Let me start by stating the obvious: the sexual assault of the inebriated young woman in Steubenville, Ohio by two high school athletes was a heinous act for which punishment is just and proper. This is a tragic case in which everybody lost. A young woman will be haunted by the sexual assault itself, by the knowledge that online [...]
As I watch the Democratic National Convention this evening, I can't help but think about the importance of encouraging our 18 year old sons and daughters to register to vote, and to make sure that they vote in the upcoming elections. We must make sure our children know the history of our struggles to obtain the right to vote, [...]
A study recently released by Stanford University's Center for Education Policy Analysis has found that Black and Hispanic students remain significantly underrepresented in the nation's most selective colleges. The study, which can be found here, concludes that as recently as 2004, white students were five times as likely as Black students to enroll in selective colleges. White students with [...]
We at GCP are keenly focused on the advances in online education, and they are coming fast and furiously. MIT and Harvard recently announced a new nonprofit partnership known as EdX which will offer free online courses from both universities. EdX, which is expected to offer its first five courses this fall, will be overseen by a nonprofit organization [...]
The Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education, a new center at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, has released its inaugural report, "Black Male Student Success in Higher Education: A Report from the National Black Male College Achievement Study, which can be found here. Shaun R. Harper, Director of the Center and an [...]
Red Tails is an action film inspired by the heroic exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all African American World War II aerial combat unit. Directed by Anthony Hemingway ("The Wire"), from a screenplay by John Ridley ("Undercover Brother") and Aaron McGruder ("The Boondocks"), the film features a powerful ensemble cast led by Oscar winner Cuba Gooding and [...]
The Opportunity Agenda, a non-profit organization focused on building the national will to expand opportunity in America, has just released a report examining national perceptions of African American men and boys, and the relationship of these perceptions to mass media. This extensive research project was designed to determine how to better and more effectively communicate the need to improve [...]
The New York Times, always a good source of articles about education, today includes an article which is particularly noteworthy to GCP readers. "Learning To Play the Game to Get into College", found here, chronicles Boston high school senior Nathaly Lopera's impressive efforts to get extra help with school and the college prep process. Among the resources she finds [...]
Today’s New York Times features an article, found here, which details how little today’s schools teach about the history of the Civil Rights movement and how little today’s students know about basic civil rights history. Julian Bond, the former civil rights activist who began teaching the history of the civil rights movement twenty years ago, speaks of having students [...]
Today's New York Times Magazine includes a very interesting article, found here, about how the heads of a Manhattan private school and a national charter school program are working to help their students develop good character traits as well as good study habits. The private school head feared that his school's focus on testing at every juncture and encouraging [...]