Education Articles of Interest

Thank you to reader, Stuart, for these great articles.

Interesting article from Post Alley on the "run xue" (run philosophy) in China where parents there want their child to go to an American summer camp and then, hopefully, onto an American high school. 

The “philosophy” grew out of the desperation among Chinese citizens under Covid lockdowns. It has now developed into a lively online forum, a hub, an information center for exploration and practice of ways of running away from China, by studying, working, or investing abroad.

Though “run philosophy” as an online phenomena may be relatively new, Chinese citizens have been steadily emigrating since before the pandemic, as the Wall Street Journal reported in July. In late 2012, for instance, the net outflow was 125,000 people. In 2022, the number grew to 300,000, after a drop to 200,000 in 2021. In terms of college students, China still sent more to U.S. universities than any other country even during the pandemic, registering nearly 300,000 in the 2021-2022 school year, according to a story in the South China Morning Post. 

A winning essay from a high school student on learning, "A Constitution for Teenage Happiness," by Ruby LaRocca. It a great essay and thought-provoking as well. The contest was sponsored by The Free Press for Free People.

Ruby is a homeschooled rising senior. She told us she entered the contest because she believes in our mission of finding “the people—under the radar or in the public eye—who are telling the truth.” 

When people ask me why I sacrificed the sociable, slightly surreal daily life at my local school for the solitary life of a homeschooled student in 2021, I almost never reveal the reason: an absence of books.

For many students, books are irrelevant. They “take too long to read.” Even teachers have argued for the benefits of shorter, digital resources. Last April, the National Council of Teachers of English declared it was time “to decenter book reading and essay writing as the pinnacles of English language arts education.” 

But what is an English education without reading and learning to write about books? 

Many of our English teachers instead encouraged extemporaneous discussions of our feelings and socioeconomic status, viewings of dance videos, and endless TED Talks. So five days into my sophomore year, I convinced my mother to homeschool me.

 A private Catholic high school in Seattle, Cristo Rey Jesuit Seattle High School, has a novel set-up - 4 days of school, 1 day of work for all four years of high school.  It's a fascinating program:

Students earn a majority of their education cost through the Corporate Work Study program, which provides our schools with a sustainable revenue model that does not rely solely on tuition, traditional fundraising, or government funding. When a Cristo Rey school reaches full enrollment (400-500 students), the financial model reflects approximately 50% of funds earned through the Corporate Work Study program, 40% secured through fundraising, and 10% collected from a modest family contribution.

A graduate support program will assist students both on their journey to college and continue as they work towards college graduation. Personal outreach to CRJS alum will help address any social, financial, academic, or emotional challenges they might have. 

Chromebooks are getting a 2-year extension on their expiration date from 8 years to 10 years of use.  From PIRG:

Thousands of PIRG supporters, teachers, PTAs, and students called on Google for longer-lasting Chromebooks in schools. The tech giant listened.

In a Thursday email, Google VP John Solomon told PIRG’s Lucas Gutterman, “For Chromebooks already in use, and released prior to 2021, users and IT admins will have the option to extend today’s 8 years of automatic updates for an additional two years – so 10 years total from the platform’s release. For all Chromebooks released since 2021 onwards – users will automatically get 10 years of updates, without having to do anything.” 

Many schools are buying way more laptops than they used to, to ensure that every student has a device to use in class and at home. It would be one thing if kids could use the same laptop for their entire education. But currently, Chromebooks have a built-in “death date.” After as few as four years, Google stops updating the software – rendering the laptop useless.

To stop this Chromebook Churn, over 10,000 supporters signed a petition, joining a coalition of nonprofits, parents and teachers asking Google for longer-lasting laptops. Thursday’s announcement is a victory for all of us. Once laptops have a lifespan of 10 years, fewer will “expire” and need to be disposed of.