Fund for Teachers Provides Unique Learning Opportunities for Teachers

by Mary Ellen Ellis on May 14, 2012

fund for teachersFund for Teachers is a non-profit organization that provides fellowships for teachers who have designed their own unique learning experiences to help them provide better educational opportunities for their students. It was founded by Raymond Plank in 2001, former CEO of Apache Corporation, who credited his favorite teacher with inspiring his successful academic and business career and with pushing him to achieve more than he thought he could. Mr. Plank hoped to create a program that would help great teachers bring new experiences into the classroom by providing them with the necessary funds to travel and discover new ideas.

Since 2001, Fund for Teachers has given fellowships to over 5,000 teachers totaling more than $17.8 million. What makes the program unique is that it offers teachers the opportunity to design their own fellowships. [click to continue…]

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The Fall of STEM Education in America

by Mary Ellen Ellis on May 3, 2012

STEM teacherThe National Defense Act was passed by congress in 1958, in response to the Soviet Union’s successful launch of Sputnik the year before. The bill provided one billion dollars for scholarships, fellowships, and loans to support students studying in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The government hoped to encourage young people to enter these fields of study and to outpace the Soviet Union in technological advancements.

Today, many policy makers, industry leaders, and educators are concerned that interest in STEM subjects is declining, while in the rest of the world it is increasing. The original bill that provided STEM funding helped to increase interest in attaining degrees in math, science, and engineering. The number of such degrees rose from 1958 through 1992. [click to continue…]

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Obama Calls for Keeping Student Loan Rates Low

April 29, 2012

As the presidential election in November looms closer, both president Obama and the expected republican nominee, Mitt Romney, are making young voters a priority. The millions of students, recent college graduates, and their parents who are struggling with massive debt from tuition represent an important block of voters that both republicans and democrats hope to [...]

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Study Shows Poor Students Lack Access to Best Public Schools

April 21, 2012

While the idea that most low-income students do not attend the best and most rigorous public schools may not sound surprising, a new study proves the point. As reported recently in the New York Times, black, Hispanic, and poor students were found to have less access to good schools than their white and affluent counterparts. [...]

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Illinois and Wisconsin Are Among States In Running For Race to the Top

April 12, 2012

In 2011, nine states earned a total of $500 million in federal funding for education. They were the nine winners out of 35 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia that entered the competition known as Race to the Top. The project, initiated by the Obama Administration, was designed to encourage state education [...]

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Arts Education Falls Victim to Budget Cuts

April 5, 2012

The economic crises that are hitting school districts nationwide are forcing administrators to make tough decisions. When budgets are broken, arts programs and art departments are often the first victims. A recent Department of Education report confirms that this is happening across the US. The report found that the number of public elementary schools offering [...]

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Schools Stock Up On iPads to Replace Laptops

April 1, 2012

Move over laptops, iPads are the new tool in the classroom. Several years ago, schools and teachers began devoting portions of technology budgets to getting laptops with wireless internet access for their students. Now, iPads and other tablets are the new future of technology in education. Putting iPads in the hands of students is not [...]

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Teachers Find Creative Ways to Use Pinterest for Education

March 21, 2012

Pinterest is just the latest in a series of social media sites to spark the imagination of the public. The most recent fans of the site are creative teachers looking for new ways to engage students and bring new ideas into the classroom. Pinterest is like a virtual scrapbook that allows users to collect and [...]

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New Khan Academy iPad App Provides Mobile Lessons for Students

March 14, 2012

When Khan Academy debuted its website in 2006, founder Salman Khan had a vision to create a free resource where students young and old could find clear and concise video lessons on nearly every math and science topic possible. Since then, the Khan team has grown to become a major non-profit organization with several employees [...]

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South by Southwest Hosts Second Annual Education Conference in Austin

March 10, 2012

The South by Southwest (SXSW) festival has long been known as a premier venue for music and as one of the largest such festivals in the U.S. In recent years they added film and technology festivals, and for the second year in a row, hosted an education conference known as SXSWedu. The conference is designed [...]

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