Gac Filipaj graduated this week with honors from Columbia University. The 52-year-old Albanian refugee not only fled civil war to come to the U.S., but worked as a janitor at Columbia for nearly 20 years while taking English classes and earning his bachelor's degree. NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Filipaj about finally achieving his goal.

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Today's economic realities haven't stopped many graduating students from digging up a few more dollars to put toward a senior class gift.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., is up in arms over Georgetown University's invitation to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to speak during commencement weekend. Church officials are upset about Sebelius' role in the creation of the contraception mandate in the federal health reform law. It's one of several controversies surrounding graduation speakers that have cropped up this spring.

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Teacher, writer and lawyer Patrick Mattimore, a frequent contributor to my Class Struggle blog, suggested last month that readers send in effective teaching strategies. Sure, I said. Many great ideas arrived. Now we’d like you to pick your favorite.

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One year after a tornado ripped through Joplin, Mo., life for the city's residents is beginning to return to normal. President Obama will deliver Joplin High School's commencement speech.

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Just before Chuck Brown took the stage at a George Washington University Alumni Weekend concert in September, the “Godfather of Go-Go” chatted with GWU President Steven Knapp, who is a percussionist.

“He said, ‘Why don’t you come up on the stage and play with us?’ ” Knapp recounted Friday morning, the day after Brown died at the age of 75.

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The plan would increase the share of privately run charters to about a quarter of all schools in the district.

How would you fare on Virginia’s new and more difficult generation of state math tests?

The exams, which are being given across Northern Virginia this month, are designed to require critical thinking, not just memorization and arithmetic. Pass rates are expected to drop, perhaps steeply.

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Fairfax County math teacher Vern Williams has never used class time to review for state tests. The multiple-choice exams have always been easy, he said, for his algebra and geometry students at Longfellow Middle School.

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Research suggests that as many as 7.5 million students miss a month of school each year, leading to possible failure.

This was written by Paul Thomas, an associate professor of education at Furman University in South Carolina. A version of this first appeared on dailykos.com.

By Paul Thomas

Just days ago, I completed my 28th year as a teacher — 18 as a high school teacher of English followed by 10 years as a professor of education.

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This was written by Stephen Whittaker, a professor of rhetoric at The University of Scranton.

By Stephen E. Whittaker

For three decades, I have taught rhetoric in a university honors program, so I see the academic cream of the crop. Many of my former students today are doctors, lawyers, educators, managers, editors and non-profit leaders, and when I see them at reunions, they strike me as articulate, humane and conscientious.

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They pledge to lobby hard to avoid the increase. The regents also approve the hiring of a new chancellor for UC San Diego at an annual salary of $411,084.

University of California regents Wednesday discussed the possibility of a 6% tuition increase for next fall but pledged that they would lobby hard to avoid such a $732-per-student hike.

The District has been trying to save a few dollars by reducing the number of special education students in expensive private schools at public expense.

According to a new report, that includes 118 students whose families don’t even live in the city.

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More than 50 teachers, parents, taxpayers and activists took advantage of an opportunity Tuesday to offer the Fairfax school board input on next year’s budget.

Some spoke in favor of benefits for parent liaisons, who translate language and culture for immigrant students and their families; expanded foreign language opportunities in elementary schools; and more money for adult education programs.

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David Coleman, a lead writer of the common standards whose nonprofit is producing curriculum materials, will take over as president of the organization on Oct. 15.