Category Archives: Policy

By Esther Wojcicki and Michael H. Levine, reprinted from the Huffington Post American students’ lack of knowledge about the world is unsettling. According to surveys by National Geographic and Asia Society, young Americans are next to last in their knowledge of geography and current affairs compared to peers in eight other countries, and the overwhelming majority of college-bound seniors cannot find Afghanistan, Iraq or Israel on a world map. Less than one half of today’s high school students study a…

Reprinted from Huffington Post, July 5, 2010. Written together with Esther Wojcicki, Creative Commons Board Chair America is celebrating. The Fourth of July is a time for parades, parties, BBQs, fireworks—we certainly have much to be thankful for here in America, the most innovative country on earth. But one area of American life that is consistently resistant to innovation is our education system. On our nation’s birthday–a cause for celebration of our founders’ audacity, independence, courage and innovation skills– we…

Reprinted from Gary’s Blog, May 2010. Gary Knell, Sesame Workshop’s President and CEO reports on his visit to the FCC: It’s not every day you get to go to the FCC. But today, Elmo needs a chaperone. In February of 2009, Congress passed a bill which authorizes the FCC to create a National Broadband Plan which aims “to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability.” Today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Elmo, and I, will…