AM News: You're Either Back To School Or Still On Vacation*

Paul Ryan Tears Up at High School Send-off ABC:  Paul Ryan had an emotional homecoming Monday at a rally meant to send him off to the Republican National Convention in Tampa. He hopped on the stage, after an introduction by his older brother Tobin, saying, “Hello Janesville it’s good to be.

Obama vs. Romney 101: 5 differences on education Christian Science Monitor: President Obama has used back-to-school season to make the case that his education funding and policy initiatives are saving teachers' jobs, turning around failing public schools, and helping cash-strapped college students. Mitt Romney counters that Mr.

Convention Keynoter Christie Has a Flashy K-12 Record PK12: Tonight, when the GOP convention goes full throttle, the keynote speaker will be New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has a national reputation as a union-arm-twisting, voucher-loving, turnaround-supporting, education-budget-trimming chief executive. That doesn't mean, of course, that he'll utter a word about education at a convention dominated by the economy. But if he does, he'd have plenty to draw on.

Online University For All Balances Big Goals, Expensive Realities NPR: The University of the People says it's the "world's first, tuition-free, online university," designed for poor students who would otherwise lack access to higher education. The institution has 1,300 students in 129 countries, but it's also struggling to maintain its "free" mission.

Md. teen charged with attempted 1st-degree murder AP:  Authorities say a 15-year-boy has been charged as an adult with attempted first-degree murder in a shooting at a Baltimore County High School....

*Or Tampa, or Burning Man

Comments

[Bruce]

As usual, we should prefer to persuade President Obama towards adopting the better of the Republican positions. Governor Romney's best are in general around K-12 education, adding flexibility to our system while downsizing Washington-based dictates and the more ruinous consequences of No Child Left Behind. The President is right to emphasize union cooperation and reform, and in his distrust of the efficiency of the market in higher education spending. It is harder to tell the two men apart on education than on most other aspects of their platforms, and education is a rare case where there is some common agreement in a very polarized political environment. We need to get the policies right in these matters, and to avoid personalizing them, to the extent possible.

[Sarah]

I really hope the Baltimore story doesn’t get blown up the way so many shootings already have this year. The shooter’s family, at least, doesn’t deserve or need this.

[Sarah]

And, it could be a good thing, politically, that Obama and Romney seem to each have the few pieces the other is missing, with a similar overall idea. Maybe come November, the two parties can realize this and actually start working together to reform education for the better.