The Washington Post recently published an opinion piece by Jackson in which she warned that looming federal budget cuts could do significant damage to scientific research and development funding. She reflected upon the profound changes of the last decade alone in science and technology, which have had a dramatic affect on the way we communicate and interact with the world. She argued that the routine of our lives is dependent upon scientific discovery and technological innovation and that innovation is endangered by sequestration, the automatic budget cuts set to take place March 1 if Congress does not reach a deal to avert them.
"These cuts stand to dramatically slow the pace of economic growth in the U.S., undermine our national security, hinder our competitiveness, and reverse any recent gains we have made in developing the human capital – the young scientists and engineers – so essential for innovation," she wrote.
Mixed message on pre-K
What a child learns in the first few years of life has a dramatic affect on the rest of his or her education, according to a growing body of research. That's why Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Education Reform Commission recommended increasing full-day pre-kindergarten throughout the state, especially for students in the poorest districts.
Cuomo's budget includes a $25 million competitive grant program to expand early learning. Advocates heralded it as an important first step in equalizing the state's public education system. But Cuomo, who included $60 million in the budget for the Buffalo Bills NFL team, missed an easy way to give early education to some of the state's neediest students: allowing pre-kindergarten in charter schools.
By law, charter schools can only begin with kindergarten. Charter schools often enroll more poor and minority students than district schools. So allowing them to add a pre-kindergarten level, which is controversial among public school advocates and teachers unions, would be an easy way to expose more children to early learning opportunities.
"The charter lockout makes no sense," wrote Bill Phillips, president of the Northeast Charter Schools Network, in a recent New York Post opinion piece. "Because district schools are shackled by bureaucratic rules and regulations, they can't always innovate or find new ways to better educate children within modern cost constraints."
Student loan bubble
If this doesn't scare you, it should. The student loan bubble is close to bursting. And the number of loans considered "subprime," which means they are not likely to be paid back, is growing. Now, one-third of student loans are considered subprime, up from 31 percent in 2007, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. That's a frightening number when you consider about $900 billion worth of student loan debt is held in the U.S. At the same time, the average student loan balance is growing, meaning students are borrowing more to get through college. The average student debt load is now $23,829, a 30 percent increase, since 2007.
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