less homework.

Min Zhou, a UCLA sociology professor, has a very different perspective. In her eyes, these U.S.-born children are unlike their parents. They are not likely to simply take any job they can get.

Instead, they begin to have expectations, and when those expectations are not met, they respond negatively. In other words, these second and third generation immigrants become a victim of our stratified society of the haves and the have nots.

Critical Issue for America

The current student drop out rate in America represents one of the most significant issues facing our schools and our country. But we also fall significantly short when measured against other nations when it comes to child welfare.

Nine million children without health insurance and more than 13 million living in poverty are numbers that are as striking as the fact that every 26 seconds another American drops out of high school.

Add to that fact the deteriorating results of second- and third-generation immigrants and one has to begin to wonder about the current fabric of our society. Certainly, with such data it is easy to see why some people are asking that incredibly poignant question:

Does becoming an American represent a developmental risk?

Flickr photos courtesy of Diego, Brittney Bush and Monroe’s DragonFly.

In recent years, a new industry has emerged around the issue of brain fitness. The fundamental premise of this growing industry is based upon the notion that brain exercise is as important to maintaining mental acuity as we get older as physical exercise is to preserving muscle strength.

However, two new studies indicate that we have a great deal to learn when it comes to maintaining brain power as we age.

Brain Decline Study

According to the research of Professor Timothy Salthouse of Virginia University, the slide towards old age intellectually begins as we reach our late 20s. Salthouse found that our mental powers actually peaked at age 22 and that both speed of thought and spatial visualization skills begin declining at age 27.

Salthouse’s seven-year study involved 2,000 healthy people, ages 18-60. Published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, the research involved tests of mental agility.

In the study, participants were asked to perform a number of mental tasks including solving puzzles, recalling words as well as story details and spotting potential patterns in letters and symbols. The tasks presented to study participants matched several currently used by doctors to spot signs of dementia.

As for the age findings, the researcher determined that in nine of the 12 tests given, the average age of those participants reaching the highest performance level was 22. As for the point of slippage, the study found that the first age for which there was any significant decline was 27 with the decline occurring in tests of brain speed, reasoning and visual puzzle-solving ability.

Enormous Implications for Brain Fitness

While the decline in mental capacity (according to Salthouse) begins well before we obtain senior citizen status, some aspects of brain function actually fared much better. First, Salthouse found that our memory skills remained intact, on average, until the age of 37.

Second, there is definitely this attribute we often call wisdom and it appears to increase until we do reach our senior years. Salthouse found that abilities based on accumulated knowledge, (think of tests of vocabulary or general information) increased until the age of 60.

The potential to address issues such as dementia and Alzheimer’s is significant. Examining how healthy brains decline could well be the first step towards solving these debilitating physical diseases.

Current Brain Fitness Receives Low Marks

While therapies designed to maintain mental acuity may need to start much earlier than previously thought, it appears that the current brain fitness market requires further scrutiny as well. The BBC recently reported the assertions of a consumer group called Which?

The group asked three experts to research some of the brain fitness sites and games sold on the premise that they not only help retain memory skills but may help prevent the onset of dementia. Those experts concluded that hard evidence (peer-reviewed research in a recognized scientific journal) to back those claims was sorely lacking.

According to the experts, brain fitness exercises do increase blood flow to the frontal cortex region of the brain. But those same experts noted that the same blood flow effects occur when we are surfing the internet or chatting with friends.

Those experts concluded that the money spent on brain trainers could be put to better use. While these sites and their respective activities may indeed help, the experts offered that the same benefits might be available from simply doing a traditional crossword puzzle.

What Are We to Do

While taken as a pair the two reports might be cause for despair, there are some clear aspects emerging. There is clear evidence that physical exercise has a positive impact on intellectual staying power.

In addition, a healthy and nutritious diet is also critical to maintaining mental acuity. Lastly, according to the experts reporting to Which?, an active social life is also key to keeping an agile mind.

When it comes to the use it or lose it adage, that too appears to have merit. But the effects of the current brain fitness products may ultimately be no better than standard computer games such as Tetris.

Taken in sum, the two offer some interesting insights as well as additional food for thought when it comes to maintaining the gray matter inside our head. Not all of it will set well with the pessimistic among us.

And now we know for sure why we baby-boomers felt a certain level of chagrin when we turned 30.

Flickr photos courtesy of Peta-de-Aztlan, Snowblink and Bob.Fornal.

One has to go back to Sir Francis Bacon in 1597 for the origins of the quote, “Knowledge is power.”

Because of its capacity to control and influence, knowledge was once hoarded by those in position of authority. Today, however, knowledge is readily available to anyone who wants it.

According to the folks at the Davinci Institute, there are:

• More than 3.5 million songs available on iTunes.
• More than 4 million books available on Amazon alone.
• More than 60 million blogs available online.
• More than 4 million entries on Wikipedia.
• More than 6 million videos on YouTube.

Yet, in a Pew research poll from last August, while 58 percent of Americans claimed they followed “international affairs,” only 28% could name the British prime minister. And while two out of every three respondents said they followed “political figures and events in Washington,” only 43 percent could name the American Secretary of State at that time.

Given that we are in the midst of an information age, the fact that so many of us are uninformed has experts scratching their heads. Is the failure one of effort or a result of the pace of our society? Is it a lack of intellectual prowess that prevents the assimilation of all the available information or an overall malaise that overcomes even the most well-intentioned of efforts?

Information Overload

While access is now less limited, the sheer volume of material available has many contending that the issue is simply one of information overload. A Washington Post editorial by Dusty Horwitt, “If Everyone’s Talking, Who Will Listen?” recently made such a claim.

Horwitt asserted that TMI (too much information) was the root cause of many societal issues today. Readers will find that he even went so far as to assert that the volume of information available had the potential to undermine our democracy.

While it is a frequent assertion, it is interesting to note that Tim Stahmer at Assorted Stuff isn’t buying the notion of Horwitt’s suggestions as to how to better handle information moving forward. Stahmer is suspect of such a message, one that contends the volume of information available “is burying us in extraneous data” and preventing “important facts and knowledge from reaching a broad audience,” especially since it is coming from someone who works in the now-failing, traditional media market.

Writes Stahmer:

“Maybe his concern is that fewer people are reading big media publications like the Post.”

Stahmer then adds the words of Ben Stein to the mix, yet another of those who has at times insisted society would be far better off with a more limited flow of information. As one might expect, the blogger has a different take.

He does not favor a return to “a few traditional filters of …. information (like the Post, the Times, and Ben Stein)” being “the ones telling us what’s important.” Instead, Stahmer insists, “I’d rather learn to sift through the flow of data myself.”

It is a strong message, one that insinuates that big media simply wants to return itself to its former position of power, i.e., the aforementioned situation where once upon a time knowledge was held by a select few.

Columbia Journalism Review

Bree Nordenson offers some additional insight into the matter in “Overload! Journalism’s Battle for Relevance in an Age of Too Much Information.” Given that the piece is on the Columbia Journalism Review site and the recent revelations that the school is in fact rethinking its journalism program, we probably should attach the same healthy skepticism to Nordenson’s piece as Stahmer attaches to the Post writer.

But still, buried within the article, is some very helpful information. First, there is a great synopsis of the change in available information.

“The information age is defined by output: we produce far more information than we can possibly manage, let alone absorb. Before the digital era, information was limited by our means to contain it.

“Publishing was restricted by paper and delivery costs; broadcasting was circumscribed by available frequencies and airtime. The Internet, on the other hand, has unlimited capacity at near-zero cost.”

While Clay Shirky would take exception to the notion that the new information is defined by output only (we tend to agree that the new age is more defined by interaction), there is truly more information available today than any of us can completely manage. And the increase in production is obtained without the prior costs associated with distributing and storing information online.

As to why more people are not better informed about world affairs, despite the increased output, Nordenson notes that there can be a “tendency to become passive in the face of too much information.”

While that is definitely true, it is likely far more attributable to the vast array of choices now available to internet users, choices that also offer greater control and personalization. She quotes Delli Carpini and Markus Prior who offer simple explanations as to why more people are not up on key public-affairs issues.

“As choice goes up, people who are motivated to be politically informed take advantage of these choices, but people who are not move away from politics,” states Carpini. Prior adds, “Political information in the current media environment comes mostly to those who want it.”

Unlike Horwitt, Nordenson sees the new trends as having potential benefit for our democracy. She writes, “Our access to digital information, as well as our ability to instantly publish, share, and improve upon it at negligible cost, hold extraordinary promise for realizing the democratic ideals of journalism.”

But she does note, “As information proliferates, … people inevitably become more specialized both in their careers and their interests. Personalized home pages, newsfeeds, and e-mail alerts, as well as special-interest publications lead us to create what sociologist Todd Gitlin disparagingly referred to as ‘my news, my world.’ ”

Explanatory Journalism

To produce more savvy readers, there is a move away from the traditional news format to one Nordenson calls explanatory journalism. Such journalism goes beyond reporting a specific news event and the facts related to it.

Explanatory journalism attempts to supply depth and context to what is being reported and even adds a touch of information filter. While many news outlets are struggling to retain readers, she notes that the publication “The Week,” has actually seen a circulation growth.

The magazine seeks to determine the top news stories and then synthesize them for readers. The editor of “The Week” notes the fundamental purpose of the magazine is “not to tell people the news but to make sense of the news for people.” Therefore, almost like the teachers of yesteryear, “The Week” seeks to be the sage on the stage, a news outlet that does the sifting and the filtering that busy Americans do not have time for.

The model has also taken shape at the BBC News web site. A major news story on the BBC page has several links prominently displayed in a sidebar that offer numerous additional articles that explain and add context to the feature story.

Ironically, the concept that appears to work best is one that does move from the gatekeeper mentality, the knowledge is power model, to one that guides readers towards additional information that then allows them to gain the necessary insight to wrap their arms completely around an issue.

At the same time, what is most telling is that explanatory journalism does not necessarily involve reducing the amount of information available to readers.

Technology Is the Issue

Ironically, nearly 20 years ago, Neil Postman delivered a rather extraordinary and prophetic speech at a meeting of the German Informatics Society (Gesellschaft fuer Informatik) in Stuttgart. “Informing Ourselves To Death” offered many pearls including the notion that school teachers as we know them will disappear in the technological age.

“School teachers, for example, will, in the long run, probably be made obsolete by television,” offered Postman, “as blacksmiths were made obsolete by the automobile, as balladeers were made obsolete by the printing press.”

In regards to the information issue, Postman insisted that the public was not so uninformed as it was unable to place ideas in context. He spoke of a little research he had done, albeit not so rigorous or traditional in its ability to control variables, but extremely telling nonetheless.

Postman would select an unsuspecting victim, a colleague who appeared not to be in possession of the morning newspaper. He would begin

“Did you read The Times this morning?”

If the colleague were to answer yes, he would end his experiment for that person that day. But if the person said no, he would begin to make up some far-fetched story.

“You ought to look at Page 23,” he would state. “There’s a fascinating article about a study done at _______ University.” When an inviting reply came, one that matched the traditional response of a colleague, something like “Really? What’s it about?” Postman would let loose with something outlandish.

An example he used in his speech was one he often tried on peers he knew to be health-conscious:

“I think you’ll want to know about this,” he would go on. “The neuro-physiologists at the University of Stuttgart have uncovered a connection between jogging and reduced intelligence. They tested more than 1200 people over a period of five years, and found that as the number of hours people jogged increased, there was a corresponding decrease in their intelligence. They don’t know exactly why but there it is.”

Postman summarized the results of his informal study thus: “Unless this is the second or third time I’ve tried this on the same person, most people will believe or at least not disbelieve what I have told them. Sometimes they say: ‘Really? Is that possible?’ Sometimes they do a double-take, and reply, ‘Where’d you say that study was done?’ And sometimes they say, ‘You know, I’ve heard something like that.’”

Still, Postman railed of too much information before others began to make the assertion. In fact, twenty years ago, Postman noted that information came “indiscriminately, directed at no one in particular, disconnected from usefulness.”

He went on to add, “we are glutted with information, drowning in information, have no control over it, don’t know what to do with it.”

But for Postman, the fact that we do not know what to do with or how to handle this information came from a whole different perspective. He adds a touch of the spiritual in his first reason:

“First, we no longer have a coherent conception of ourselves, and our universe, and our relation to one another and our world. We no longer know, as the Middle Ages did, where we come from, and where we are going, or why. That is, we don’t know what information is relevant, and what information is irrelevant to our lives.”

He then headed off to construct the place where others believe we are today:

“Second, we have directed all of our energies and intelligence to inventing machinery that does nothing but increase the supply of information. As a consequence, our defenses against information glut have broken down; our information immune system is inoperable. We don’t know how to filter it out; we don’t know how to reduce it; we don’t know to use it.”

Postman also managed to express one of the possible reasons as to why in the face of a great deal of information so many people feel overwhelmed. The simple fact of the matter is that the information “cannot answer any of the fundamental questions we need to address to make our lives more meaningful and humane.”

Our technology cannot “provide an organizing moral framework” and “it cannot tell us what questions are worth asking” offered Postman. Instead, “The computer is, in a sense, a magnificent toy that distracts us from facing what we most needed to confront — spiritual emptiness, knowledge of ourselves, usable conceptions of the past and future.”

And so, in simplest terms, for Postman, it was the unmet promises of technology that formed the ultimate issue.

“Through the computer, the heralds say, we will make education better,” stated Postman, “religion better, politics better, our minds better — best of all, ourselves better. This is, of course, nonsense.”

A Golden Age

If knowledge is truly power, then we should be entering a golden age, one where everyone has unlimited access to the authority once held only by the elite in society.

The fact that we seem to be far from such a place does beg several questions.

And the biggest one befalls education – many have written that the next phase of schooling must move towards a focus that places the information age at its core for the next generation of learners. In fact, it would seem that the words of Postman are most prescient – twenty years ago he noted the volume of information that was being produced and the issues that it would present.

But education changed little over those 20 years. So we now have a large group of citizens unable to emotionally and intellectually handle the breadth of information available to them.

The answer is certainly not to limit information. The answer is in creating an educational system that helps individuals understand how to best make use of the knowledge.

The power that today’s information-rich society has available is truly unprecedented. As always, education is the great equalizer, but now we must turn our attention towards helping our young people learn how to filter, reduce and use the knowledge that is accessible to them.

Flickr photos courtesy of World Economic Forum, Michael Marlatt, Will Lion, Will Lion, just.Luc and Will Lion.

There are of course many folks who think President Barack Obama is trying to do too much too soon. Republicans, looking for every chance to assert their differences, have hammered on the president in recent days for not focusing his attention solely on the economy.

However, having run a campaign featuring the word hope and the call for a better future, the president has always insisted he would look to rebuild our country if given the chance to lead. Provided with that chance, on Tuesday Obama took a much-needed step toward a more prosperous country by addressing America’s maligned educational system.

And this time, he took a play out of the recent Republican playbook with calls for greater accountability and his endorsement of a GOP mainstay, the idea of school choice. But he did so on his terms and his steadfast focus on a long-term approach to rebuilding the country.

Pay for Teacher Performance

In direct opposition to the current position of the teachers unions, Obama called for measures to link teachers’ pay to student performance. Insisting that “the United States must drastically improve student achievement to regain lost international standing,” the president laid the groundwork for merit pay for teachers.

The concept is in direct opposition to the union position and the current trend to pay teachers according to their credentials and years of experience. While those elements could still form some basis of the pay scale in the future, Obama seeks to base raises on teacher effectiveness as measured by the performance levels of that teacher’s students.

In unveiling his push, President Obama acknowledged that he was in direct conflict with the union position. And since those unions make up a large segment of the Democratic Party, his position was also in conflict with a large segment of his own base of supporters.

But the change is remarkably consistent with his prior day’s speech regarding science and stem cell research. Instead of basing his decision on past practice or the view points of certain supporters, the president was acknowledging that all research points to higher student achievement levels in those classrooms where teachers excelled at their craft.

While some wanted to parse the president’s words regarding student performance, the tie to student achievement was not one of those areas he was willing to give in on. In clear, distinct support that student performance would be a factor in the merit pay concept, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told The Associated Press:

“What you want to do is really identify the best and brightest by a range of metrics, including student achievement.”

Expansion of Charter Schools

Obama also called for the expansion of innovative charter schools, another initiative that has long been opposed by the members of teachers unions. Charter schools are publicly funded but are operating independently of many of the constraints that current public schools face. They also are a key component of the move towards giving parents a choice as to where to send their children.

Critics insist that charter schools are being held to a different standard even as they drain precious resources from the established public schools. Those same critics believe the resource drainage come in two forms. First, there are the funds to pay for the schools. Second, there is the belief that charter schools are siphoning off the stronger, more motivated students, leaving public schools to work with the less-capable and the disinterested.

In direct opposition to those who want to see limits on the number of charter schools, Obama was unrelenting. Stating that many of the innovations in education today are taking place in charter schools, Obama insisted that placing limits on the number of such schools is not “good for our children, our economy or our country.”

Tackling Another Longstanding Issue

As if that were not enough, Obama also moved to one of the other growing criticisms of schools – the time kids spend in the classroom. In addition to the controversial proposals of merit pay and increased numbers of charter schools, the president insisted it was time for a longer school day and school years.

Ironically, while many of his positions were counter to that of the unions, the initial response of union leaders was remarkably positive. That view appeared to come primarily from Obama’s pledge to include educators in the process, a step that his predecessor is generally charged with avoiding virtually every step of the way.

In addition, the president did continue his support for at least one position not supported by the GOP, more money for early childhood education. That no doubt helped win him some additional support from educators.

While the economic stimulus bill is set to automatically provide additional funds for education over the next two years, some of those dollars are already supposed to be tied to teacher quality and on states developing better systems for tracking overall student progress.

Talking about Improving Education

While against union positions, Democrats have to be happy that Obama is putting education front and center. More importantly, Republicans and Democrats alike have to be happy that the president is willing to examine ideas from both sides of the aisle to ensure improvement in our schools.

While the economy is critical, school improvement is also one of America’s most pressing problems moving forward, especially when we consider our country’s long term viability in a global marketplace.

Flickr photos courtesy of BarackObamadotcom, Obama-Biden Transition Project and esagor.