Eh, summer vacation's way too long...

Quoted: Students beware: The summer vacation you just enjoyed could be sharply curtailed if President Barack Obama gets his way.

Um, look at what this list is based on: "The ranking formula takes account of factors such as SAT scores, peer reputation, selectivity and alumni giving."

Quoted: Perennial contenders Harvard and Princeton share the top spot in the latest edition of the influential U.S. News & World Report university rankings. Williams and Dartmouth rate, too.

Yeah, I feel this lady's pain. In my experience, universities don't do nearly enough to help their grads find employment -- certainly not enough considering the price of tuition. But considering the timing of her lawsuit, sounds to me like the university can argue that her unemployment is result of the recession.

Quoted: A New York City woman who says she can't find a job is suing the college where she earned a bachelor's degree.

When I was at NYU, there was a famous blog called "Homeless at NYU" about an undergrad who was illicitly living out of the basement of the library because the university's tuition/housing costs were ridiculously high. The school eventually caved and gave him free housing, but that's not what happens to most kids...

Quoted: A 19-year-old who dumped Tufts University for Western Washington University joined the ranks of college students realizing that attending their dream school isn't financially sustainable.

I've heard about this before -- it seems absurd and like a total waste of resources, but you also don't want to stop paying teachers who were wrongly accused of misconduct (which happens a lot).

Quoted: Hundreds of New York City public school teachers accused of offenses ranging from insubordination to sexual misconduct are being paid their full salaries to sit around all day.

Interesting (if scathing) analysis of the American work ethic as it applies to school-age children. This piece makes a strong case for revamping the American educational system.

Quoted: AMERICANS like to think of themselves as martyrs to work. They delight in telling stories about their punishing hours, snatched holidays and ever-intrusive BlackBerrys. But when it comes to the young the situation is reversed.

Fascinating...

Quoted: The orders keep piling up. A philosophy student needs a paper on Martin Heidegger. A nursing student needs a paper on dying with dignity. An engineering student needs a paper on electric cars.

Amen. I also think we really need to change the way we approach subjects like math. It's more of a mental block than a lack of aptitude. I could see merit pay being a slippery slope, though, depending on how it's measured...

Quoted: President Barack Obama on Tuesday embraced a new approach to public education that adds up to merit pay for the better teachers and longer days and school years for students.

Nice feature from Slate...

Quoted: I've got lots of free time, so why stop learning? I sat in on a lecture by David Swensen, the whiz who manages Yale's endowment, about strategies for investing over the long term. A few days later, I attended a class taught by Harvard's Larry Summers, who's now an economic adviser to President Obama.