Driven to finish Oscar-nominated film

Edgar Barens, documentary specialist in the Jane Addams College of Social Work.

“I had to finish this film because of the people inside that prison. I owed it to those guys, but also to society.”

Edgar Barens, documentary specialist in the Jane Addams College of Social Work, on his film “Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall,” nominated for a 2014 Academy Award, Jan. 17 Des Moines Register

“If we have shallow tests because we’re trying to economize, teachers will respond to the test because they’re held accountable for performance on the test. As a consequence, they won’t teach to the standards, they’ll teach to the test.”

James Pellegrino, co-director of the Learning Sciences Research Institute and distinguished professor of psychology and education, on concerns about Common Core testing, Jan. 24 USA Today

“What is easy to overlook is that standards like these aren’t just another set of hurdles for students to jump over. They actually serve an important teaching function by defining and clarifying mysteries about college level work that colleges themselves leave students to figure out on their own.”

Gerald Graff, professor of English and curriculum and instruction, on the benefits of the Common Core standards for education, Jan. 21 Washington Post