This past June, Barnes & Noble released its financial report for the fiscal year, and things are not looking particularly bright and sunny for the national book chain. The bookseller reported a net loss of $154.8 million, more than double last year’s net loss. Total sales fell 4.1 percent to $6.84 billion. Although Barnes & Noble’s mainstays such as print books, toys and games have [...]
Summer: time to kick back, put those textbooks away, and push school out of mind. But research has shown that this education avoidance contributes to the loss of previously learned knowledge in students, essentially leaving them unprepared for the upcoming school year. How to combat this brain drain malady? Get online—American Library Association’s (ALA) Great Websites for Kids has one such solution. Since its establishment by the Association [...]
One of the most anticipated moments in a young adult’s life is getting his or her driver’s license. Most teenagers equate having a license with becoming an adult, making it a rite of passage. So if taking drivers’ education classes and tests to get one’s license already seem like a hassle, what if there were also questions on the test to assess financial [...]
In a twenty-first-century economic landscape dependent upon consumer spending yet still feeling the effects of the Great Recession, people, businesses and the government have been drumming up ways to get the nation back on track. While Congress debates deficit spending, the costs of immigration reform, more taxes and tax cuts, one way to encourage consumer spending and thereby spur the economy is simply [...]
If you have fond memories of your middle or high school foreign language classes, be sure to pass them onto your kids—and quickly—because the number of opportunities for them to gain the same memories through enriching language classes is steadily decreasing. Traditionally included in most core curricula starting in middle school and continuing through high school, foreign language programs are being reduced and [...]
For the first time since 1966, national recommendations for science curricula have been released and, if adopted, will bring widespread changes to science education in the United States. A group of 26 states and various foundations and organizations including the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the Carnegie Corporation, and DuPont created the standards known as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The new [...]
Reading books as a teenager can feel more like a chore than leisure, especially when distracted by Facebook and Instagram. However, what happens when you combine social media and reading, then cater it toward young adult (YA) readers? Rachel Fershleiser, a representative from Tumblr, said some sites that successfully combine both are “replicating what your local bookstore used to do.” She observed this [...]
I was never a fan of math. I can vividly remember one day in kindergarten when I was handed an extra-long sheet of paper with addition and subtraction problems on them, and I felt like my world was going to end right there. But the world didn’t, and throughout the rest of my school life. I managed to do all right in math. [...]
This year looks to be a benchmark year in education reform. In 2013, not only do the new Common Core State Standards start to become integrated into curricula, but one of the country’s most impactful pieces of educational legislature is up for reauthorization. The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act (America COMPETES) was first signed back [...]
This March at SXSWedu, an educational conference in Austin, News Corporation’s educational unit unveiled their new tablet specialized to teaching. Spearheaded by former New York City School Chancellor Joel Klein, now CEO of Amplify, the Amplify tablet aims to change the classroom environment into one that students more readily understand. In Klein’s opinion, schools need to embrace technology instead of banning it if [...]