Good Intentions Don’t Necessarily Create Good Teachers
A recent story in the Star Tribune extolled the virtues of Teach For America, a program that takes high-achieving college graduates and puts them into classrooms as teachers. The story led with Sarah Schultes, a newly minted college graduate who is teaching an eighth-grade science class at Anderson United Community School. She t

How Much is Your Travel Time Worth?
What’s your time worth to you? If you’re stuck in rush-hour freeway traffic, congestion researchers will value your delay at less than $20 an hour. If you’re cooped up in a smelly airplane sitting out a near-6-hour flight delay on the Rochester tarmac, the federal government and three airlines have agreed to a rate of $647 an hour.

Enrollment Steady at Minnesota Private Colleges
A report issued [PDF] Monday by the Minnesota Private College Research Foundation shows that enrollment at the colleges was flat compared to last year. According to the report, enrollment increased 1 percent from 2008 to 2009. Undergraduate enrollment, which accounts for

A High School Diploma Isn’t Enough
Yesterday, NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” held a conversation to discuss the question, “Who needs college, and who shouldn’t go?” For those of us who are interested in higher education policy, that’s certainly a provocative topic. Unfortunately, the question itself is also a bit misleading unless you spend some time to def

Tuesday Talk: Will You Buy Locally?
As the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season approaches this Friday, Minnesota 2020 is once again urging Minnesotans to think about how we spend our dollars.  “Made in MN 2009: Homegrown Holidays,” illustrates how Minnesota would gain a $2 billion economic stimulus if Minnesotans targeted 25 percent of their holiday stopping to buying local. Given the tough economy, what are your holiday shopping plans? Will you buy locally, but buy less? Will you hit a big box store instead? Share your comments below.