Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst Audrey Spalding was once again a guest on Saint Louis local roundtable discussion show Donnybrook on March 22, 2012. Among the topics covered this time were: The unruly St. Charles County Republican caucus, the NFL "bounty scandal" and Rams' new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams role in it, Occupy St. Louis participants' recent defacing of the Compton Hill Reservoir, comment policy change on the Post-Dispatch website, developments in the Missouri republican party and the tea party's role, and whether employers should be allowed to ask for prospective employees' facebook passwords.

Click here to watch the video of the event.

On Tuesday, February 28, 2012, Amity Shlaes spoke at Saint Louis University's John Cook School of Business at an event organized and co-sponsored by the Show-Me Institute. The topic of the talk was Shlaes' latest book Coolidge — due for release June 26 — which discusses the presidency of Calvin Coolidge with a focus on the effectiveness of his laissez-faire policies in restoring the turbulent economy of the early 20's to "normalcy."

At a Show-Me Institute policy breakfast December 6th, St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams spoke of the difficulty of removing a bad teacher from a city classroom. Isn’t it time for reform?

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Show-Me Institute Policy Analyst Audrey Spalding reports on a Saint Louis-area charter school which will soon be shut down for under-performing. Charter Schools provide alternatives to traditional, district- or neighborhood-based public schools, and unlike many public schools, if they fail to serve their students, they can be shut down and the children sent to schools with a better performance record.

On December 6, 2011, the Show-Me Institute was honored to host Saint Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams along with University of Missouri economist and education expert Michael Podgursky in a discussion on the state of education in Missouri and what the future may hold in education policy. Seating was limited, but the capacity crowd brought their questions and participated in a lively and informative discussion.

As a state, Missouri has had some forms of digital learning for more than a decade. Rural schools, for example, share courses via interactive television as a way to offer courses (like foreign language and upper level math courses) they otherwise might not be able to offer students.

But there’s much more that can be improved. According to Digital Learning Now’s Report Card for Missouri, state law does not stipulate that student achievement data be used to evaluate the quality of individual online courses, nor does state law require that failing individual course providers be closed.

In this video, Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, explains how digital learning in the classroom helps students receive more personalized attention and high-quality content.

On Feb. 1, 2012, the Alliance for Excellent Education and its partners host the first-ever national Digital Learning Day. That day will celebrate innovative teaching practices that make learning more personalized and engaging. The learning day also will encourage exploration of how digital learning can provide more students with more opportunities to acquire the skills they need to succeed in college, a career, and life.

Early in the morning on July 29, 2011, Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund spoke to a large and enthusiastic crowd at the downtown branch of the Kansas City Public Library. The topic was the relationship between Milton Friedman and Ronald Reagan, and the positive effects on the national policy that Friedman's influence and Reagan's actions bestowed. The talk was in celebration and remembrance of Milton Friedman, and coincided with other talks around the nation also sponsored by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.

Computer-based education is the wave of the future. Virtual schooling offers a suite of options for students not fully served by traditional, brick-and-mortar public schools. Students can access lectures and course materials online from anywhere with internet access and learn on their own time. Missouri public schools offer a number of virtual schooling options for interested students, some of which are discussed in this video.

In his lecture "The Eternal Struggle for Lower Transaction Costs: A Short History of the Modern Free Market Movement," Show-Me Institute researcher John Payne covers the interesting characters and pivotal events in the intellectual and political history of libertarianism.

This is a brief segment of the June 2011 Show-Me Forum, in which Ron Calzone and Steve Spellman review the recently ended Missouri legislative session.
Watch the full video here.

In this June 2011 Show-Me Forum, two prominent Missouri free-market advocates, Ron Calzone and Steve Spellman, discuss their take on the outcomes of the recently ended legislative session.
A lively Q&A follows their in-depth analysis.

Some 70 people witnessed a strong argument for school choice at a screening of The Cartel on Jan. 27 at the Tivoli Theatre in University City near Saint Louis. The documentary film, part of a forum sponsored by the Show-Me Institute, focused on floundering schools in New Jersey. Journalist Bob Bowdon vividly portrayed a system rife with overpaid administrators, ineffective union-protected teachers, and, worst of all, teens who can't read. A panel discussion followed the special screening.

On Jan. 20, 2006, the Show-Me Institute sponsored a luncheon featuring this presentation of "Seven Principles of Sound Public Policy." In this talk, Lawrence Reed, then the president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and currently the president of the Foundation for Economic Education, explains a set of principles that aid in the evaluation of public policy. He includes a number of historical examples to bring life and focus to his discussion. Show-Me Institute President Rex Sinquefield introduced Reed.

On July 30, 2010, the Show-Me Institute joined many other think tanks around the nation by hosting an event in celebration of the life and legacy of the influential economist Milton Friedman. At this event, Dr. Michael Podgursky spoke of the benefits of school choice, Dr. Susan Feigenbaum spoke of the negative impacts of discrimination in a free market, and Dr. Daniel Thornton spoke of the dangers of irresponsible monetary policy. Dr. Joseph Haslag moderated, and Dr. Bonnie Wilson introduced the event.

July 31, 2010, would have been Milton Friedman's 98th birthday. To honor his vision and the impact he has had on our society, The Foundation for Educational Choice collaborated with policy groups from around the world to hold events in Professor Friedman's honor on Friday, July 30. The Show-Me Institute was among the groups participating.

School reform leader Kevin Chavous and economist David Levine speak at the Show-Me Institute's July 31, 2009, event commemorating the life and ideas of Milton Friedman.

Caroline Hoxby, Ph.D., the Scott and Donya Bommer Professor of Economics at Stanford University, spoke about "The Promise and Performance of Charter Schools" on May 5, 2009, in a lecture cosponsored by the Show-Me Institute and Saint Louis University's John Cook School of Business. Hoxby is also a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, the director of the Economics of Education Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and Senior Fellow of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

During Dr. Caroline Hoxby's recent trip to Saint Louis to speak about charter school research, she spent a few minutes speaking with the Show-Me Institute about some of the key points contained in her lecture. In this interview, Hoxby explains the benefits of charter schools, outlines the challenges that charter schools currently face, points out the reasons for success in many charters, and more.

In this Jan. 22, 2009, lecture at the Kansas City Public Library's Plaza Branch Truman Forum, sponsored by the Show-Me Institute, Tom Bloch, and the University Academy, Eric Hanushek outlines the fundamental changes that need to take place in Missouri's failing urban schools before parents can expect to see real change and improvement for their children.