As the year draws to a close, it is customary to take a moment to look back at some of the biggest events that happened this year. The people over at TakePart have compiled a list of the top 10 educations stories of the year. Some of these we have talked about here on our site, and others haven't received that much media attention. But either way, you are sure to find some surprises.
Here are numbers 6-10 on the list of the Top 10 Education Stories of 2010:
- 6. Michelle Rhee – Whether you love her or hate her, there is no denying that D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is a polarizing figure in the debate for school reform. She is best known for dismissing 226 public school employees, creating a 200 page teaching manual and changing the way that the district's teachers are evaluated. Rhee stepped down as chancellor on October 12th, but is still an advocate for Education Reform and even launched her own national advocacy organization “Students First”.
- 7. Education's Financial Crisiss – This year public schools have been struggling to make do with less as they faced some of the biggest budget cuts in over 50 years. They have had to enlarge class sizes, cut extracurricular programs and some have even shortened the academic year. Tens of thousands of teachers found themselves without a job in many states. It was so bad that even the White House got involved, with President Obama signing the Edujob bill to save around 160,000 education jobs nationwide.
- 8. Texas Textbook Controversy – When the Texas Board of Education voted to pass over 100 amendments to its social studies curriculum, it sparked outrage across the country. The Board voted to remove any content that supported liberal ideology, the separation of church and state, racial diversity and any item that didn't support Christian ideals. With the textbook manufacturers willing to tailor their products to fit the state's curriculum. This means an estimated 4.7 million public school students will be learning a very different version of history and social studies.
- 9. Big Donations – This year has seen some very large and public donation to the public school systems. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO and founder of Facebook, donated $100 million to Newark's public schools. Other billionaires who donated to the education cause were George Lucas, Eli and Edythe Broad and Bill and Melinda Gates.
- 10. Education Nation – This year, NBC started a new program called Education Nation, which is a series that features discussion and debate about educational challenges and potential solutions. The program encourages the public to participate in the discussion and learn more about American education.
Be on the lookout for my next post, which will have numbers 1-5 of the Top 10 Education Stories of 2010
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By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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