Charter Schools Were Supposed To Help Save Education. But Things Have Turned Sour

This is no small shift. For the past quarter-century, the charter school movement has been a juggernaut. Charters were originally devised by technocrats hoping to inject “free market dogmas into the public sector,” as Rachel Cohen wrote in the journal Democracy. The idea was expertly packaged and sold for a broad audience — as a low-cost way to advance the twin aims of excellence and equity. – Washington Post

Why Are Hong Kong’s Publishers Endangered? Fear

“Hong Kong once churned out a broad range of books focused on China’s modern history and Communist Party politics, from thinly sourced potboilers churned out under pen names to respected works of analysis by top authors. … But the industry has declined thanks to tighter border checks, the consolidation of Hong Kong distributors and retail outlets under mainland control, and the disappearance and imprisonment of independent booksellers.” – The New York Times

Stanley Tigerman, One Of Chicago’s Most Influential Architects, Dead At 88

“Along with other postmodern architects of international repute, among them the late Philip Johnson and Michael Graves, Tigerman in the 1970s and 1980s broke the mold of modernist, steel-and-glass abstraction, enlivening architecture with whimsy, irony, symbolism and overt references to a building’s physical context or purpose.” – Chicago Tribune

Bully Or Not, Daniel Barenboim Gets Contract Extension In Berlin

The Berlin State Opera, where the 76-year-old conductor is general music director, has extended his contract for five additional years to 2027. Some doubts about Barenboim’s future there arose in February when reports surfaced of his ill-treatment of some musicians, though musicians’ representatives now say they have always been in favor of Barenboim staying on. – Deutsche Welle