National K-12 Online Teacher of the Year
National K-12 Online Teacher of the Year Kristin Kipp joins Pam Benigno in a discussion about her experience as an online teacher. Kristin is a teacher at the 21st Century Virtual Academy, an online school in Jefferson County. She shares her experience as an English online teacher and expresses the importance of well-trained teachers for student learning in online educational programs.
New Orleans Charters Latest to Show Positive Results, But Challenges Lie Ahead
A few weeks ago I pointed you to a study that showed Indiana charter schools outpacing their public school peers in making student academic improvements. Another place where charter schools are being done right — and on an unsurpassed scale — is New Orleans. Six of 10 public school students there is served by one […]
The Washington Times Gets It Wrong
The Antiplanner generally appreciates the efforts of the Times, a fiscally conservative paper that tries to watchdog government agencies that waste tax dollars. But an editorial last Friday about highway user fees missed the point. The article was written in response to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on highway user fees. “The claim is that […]
Colorado’s Neighbors to the East Look at Passing Some Choice-Friendly Reforms
It’s Friday morning. I’m ready to go out and play, so not a lot to blog about today. But I just wanted to bring a couple of developments to your attention. What about Colorado’s neighbors to the east? Their legislators seem to be giving serious consideration to a couple different good, commonsense reform ideas:
More than […]
Pick winner in the “Worst of ObamaCare” tournament at RealMarchMadness.org
[H]elp us determine which [part of ObamaCare is] most odious. Fill out the brackets below just as you would a basketball tournament bracket — choose which of the two “contestants” in each”game” you believe to be worse than its “competitor.” As you move through the brackets, you’ll eventually determine which of ObamaCare’s elements is the worst of all.
Who Should Pay for America’s Jewels?
National parks are one of the most popular programs of the federal government. Yet the National Park Service is also an increasing burden on taxpayers. Appropriations to the agency have doubled since 1991, and even after adjusting for inflation they have grown by a third. What have taxpayers received for this money? One of the […]
Colorado School Leaders, Check Out Digital Learning Webinar: Wed., March 30
Hey there – YOU! I mean, hear ye, hear ye…. Colorado school and school district leaders, I wanted to share news of an upcoming online event that you may find very valuable as you seek to pursue academic excellence in these trying budget times. Education Week is hosting a webinar next Wednesday, March 30, from […]
Obama’s Libyan Operations are Unconstitutional
You can sympathize with the humanitarian motives of our Libyan intervention while still doubting its constitutionality. The Constitution prescribes the rules about how the United States is to enter a war, and the Obama administration has violated those rules. The administration argues that the hostilities, because limited, do not rise to the level of “war,” […]
The Road to Socialized Medicine Is Paved With Preexisting Conditions
Imagine that you live in a world with no medical insurance, you take the risk to start the first insurance company, and competition springs up. Then a customer walks in to your office and wants you to sell him insurance. He has pre-existing conditions, but expects that you sell him a policy at the same price as more healthy people. Yaron Brook and Dan Watkins explain the absurd implications of this at Forbes.com: The Road to Socialized Medicine Is Paved With Preexisting Conditions.
Studies Show Vouchers Help Kids, Schools; What About Research of Douglas County?
Thanks to Greg Forster and the Foundation for Educational Choice, we now have the newly-released report A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on School Vouchers, which brings together the 27 studies “using the best available scientific methods” to show “that vouchers improve outcomes for both participants and public schools.” My suggestion for the next object of study? Douglas County’s new pilot voucher program.
Colorado Health Insurance Exchange bound to be strangled by federal controls
“[A] fire hose of [federal] subsidies explains why it is far more likely that Obamacare will corrupt Utah[‘s exchange] than Utah will manage to redeem Obamacare,” writes John Graham. The same applies to Colorado.
Antiplanner’s Library: Fool’s Gold
As previously noted, the Antiplanner has been reading a lot of books about the financial crisis lately. Some have tried (but failed) to be comprehensive. Most cover just a slice of the crisis, such as Bear Stearns (House of Cards) or Lehman Brothers (A Colossal Failure of Common Sense) One of the most valuable books […]
