The Higher Education Arms Race Escalates

By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute We just have to be number one. In everything. In GDP, technology, Olympic medals, and pollution. And we must be the best in education. If you ask anyone in America about higher education, they quickly note that “we are the best.” And this is largely true. Over a third of the top universities in the world … Continue reading The Higher Education Arms Race Escalates

Teacher, Teacher, Can You Teach Me?

By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute All the major education rags focused on it today. The Chronicle of Higher Education, InsideHigherEd.com, and Education Week all covered US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s speech on teacher education at Teachers College in New York City, mostly because they weren’t sure what he was going to say. Only a few weeks earlier, Secretary Duncan lambasted … Continue reading Teacher, Teacher, Can You Teach Me?

What the Nobel Peace Prize Means to America

By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute Wow. What a day. Unless you are under a rock, you know by now that President Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize (EPI’s Board Member, Lloyd Axworthy, was nominated for the same prize back in 1997). The Peace Prize is one of the most significant international awards, having been awarded approximately 100 times … Continue reading What the Nobel Peace Prize Means to America

When Politics and Education Run Afoul

By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO of Educational Policy Institute and EPI International The conduct of public discourse in the United States worries me. Over the last few months, we’ve seen ugly, staged scenes of aggression and partisanship at health care public meetings; brutal disregard at the President’s speech to Congress; and the total politicization of the President’s Education Address to students. If those instances aren’t … Continue reading When Politics and Education Run Afoul