Department of Education's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity
Member of the Department of Education's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity; former Senior Vice-President responsible for the Education and Workforce program at the US Chamber of Commerce and president emeritus of Lafayette College in Pennsylvania
Will the US Invest in its Own Future? The Royal Society of England has released a report on the scientific output of various countries. It reports that China has already surpassed Britain as the second leading producer of research in the world and, at its present rate, it will overtake the United States in science in just two years. Meantime, education in the United States is in the cross hairs of both reformers and budget cutters.
Will the US Invest in Its Own Future? President Obama says the US has to "out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world," and industry leaders agree. However, while state after state challenges educators to produce a competitive workforce, they simultaneously cut spending from K through 12 to grad school. Meantime, the UK's Royal Society says China is producing enough research and trained professionals to " overtake the US in science " in two years. So why do Chinese parents do whatever they can to get their kids in to American schools? Does the US need education reform or more of the same?
Federal Money, Teachers' Unions and Education Reform Former President Bush produced “ No Child Left Behind .” Now President Obama has an education reform plan of his own. He calls it “ Race to the Top ."
Federal Money, Teachers' Unions and Education Reform President Obama is dangling $4.3 billion in stimulus money to promote charter schools, merit pay and standardized tests for evaluating teachers. He says states with laws against such evaluations won't get any money, which rules out New York and California. Even in other states, Education Secretary Arne Duncan could be up against opposition from teachers' unions, a major force in the Democratic Party. Will the prospect of all that money turn the unions around? What's the future of what the President calls "Race to the Top?"
Will College Become Unaffordable for a Majority of Americans? A moment ago, we heard about increased unemployment in the United States. The unemployment rate for college and university graduates is half what it is for the workforce as a whole. But rising costs are putting college and university degrees out of reach for most young Americans. In the past 25 years, tuition and fees have gone up 439% while median income has risen by 147%, and student loans are saddling graduates with more and more debt. For the first time in American history, older adults have more education than younger ones, while other countries are educating their children faster. That's ominous news for a country that attained world leadership because of higher education.
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.