By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO of Educational Policy Institute and EPI International This week saw the passing of a giant in the teaching field—Jaime Escalante. Escalante was made famous, in part, by Washington Post writer Jay Mathews in the book Escalante: The Best Teacher in America. But more famous through the movie version of the book, Stand and Deliver, in 1988 featuring Edward James Olmos … Continue reading Stand and Deliver
My summer reading thus far has included the book Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling (a novel about the painting of the Sistine Chapel) and Bounce, a story of “the science of success.” The first one was simply to impress (not true; great book!!). The second has significant meaning to what we do in education. Today’s commentary focuses on some of the tenets of Matthew Syed’s Bounce. Continue reading It isn’t NCLB’s Fault!
By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute Yesterday afternoon, The House Education and Labor Committee announced that it will include its legislative reform of the student loan system in the reconciliation bill containing the Health Care plan. If passed, on July 1, 2010 every Title IV institution in the United States will become part of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP). After … Continue reading The Fight is on for Student Loans
By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute Anyone who watches the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic games feels the heart tugs of the world’s youth reaching for dreams nurtured over years and years of work. In Vancouver, there they are: hundreds of athletes, from over 80 countries, putting into practice what they have worked for most of their lives toward, knowing … Continue reading Feeling Very Olympic
By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute I know it sounds like an Onion piece, but this is the major finding in this week’s release of The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2009 (see the related Chronicle article). Specifically, the Chronicle noted the following: About two-thirds of freshmen said they were either somewhat or very worried about their ability to finance their college … Continue reading Major Survey Finding: University is Really Expensive
The Swail Letter on Higher Education 