Edwin Benson 
Most educated Americans would be happy to hear that their local schools offer students a chance to learn Mandarin Chinese. Given China’s growing importance, many opportunities in business, academia and diplomacy are open to those with such skills. Expensive Classes However, offering foreign languages (or “world languages,” to use the preferred academic … Read more
When the Soviet Union dissolved the day after Christmas 1991, it inaugurated a season of celebration in Miami’s many Cuban neighborhoods. Long-time exiles pulled yellowing deeds and other legal documents out of bank safety deposit boxes, preparing to return to Cuba and reclaim land, homes and businesses confiscated by Castro’s socialist experiment. … Read more
Some depraved souls at the California Department of Education insist that its schools reduce every area, including mathematics, to the study of race. How race plays a determinative role in the study of mathematics is baffling. Nonetheless, the thirteen-year effort to insert race into the California Mathematics Framework continues. A Tale of … Read more
“The world is coming to an end, and the climate is the reason.” Code Red for Humanity Ask almost anyone, and they will tell you the above statement is accurate. It must be true. There is, after all, an “overwhelming scientific consensus.” Children learn about it in school as they have for … Read more
“An atheist is an egalitarian who, to avoid the absurdity of affirming that Man is God, commits the absurdity of declaring that God does not exist.” This description, provided by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira in his Revolution and Counter-Revolution, aptly applies to the famous biologist Richard Dawkins. Dr. Dawkins is a self-described … Read more
A recent article on CNN Health begins with a rather melancholy statement. A Victim of Her Own Decisions “Edith Heyck didn’t expect she’d be 72 years old and living alone.” The article then recounts her expectations as a member of the Boomer generation. “‘ I always thought I’d be married,’ she says. … Read more
Stories of heroism inspire people of all ages to act with courage and fortitude. Unfortunately, too many insist on living in a world without heroes. John Hunyadi was a rare character—a real hero. He signaled his determination to fight against the Ottoman Turks in this quotation: “We Have Had Enough of our … Read more
Like most curricula, Florida’s State Academic Standards—Social Studies, 2023 makes for rather dull reading. Fundamentally, it is a list of topics that teachers must cover. It has eleven “strands,” of which African American History is one. Recently, Florida’s curriculum for teaching African American History became a huge controversy that distorts the text … Read more
If there were an academy award for pursuing leftist causes, the climate change crowd would be perennial winners of the “Best Hyperbole” statue. For years, it has proved adept at bending weather conditions to “prove” that the climate is a disaster waiting to happen. Throughout the summer of 2023, Canadian wildfires have … Read more
Even though most Americans can speak of a special teacher who helped change their lives, few appear to have much respect for the teaching profession. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona focused upon that topic during a seventeen-minute speech at a National Education Association (NEA) annual meeting on July 6, 2023. As … Read more