Tagged: Education

Sen. John Gallus, a Republican from Berlin, has joined only four North Country members of the House in supporting a bill that would give a business a tax credit when it donates to a parochial or private school.

As NHPR’s Dan Gorenstein reported the Senate Wednesday passed House Bill 1607.

Advocates of the bill say it gives less wealthy families more choices in where they wish to send their children.

Opponents, including Gov. Lynch, say it will take money away from public schools.

But the bill has veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate.

The Senate passed it 17 – 7.

As schools continue to mainstream children with disabilities, students with emotional and behavioral disabilities  may be the toughest to include.  They’re less likely to graduate and more likely to get arrested.  And there are questions about how to approach these kids – whether it’s a matter of more discipline or alternative methods.  We look at this issue and discuss a new documentary that takes a look at the topic through the life of a high school student coping with these disabilities.  

Guests:

We look at the challenges facing the nursing field, especially a concerted effort to attract more nurses with advanced degrees.

Lincoln High School in Washington State tries a new approach to discipline.

By some estimates, U.S. college debt has hit a staggering one trillion dollars.  And New Hampshire students are first in the nation when it comes to the average debt burden. Some blame colleges and universities for hiking tuition. Others blame states for steep funding cuts.  Meanwhile, many say our entire higher education system needs a serious financial overhaul.

Guests:

Sandy Baum, economist and senior fellow at the  George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development. She has written extensively on issues relating to student debt, college access, and other aspects of higher education finance.

Granite State college hopefuls know why student loan debt is a presidential campaign issue: they have more on average than students in any other state.

Last year when Andrew Ng, a computer science professor at Stanford University, put his machine-learning class online and opened enrollment to the world, more than 100,000 students signed up.

"I think all of us were surprised," he says.

Ng had posted lectures online before, but this class was different.

"This was actually a class where you can participate as a student and get homework and assessments," he said.

The class was interactive. There were quizzes and online forums where teaching assistants, fellow students and Ng answered questions. In the end, tens of thousands of students did all the same work and took the same tests that Stanford students took; thousands passed.

The chicken-and-egg question of whether quality education creates thriving economies or flourishing economies create good schools has been cycling around for years. In this segment, we talk about why Germany circa 1386 may provide some enlightening answers.