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NOTIONS: Throwing out the book on ‘remedial’ education

On the first day of school, eighth-grade history teacher George Barnes took aim at tradition. With all the arm strength of the former Butler University football player he is, Barnes heaved a history text across his classroom. The book flew past his students’ stunned faces and crashed against the wall. Barnes asked the shocked teens: “If you were recording for history what you just witnessed, what would you say?” “Some,” said Barnes, “said, ‘That Mr. Barnes, he’s a crazy man….

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Church’s business savvy extends financial ministry: New Life helps members become self-sufficient

Ondalere Helm has struggled to stay on solid financial footing since being laid off about four years ago. The 32-year-old mom got behind on her bills and was living in a governmentassisted apartment building with her 7-year-old daughter. “I had been praying for a home for my daughter,” Helm said. “I tried to buy a house, but my credit wasn’t good enough.” Then about two months ago, the pastor at New Life Worship Center-where Helm and her daughter attend religious…

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BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: High school dropouts are hard on city

Indiana has made significant progress in establishing some of the most demanding standards for primary and secondary students. However, Indiana’s and the nation’s educational system can also be characterized by low high school graduation rates; no standard for calculating graduation rates; persistent achievement gaps along racial and economic lines; a decline in “second chance” opportunities for high school dropouts; a general inability to attract and retain highquality teachers, especially in underperforming schools; and a bureaucratization of school structure that undermines…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Let’s throw computers out of the classroom

I have a proposal to improve our K-12 school systems, saving money, time and frustration, and probably improving overall education to boot. Rip out all the computers. Take them away. Throw the cutesy game-style education software into a Dumpster. Keep just enough to stock a programming lab, a keyboarding classroom, and to provide a couple in the library for special research. The rest-out with them. After years of struggle to acquire networks, computers, software, printers and all the other trappings…

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SPORTS: Let me count the ways sports enrich education 264 494 281 512202 511 232 527284 494 301 512278 511 301 527234 511 257 527Other columnists tackle education topics. PAGES 8,9,12,28& 38

Other columnists tackle education topics. PAGES 8,9,12,28& 38 There is a school of thought that the pursuits of sports and education are somehow mutually exclusive. Short of that, certainly there are those who believe sports are overemphasized in relation to education and, in terms of expenditures, every dollar spent on sports is a dollar somehow taken away from education. In Indiana, Our Man Mitch Daniels, the governor, has been critical of local school boards for approving the construction of athletic…

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Daniels’ team shakes up pension fund for teachers: Retirement plan may risk more on private equity

Under Gov. Mitch Daniels, Indiana is renewing its commitment to making sure teachers receive their pensions. But in the process, the state may also put their pension principal at greater risk. State Budget Director Chuck Schalliol said the $7.5 billion Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund is considering expanding its holdings in private equity. The enormous pension fund already allocates 5 percent of its assets, or $240 million, toward such investments, which include venture capital, real estate and leveraged buyouts. Highly…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Early learning is key to success

It was encouraging to see Gov. Mitch Daniels and Indiana Superintendent of Education Suellen Reed team up recently to offer a plan by which school districts might share resources to free up extra money that could pay for more teachers and classroom resources. One option suggested for the freed-up funds was statewide fullday kindergarten. While multiple uses for the money can be found, it’s clear an emphasis on kindergarten is a good way to go, as most experts now agree…

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Schools push financial literacy: Programs teach students the importance of investments, how Wall Street works

Fourth-graders at Crooked Creek Elementary School recently made $250 by making poinsettia-topped pens and selling them to parents and teachers. Middle school students at Thomas Carr Howe Academy learn the value of putting a few dollars away each week, so the mind-set of compounded savings will be instilled before they grow older. And, last month, a team of high school students from Fort Wayne won a statewide stock-market-simulation contest by growing a hypothetical $100,000 investment 55 percent in 10 weeks….

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Education, work force key hurdles to new economy:

Having recently returned to Indiana after a 15-year absence, I see a region filled with both challenges and opportunities. The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, the organization I’ve returned to serve as president and CEO, is focused on long-term economic prosperity for our region. To this end, our people are our most valuable resource. Unfortunately, central Indiana faces a significant challenge in making our human capital match our goal of a knowledgebased, 21st-century economy. Indiana ranks 46th in the educational attainment…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Short legislative session may be eventful, for a change

We’ve all become lulled into assuming that the so-called “short” session of the Indiana General Assembly in the even-numbered years is the political equivalent of the practice of medicine: First, do no harm. In election years, lawmakers are reluctant to do much beyond that which they must do to protect public health, safety and treasury. The short session originated as a vehicle for handling emergencies arising between the odd-numbered-year budget sessions, and many legislators-particularly those seeking re-election-didn’t see much cause…

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In the new year, building on the successes of 2005:

This past year was one of the most active and successful in our city’s history. We pushed through legislation to fund an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center and build a new multi-purpose stadium, both of which will be tremendous boons to our region’s economy, pumping in more than $2.25 billion in investment and creating more than 4,200 permanent jobs over the next 10 years. In addition, through the leadership of the governor and legislature, a one-of-a-kind regional funding solution…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Cost of living depends on how you live

“You can find warmer,” I said, “but I’m not sure you’ll find nicer anywhere.” “Well, if you don’t want to go, I could go myself,” Myrtle pouted. “I could be a muse anywhere; it’s a transferable skill and I don’t need a license to practice. I’d just find some nice writers or artists in another place, or even offer inspiration over the Internet.” “How much do you make a year, Myrtle?” I asked. “None of your business,” she said curtly….

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NEWSMAKER Outspoken White takes charge at IPS:

NEWSMAKER Outspoken White takes charge at IPS Eugene White ruffled more than a few feathers early this year when he publicly called Gov. Mitch Daniels “a liar.” White, then the superintendent of Washington Township schools, didn’t care for Daniels’ claim that the state’s school administrators cared more about building projects than education. Like him or not, White doesn’t mince words. He has a stand-up style that this summer helped him land the job of superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools. The…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY Tim Altom: Here is list of the worst tech foibles of 2005

Well, happy holidays again, my brethren! It’s once more time for my holiday gift to you, a compendium of technological disasters that test the assertion that we’re happiest when we read about those who have been more humiliated than we were. As military pilots used to say about their own missteps, “Man, that’ll leave a crater.” The most recent example in this hall of horrors is Mizuho Securities, as reported by CNN Dec. 9. Massive, Tokyo-based Mizuho switched two numbers…

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TAWN PARENT Commentary: Do libraries need gun control?

My first job, at age 15, was shelving books in my neighborhood library. Those were the days of tidy card catalogs with brass-handled drawers and hand-stamped “date due” cards tucked into the back of books. There wasn’t a computer in the place. Times have changed. Libraries now enable people without other Internet access to go online to research health problems, tap into business databases, find information for school projects, locate needed social services, and even apply for jobs. A recent…

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ERODING FOUNDATION: Endowment’s assets fall with Lilly stock; heavy sale of shares dim chances for rebound

Endowment’s assets fall with Lilly stock; heavy sale of shares dim chances for rebound Wall Street is chipping away at Indianapolis’ most-venerable philanthropic institution. The value of Lilly Endowment’s primary asset-Eli Lilly and Co. shares-has dropped by more than half since 2000, forcing leaders to sell additional shares in order to give away hundreds of millions of dollars as required each year. Still, the privately run endowment remains a major Eli Lilly shareholder, with nearly 148 million shares of the company’s…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Security depends on flexibility, not stability

In one word, what do we want? I suggest that word is security, physical and financial security. We want to live without fear for our lives or our livelihoods. The atrocities of 9/11 made Americans more fearful about their physical security than they had been since the early days of World War II. Our economic condition feels insecure as jobs drift to other nations, as health care costs soar, and as both public and private pension plans are threatened. To…

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ISO program gets high marks:

An Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra program that incorporates art and music into elementary schools benefits students and teachers, according to an independent study released this month. ISO’s School Partnership Program is in its sixth year. In the program, ISO and the schools collaborate to create lesson plans and curricula incorporating the arts into classrooms and core subject areas. The study, performed by Robert Horowitz, associate director of the Center for Arts Education Research at Teachers College, Columbia University, evaluated progress at…

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Property taxes could dominate session: Lawmakers face difficult chore of addressing flaws in market-assessment system

Indiana has been struggling for more than a decade to move its property tax system to a market value standard. Expect the property tax reform debate to take center stage once again in the 2006 Indiana General Assembly. “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” said Karl Berron, vice president of the Indiana Association of Realtors. There are some who would like to scrap the property tax system entirely and replace it with some other form of…

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Health care: big problem for small business: Wyoming lawmaker’s proposed legislation could end 10-year Senate impasse on controversial solution

More than 45 million Americans lack health insurance. And more than half of them are employed or dependent on someone who works for a small business, according to the National Federation of Independent Business. It’s a big problem-especially in Indiana. Between 2000 and 2004, 5.6 percent of Hoosier workers lost employer-provided health care, according to the Economic Policy Institute. That’s a higher percentage than any state except Wisconsin. Legislation just introduced in Congress by Wyoming Sen. Michael Enzi, however, may…

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