Tom Gambrel, the superintendent of Bell County, Kentucky, schools, joined most of his neighbors and cast his vote for Trump with his students in mind, but he told CNN that he hopes the president-elect doesn't carry through with his plan to cut federal education funding.

“I don’t think that anyone in our county wants to cut our school funding," Gambrel said, "and I don’t think that anyone voted for that."

Gambrel said the proposed cuts would be “catastrophic," forcing teacher layoffs, packing more students into classrooms and getting less attention for vulnerable students.

A CNN analysis found that all 15 of the states that rely most heavily on federal support for public schools in 2022 backed Trump in November, while all but two of the 15 that receive the fewest federal dollars as a percentage of their overall revenue supported Kamala Harris.

“This is one of these cases where (Republican) policies are stabbing their base right in the heart and will directly impact their kids,” said Will Ragland, vice president of the Center for American Progress.

The findings revealed a beauty premium in face-to-face instruction. For non-quantitative courses (like business and economics), attractive students had higher grades during in-person teaching. However, this trend did not appear in quantitative subjects (such as math or physics), which are generally graded based on exams rather than assignments that involve more direct interaction.

The results also showed that the switch to online learning in 2024 eliminated the beauty advantage — but only for female students. For non-quantitative courses, attractive female students experienced a drop in grades with remote learning, while attractive male students continued to see the benefits of their appearance.

the chinese education systme is more meritocratic and better embodies the "American Dream" of upward mobility

They're turning education into a minimum viable product. They have no motivation to lower tuition or improve instruction.

the defiant
bankless
daily gwei (more technical)

what it looks like when a government prioritizes educating its population. I think this is the most successful way to tackle such a structural problem. People at large aren't equipped with the skills to deal with misinformation, both targetting them, and self-inflicted. The change needs to happen from the bottom up, at a young age, through the education system.

"The initiative is just one layer of a multi-pronged, cross-sector approach the country is taking to prepare citizens of all ages for the complex digital landscape of today – and tomorrow... combining fact-checking with the critical thinking and voter literacy"

“It’s not just a government problem, the whole society has been targeted. We are doing our part, but it’s everyone’s task to protect the Finnish democracy,” Toivanen said, before adding: “The first line of defense is the kindergarten teacher.”

engaging with bad faith actors is letting them win.

"It was the first time that an EU country had convicted those responsible for disinformation campaigns, drawing a line in the sand between extreme hate speech and the pretense of free speech."

“Just like any polluting companies or factories should be and are already regulated, for polluting the air and the forests, the waters, these companies are polluting the minds of people. So, they also have to pay for it and take responsibility for it.”