Obama
President Obama Speaks in Birmingham
More than a thousand people gathered Thursday afternoon at Lawson State Community College in Birmingham to hear a speech by President Barack Obama. He used the visit to promote ideas he says will help working families and to tout proposed new rules on payday lenders. While the remarks were about policy, for many people, the fact they heard a sitting president speak in Birmingham represented a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Magic City Marketplace: Free College Tuition
President Obama cast a spotlight on community colleges when he announced a plan last month to offer free at such institutions. It's a plan that could have significant effect on Alabama as the state tries to make its 2-year college system a bigger educational and economic player. We talk about it in this week's Magic City Marketplace.
Carsen And Lindley Talk Alabama Schools’ Low Test Scores
School test results have been in the news across Alabama lately, often next to words like "sobering" and "not on track." So what's going on? WBHM's News Director Rachel Osier Lindley sits down with education reporter Dan Carsen to shed light on a complex and heated issue. Carsen just returned from a conference put on by NPR's Ed Team, and part of that "Ed Summit" dealt with testing. Perfect timing for a while-the-iron-is-hot interview.
INTERVIEWS With “Make Them Listen” Anti-Illegal-Immigration Protesters
Today was the first day of a two-day nationally coordinated protest against immigration reform and the recent "border surge" of undocumented minors. The effort was organized by the Facebook-based "Make Them Listen." Saturday's protest, also planned for Highway 280 near Walmart, looks to be bigger. WBHM's Dan Carsen caught up with local coordinator Deanna Frankowski during the first protest of two held during Friday's rush hours. She says illegal immigration poses health, economic, and security risks ... and she says much more than that.
Common Core, Part 3: More Writing May Be A Challenge
New national Common Core education standards are designed to create better critical thinkers. To achieve this, students in 45 states can expect to be writing a lot more than they do now. Many educators say it's a good change, but one warns that the transition could be rough, especially for older students.
Common Core, Part 1: Is The Hype Really Just Hype?
There's been a revolution in American K-12 education: the 'Common Core State Standards.' Released in 2010, they're math and language arts standards meant to raise rigor and establish consistency across the nation. They've been adopted in 45 states. But in the first of a three-part series, the Southern Education Desk's Dan Carsen tells us that even in those places, all is not quiet on the Common Core front.
Carsen & Ott: Weekly Interviews on Education in Alabama
Carsen & Ott Talk Explosions and Explosive Issues Several Alabama school communities are reeling after incidents last week shook things up. E.P.I.C. Elementary School in Birmingham had to be evacuated Friday after a propane tank exploded. No one was hurt, but down in Mobile County, a teacher was taken to the hospital after an incident with a student. Nice, tame topics like charter-school propaganda, same-sex prom dates, and Louis Farrakhan round out this week's interview, which ends on a positive note.
Dan Carsen Speaks with Education Icon Diane Ravitch
Diane Ravitch has been a key figure in American education for decades. The prolific author and outspoken advocate was Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to the Secretary of Education under the first President Bush. She was a pioneer in the accountability movement, but has since made friends and enemies by changing some of her views. She spoke with Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen, who asked her about issues hot in Alabama right now, including charter schools, charter advocate Michelle Rhee, and much more.
