Bob CollinsIf you want to succeed in life, kid, you have to have goals. That’s why Brian Ayer’s mom has him set a goal at the beginning of each school year in Sauk Rapids, Minn. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Education
University officials were apparently given every opportunity to talk to reporters to say whatever it is they wanted to say. They chose to say nothing. Read more →
There are plenty of grown adults who object to the idea of telling kids they’re special.
Tell it to Brittni Darras, a 25-year-old high school teacher in Colorado. Read more →
In Plano, Texas a high school senior who says he worked hard to become a member of the National Honor Society is upset that he’s not allowed to wear the traditional white satin stole with the the NHS emblem. Read more →
In 1984, a woman who gave birth in her dorm room at San Francisco State University, put it in a box in the laundry room, and walked away. The baby has been putting up a big fight since then. Read more →
Paul Shol, a 29-year-old Fergus Falls native, is planning an Oregon-to-Maine trip to raise money for Legacy Children’s Foundation, a Fargo organization that focuses on closing the achievement gap for low-income students. Read more →
So far during commencement season, we have been generally unimpressed with most of the speakers whose speeches have made a social media blip.
The exception is Donovan Livingston, who spoke this week at the convocation exercises of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. Read more →
Scientists often aren’t very good at explaining their research to people who aren’t scientists. But here’s some effective communicating of great science by some pretty great kids. Read more →
Want to see what courage looks like? This is what courage looks like. It’s Morgan Hubbard of West Des Moines, sharing her story of her journey with depression. She graduates from high school today. Read more →
It’s handy that the University of Minnesota is a research institution. Maybe someone can examine what goes on in the mind of some people in prominent positions in the university’s athletics department sometime. Read more →
Can a white guy lead the Minneapolis school system?
Read more →
Micah McDade has had cerebral palsy since birth and has never walked, until he needed to get his high school diploma. Read more →
One in eight college graduates is ‘underemployed.’ And for most young graduates, wages are no higher than they were for the grads in 2000.
Know a 2015 graduate? How did things turn out Read more →
The graduating seniors at Worthington High School are getting an important letter — from themselves. Read more →
As is occasionally the case during commencement season, some school administrators are taking advantage of the fleeting opportunity to impose one last petty dictum.
Read more →