HGSE in the Media

August 2008

Former Maverick Payzant Returns to Welcome 4J Staff
"Having cemented his standing as one of the nation’s most esteemed urban schools chiefs, retired Boston School Superintendent [Professor] Tom Payzant returned to Eugene Thursday to welcome employees of the district he led near the dawn of his 40-year career." (The Register Guard, 8/29/08)

In Manassas, The 3 R's Add Up to a Fourth: Rudimentary
"There's no question we want students to get better at basic skills, but that's not where all the good jobs will be. Being good at problem-solving and complex communication is what is increasingly important." - Professor Richard Murnane (Washington Post, 8/28/08)

'Revival' of Randolph School System Starting
"The staff also heard a presentation from [Professor] Karen Mapp of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, who talked about the importance of a strong connection between school and home. She said that connection is the difference between good and great school systems. 'See your parents as having different roles, but being equal partners in the relationship,' Mapp said." (Brockton Enterprise, 8/28/08)

How to Say No (Without Saying No)
"Parents can break out of the yes-no tug-of-war by coming up with new ways to set limits." - Professor Howard Gardner (Redbook, 8/28/08)

Commentary: Education Lost in Hubbub of Campaigning
"As we enter the final months of the longest presidential campaign in American history, it seems clear that the issue of the education of our nation's children is virtually absent from John McCain and Barack Obama's rhetoric." - Dean Kathleen McCartney (CNN.com, 8/27/08)

Interpreting Test Scores: More Complicated Than You Think
"The Chronicle asked Daniel Koretz, a professor of education at Harvard University and author of Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells Us (Harvard University Press, 2008), for his thoughts on all kinds of standardized testing..." (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 8/26/08. Registration required.)

First Phase of Reforms Launched in Hartford Schools
"I think people are looking for a way to get out of some of the routines that people think hold public schools back — union regulations, school board oversight, bureaucracy — and there's a hope that these will be different." - Professor Robert Peterkin (The Hartford Courant, 8/24/08)

Welcome, Freshmen: Here's Your iPod
"My colleagues and I are studying something called augmented reality.... It’s important that we do research so that we know how well something like this works." - Professor Chris Dede (The New York Times, 8/21/08)

PBS Set to Unleash a New Tutor
"The focus on reading is, in part, the result of a 2005, $72 million grant from the Department of Education, tagged to several PBS reading shows and related community outreach. It represents a new government interest in reading, said Ilona Holland, a 'Martha' adviser and lecturer at Harvard's Graduate School of Education." (Boston Globe, 8/17/08)

Harvard Educator Talks to Parents in Sioux Falls
"I have to blame us in higher education because we haven't done the best job of training our principals and our teachers on how to engage with families so I think that's changing." - Lecturer Karen Mapp (Keloland Television, 8/15/08)

But I Did Everything Right!
"It is finally dawning on experts that 'individual genetic differences are the 800-pound gorilla of child development.' The promise of genomics is that you will be able to tailor experiences as we tailor drugs." - Professor Jack Shonkoff (Newsweek, 8/9/08)

Raising Bob Costas: Is Memorizing Sports Trivia
"I frankly doubt that memorization of trivia in youth is a significant contributor to easier memorization of materials as you get older. The kind of memory needed with age is not of isolated facts but of organized structures of meaning." - Professor Howard Gardner (The Wall Street Journal, 8/8/08)

Evaluating Children In Preschools And Early Childhood Programs
"The goal of the assessment should guide the choice of the assessment tools used, and assessments that will have widespread effects should meet high standards of rigor and validity." - Professor Catherine Snow (Science Daily, 8/4/08)