Future Of Pell Grants Uncertain

Future Of Pell Grants Uncertain

Pell grants have typically been America’s most significant financial aid program for college students, but there is now a $5.7 billion gap in financing for next year’s Pell grants, according to an article in the New York Times. On top of that there is an $8 billion gap for Pell grants in 2011. Politicians are not sure about the future of Pell grants system in its entirety. Pressed by a tight budget, Congress finally debated into stopgap financing Friday, December 16 shortly before the budget expired. Temporary measures, extending until February, will likely stay consistent with current budget, not providing any more funding for P ... Read More About Future Of Pell Grants Uncertain

Online Community For Young Writers

Online Community For Young Writers

Young people interested in writing have a new home, and it’s Figment.com. The site launched in early December, calling itself an online community for young writers to share work samples, receive feedback from other young writers, read and explore new, young fiction writers.  Jacob Lewis, a former managing editor at the New Yorker, and Dana Goodyear, a staff writer at the New Yorker, created the site, originally envisioning it to be a similar to a social network site, like the young adults’ literary Facebook. However, the two noticed that young adults didn’t want another Facebook. What they wanted, “was to read a ... Read More About Online Community For Young Writers

How To Assess Teachers

How To Assess Teachers

Students who like their teachers learn more, according to a new report cited in the New York Times. This study, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is seeking to distinguish the good teachers from the bad. Students who described their teachers as skillful at maintaining classroom order, at focusing their instruction and at helping their students learn from their mistakes learned more than their fellow classmates, as measured by their outperforming them on standardized test scores, according to the report. This report is part of a larger, two-year project that the Gates Foundation is funding to enhance education. This two-year p ... Read More About How To Assess Teachers

Rise Of Foreign Language Enrollment

Rise Of Foreign Language Enrollment

Foreign languages are making a comeback. Modest? Sure. Slight? Yes. But a comeback indeed, as enrollment in foreign language majors has been rising steadily, according to the Washington Post. Enrollment in every foreign language has been consistently rising slightly, according to a new survey by the Modern Language Association of America, published in the Washington Post. The trend of all foreign languages rising slightly is fairly new. Language enrollments for French, German, Italian, Latin, Russian and Japanese have been on enrollment roller coasters, experiencing short-lived ups and down in, according to past surveys by the Modern Languag ... Read More About Rise Of Foreign Language Enrollment

How To Make College More Affordable For All

How To Make College More Affordable For All

            College is expensive. Very few can counteract the simple fact that it is expensive. Now, why it’s expensive is a completely different story, and that answer is longer, far longer, than anyone’s patience level.             The Center for College Affordability and Productivity has been continuously releasing facts and other pieces of information about how the higher education system can reform, according to an article in the Washington Post.            1. Encourage More Studen ... Read More About How To Make College More Affordable For All