Grade inflation in America’s colleges and universities is a serious issue. It is also an issue in the nation’s elementary and high schools. The curious thing is that while the problem is the same, the causes contrast sharply. The culprit in the colleges is a kind of emotional blackmail that students, aided … Read more
My twelfth-grade English teacher terrified me, as she did most of my classmates. She was a pleasant person outside of class and very approachable if you asked for help. On the other hand, not to have prepared for class was an infraction that would be punished severely. She had a knack for … Read more
Sometimes, I despair for the future of education. This occasional anguish was recently triggered by a videotaped lecture from a University of Michigan education professor. Her central premise was that elementary school math teachers must be constantly vigilant, lest they fall into verbal traps perpetuating racism. Labeling Impossible Tasks as Necessary Dr. … Read more
Nate Bowling sees the current national controversy over Critical Race Theory (CRT) in simple terms. “It’s white backlash plus moral panic.” Mr. Bowling is not an uninformed observer. He is a social studies teacher and the 2016 “Teacher of the Year” for the State of Washington. He was quoted in the school … Read more
The story of American public education begins with Horace Mann. It was Mann who popularized the idea that American schools should teach all students, be non-sectarian, and tax-supported. A little less than a half-century passed between Mann’s death and the advent of John Dewey. That half-century may well be the most dynamic … Read more
At a recent holiday gathering, I was with some adults inside the house while the children were outside playing some team sport. It was bitterly cold but that did not seem to diminished the noisy activities outside in the snow. As I was conversing with someone else, we both noticed a little … Read more
The real education of the child begins very early in the child’s development. New research is finding that firm foundations set early are the best guarantee that children will experience success later in life. Liberal educators really do not want to hear such truths. They would prefer to parrot over and over … Read more
On campuses nationwide, students have whined about what they call “micro-aggressions.” People suffering from “micro-aggressions” are offended by tiny acts that might in some slight way, point to politically incorrect behavior. The offended student then feels free to demand changes from college administrators in a very macro-aggressive way. Such an attitude is … Read more
There was a time when people read books. In fact people still do, but the trend among the young and future generation is changing. Is it a good change? Perhaps it would be prudent to think and see. Imagine a leather-bound book on a shelf or night stand. During a calm moment, … Read more
A couple of summers ago, an old building in Topeka, Kansas was razed by a spectacular implosion. It was a large, 14-story structure, a minor landmark in the downtown area, and the event was scheduled for a Sunday morning so as not to interfere with traffic and commercial activity. Although the implosion … Read more