Schools of Thought

CNN's new education blog Schools of Thought does more than simply aggregate existing education stories and video from their website and television network, although that is the blog's backbone. The editors build on this foundation with daily news links, guest blogger contributions, and cross posts from their CNN Student News program, a commercial-free program for middle and high school students that promotes discussion about trending news topics.

The video content is what immediately sets Schools of Thought apart from the herd of education blogs, and the breadth of coverage is impressive. Recent stories include a discussion on the alleged abuse of a special-needs student from Dr. Drew's Headline News show, and footage of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging students to study abroad.

So far, the original content from guest bloggers has been promising. D.C.-based writer Sam Chaltain has contributed "Is it time to redesign the report card?," and Penn State senior lecturer Steve Manuel posted "What happens when there is no message in the chaos?" in reaction to the recent scandal at his school.

CNN is smart to create a dedicated space for aggregation, expansion, and discussion of its education content, and we'll keep an eye on our RSS reader to see how it develops.