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The Finnish miracle is finished, but why?
Finland! Finland! Finland! Twenty years ago, Finland's top-of-the-world PISA scores made it "the most widely celebrated and imitated...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 18, 20242 min read
7 comments


The new Irish: Hispanics are upwardly mobile Americans
Hispanic immigrants are a lot like Irish immigrants who came to American in the 1800s, writes Noah Smith. They are working-class folks...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 7, 20242 min read
3 comments


'White flight' from overachieving Asians?
A "B" grade is an "Asian F" and a "white A," they used to say in Silicon Valley high schools. Maybe they still do, if they have enough...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 2, 20232 min read
20 comments


No hablo ingles? No es un problema at California community colleges
Immigrants can find classes in Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Armenian, Korean and other languages at some California community colleges. ...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 17, 20232 min read
1 comment

Should teens work more?
Desperate for entry-level workers, employers are pushing states to ease child-labor laws to let teenagers work longer hours, at younger...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 16, 20232 min read
8 comments


San Diego legislator proposes in-state tuition for Tijuana residents
Tijuana, Mexico residents would pay in-state tuition at San Diego community colleges under a bill proposed by Assemblyman David Alvarado,...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 12, 20231 min read
1 comment


America is not black and white any more
Affirmative action was created at a time when most Americans belonged to a white majority or a black minority, writes Megan McArdle in...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 2, 20222 min read
11 comments


Thank you, Ms. Lung
Born in an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan, Jamil Jan Kochai started second grade in Sacramento speaking Pashto and Farsi, but very...
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 21, 20222 min read
1 comment


How Asians excel: It's the culture
Harini Logan, 14, of San Antonio, Texas holds the National Spelling Bee trophy with her family. Photo: Reuters Don't tell Asian-American...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 5, 20222 min read
0 comments

A vote for merit in San Francisco
San Francisco Mayor London Breed replaced the recalled school-board members with three parents (clockwise from top left): Lisa...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 5, 20222 min read
0 comments


Ukrainians, but not Afghans, get fast track to U.S.
Ukrainian refugees are getting a warmer welcome than Afghans, according to a group of refugee advocates and Democratic senators, writes...
Joanne Jacobs
May 30, 20221 min read
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‘Refugee High’ copes with Afghans
Omar, who had little schooling in rural Afghanistan, is learning English at Chicago’s Sullivan High School. Photo: Taylor Glascock/WBEZ...
Joanne Jacobs
May 30, 20222 min read
0 comments


‘Russian’ school gets a new name
A “Support Ukraine” rally in Indianapolis on April 9. Children still come for after-school classes in math, science and chess, but the...
Joanne Jacobs
May 7, 20221 min read
0 comments


The Ukrainians are coming
California schools have begun to welcome Ukrainian refugee children, reports Carolyn Jones on EdSource. So far, it’s only a few students,...
Joanne Jacobs
May 7, 20222 min read
0 comments

Trying is not the same as achieving
Grading students based on effort rather than achievement is spreading from P.E. class to academic classes in high schools, but...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 20, 20222 min read
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School Supports A Student
From CNN: An immigration judge has granted asylum to a Connecticut high school student whose arrest sparked an outpouring of support from...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 2, 20201 min read
0 comments
What should every American know?
What should every American know? Aspen’s Citizenship and American Identity program is asking. The video features four immigrants talking...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 13, 20181 min read
0 comments


1/3 can pass U.S. citizenship test
When was the U.S. Constitution ratified? Which countries did the U.S. fight in World War II? Asked multiple-choice questions from...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 3, 20181 min read
0 comments


Summer jobs aren’t for teens any more
Immigrant adults are taking summer jobs once done by U.S. teenagers, writes Paul Bedard in the Washington Examiner. “Immigrants — legal...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 14, 20181 min read
0 comments


When tiger kids become parents
The son of tiger parents, lawyer Ryan Park wants to raise his daughters to be “happy, confident, and kind,” he writes in the New York...
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 30, 20181 min read
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