
ON THE AGENDA | FEBRUARY 17TH, 2017 | PUBLIC AGENDA
Every week we curate stories and reports on complex issues. This week: How the U.S. government works and a story of a park that’s come to symbolize rising inequality. A new study on teacher collaboration and satisfaction in relation to student achievement. Why institutional action is essential to tackling college transfer problems. And articles on the cost and psychology of saving for health care.
In a
chaotic presidency, Civics 101 is giving listeners a reintroduction to how the
U.S. government works (Nieman Lab)
New
Hampshire Public Radio’s Civics 101 and The Washington Post’s Can He Do That?
are helping to contextualize Trump’s presidency for those who don’t have much
background knowledge.
Trump
Ethics Monitor: Has The President Kept His Promises? (NPR)
Donald
Trump and his team have committed to certain steps that touch on ethics and
conflicts-of-interest concerns. We offer context and look for evidence to track
progress of those promises.
Our
expectations of what civic engagement looks like don’t match reality. Can we
fix that? (Vox)
The
election of Donald Trump has reawakened people’s desire to engage in politics.
People are eager to be connected to others who also want to make their voices
heard. Activists on both the right and the left are fired up: They want to join
civil society organizations, participate in their town hall meetings, protest,
and engage with social media whenever an all-too-powerful executive seems to be
infringing upon their liberties or attempting to roll back progress. They want
to be part of something bigger.
Death
to the Gerrymander (Slate)
It
has become painfully clear in recent years that partisan gerrymandering is one
of American democracy’s worst illnesses. Although the Supreme Court held
decades ago that the purpose of redistricting was to ensure “fair and effective
representation for all citizens,” legislators often use the process to lock the
minority party out of power.
What’s
Limiting Upward Economic Mobility? (SF Fed Blog)
Work
hard and you’ll achieve success and have a higher income than your parents.
That’s the American dream. Yet thousands of struggling Americans are realizing
that determination isn’t always enough, and it’s difficult to get ahead when
you’re always behind. Here are five important things to know about economic
mobility challenges holding people back.
How to
Solve Income Inequality (US News & World Report)
This
increasingly gratuitous income inequality gap is contributing to global
poverty, health crises, crime and the slow death of class mobility, the
backbone of the American dream. So, how can society change to narrow this
wealth gap?
The
High Line's Next Balancing Act (CityLab)
The
famed “linear park” may be a runaway success, but it’s also a symbol of
Manhattan’s rising inequality. Can its founder help other cities learn from its
mistakes?
Study: Teacher
Satisfaction, Collaboration Are Keys to Student Achievement (Education Week)
The study, published this month
in the American Journal of Education, was conducted by Neena Banerjee, an
assistant professor of public administration at Valdosta State University, and
three professors of sociology and public policy from the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte. The study used data from the Early Childhood
Longitudinal Survey, which followed a nationally representative sample of
children from kindergarten in 1998 through middle school. That survey had also
asked the children's teachers questions about their overall job satisfaction
and the extent of teachers' collaboration with other teachers.
Scientists
Take on New Roles in K-12 Classrooms (Education Week)
As
schools work to implement the Next Generation Science Standards, practicing
scientists are also rethinking how they work with schools to advance
understanding of their field.
Beyond
DeVos, What 5 Key Trump Appointees Could Mean For Schools (NPR)
Here's
a roundup of how Trump's new leadership could affect education.
College
Can Improve Transfer Rates (Inside Higher Ed)
State
policy isn’t the only way to tackle low community college student transfer
rates, write Josh Wyner and Alison Kadlec. Institutional action matters, too.
Maybe
College Isn't the Great Equalizer (Inside Higher Ed)
A
study links family income growing up to postgraduation income -- even after
controlling for many factors. Other researchers disagree. The study is by Dirk
Witteveen, a doctoral candidate in sociology at the Graduate Center of the City
University of New York, and Paul Attewell, a distinguished professor in
sociology at the Graduate Center. Their work has just been published in the
journal Social Forces (abstract
available here). Their study differs with a recent, much publicized
study finding that college is in fact the great equalizer, but the
professors behind that study question some of the methodology in this new work.
Relationships
Matter in Recruiting Latino Students (Inside Higher Ed)
Two-year
institutions across the country are getting creative with Latino student
recruitment as Hispanic populations grow.
How
Things Went Wrong at a Student Loan Giant (BuzzFeed)
Staff
say they were pushed to get borrowers off the phone quickly — leaving many in
the dark about options to make big cuts to their student loan payments.
Meanwhile, Jack Remondi, the CEO of Navient, offers
his ideas for improving the student loan program.
The
high cost of health care (KRCG, Missouri)
The
thought of having a procedure done, or even going to a doctor can be stressful,
especially if you don't know how much it's going to cost you. For many people,
the cost of health care can get confusing.
The
Perplexing Psychology Of Saving For Health Care (NPR)
Spending
your own money on health care might mean that you'll be more frugal with it.
That's the theory behind health savings accounts, a decades-old GOP concept
that's sparking renewed interest on Capitol Hill as Republican lawmakers look
for ways to replace the Affordable Care Act.