Must reads for February 13, 2012

At the risk of sounding cheeky, it’s poverty, stupid. The New York Times reports on new analysis of the widening education gap between rich and poor. Sometimes the best school reform is a jobs program for parents.
This video is a BIG DEAL. Dr. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist, best-selling author, and popularizer of science. He’s the co-founder of string field theory (a branch of string theory), and continues Einstein’s search to unite the four fundamental forces of nature into one unified theory (per his website). He NAILS it with how the impact of standardized-test driven curriculum, manifested in rote memorization for tests, is killing science in America. And we want to be scientific and innovative?
Dr. Diane Ravitch issues the wake-up call that the new NCLB waivers, of which Colorado was one recipient, aren’t all they’re cracked up to be…in fact, this could get worse.
Here’s an interesting side commentary on the New York Times article about the poverty gap, linked above.