Those who enjoy watching a spirited tennis match will draw real pleasure from the current back-and-forth controversy over social studies education in Virginia. Anyone with a child in an American public, parochial or private school should pay close attention. What are Social Studies? The term “social studies” has far more meaning than … Read more
Why is American education constantly redefining itself? Primarily because modern education practices have problems that the educrats can’t or won’t fix. Despite appearances to the contrary, schools know how to raise academic standards, enforce student discipline and prepare students for future challenges. They just don’t want to do those things. Instead, they … Read more
I just finished reading a New York Times article titled “School is for Everyone.” It promoted the argument that public education is essential to American life. The article’s author, Anya Kamenetz, began with a historical statement relating to Horace Mann—often (and justly) called the father of American public education. The Purpose of … Read more
The North Carolina Department of Education is afraid of concerned parents. This inevitable conclusion comes from a recently-released report from the watchdog group “No Left Turn in Education.” The report is substantial, running to 216 pages. Like many documents related to education, it is not easy reading. However, page 28 offers a … Read more
The educrats are adept at creating phrases that both sound important and conceal their meaning. One new catchphrase is “Social and Emotional Learning” (SEL). TSEL in New York State According to the New York State Education Department (NYSED), this program is urgently needed due to the COVID crisis. “During this time period … Read more
The New York City public schools are developing a new “Universal Mosaic Curriculum.” The program was announced in July 2021. It’s scheduled to be implemented in 2023. They are burning through quite a lot of money to develop it. The New York Post reported that the budget is $202 million. According to … Read more
The Florida Legislature has passed a new bill protecting the rights of the parents of school students, even after progressives pulled out all of the stops to defeat it. Leftists mischaracterized the legislation as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” alluding to a supposed ban on any classroom discussion of homosexuality, even though … Read more
Learning is among the most basic human acts. We see this observing the very young. Parents see their babies change dramatically as they learn new skills set for communication and movement. God endows individuals with the ability to reason. Upon this foundation, people develop their physical appearances, strengths, qualities, interests and talents. … Read more
“Strong evidence is emerging that we are mostly succeeding in creating a generation of overwhelmed young people paralyzed into learned helplessness.” Robert Pondiscio of the American Enterprise Institute provides this harrowing conclusion. He spelled out the supporting logic in a recent article in Commentary magazine with the compelling title, “The Unbearable Bleakness … Read more
What Is Culture? People answer this question in many different ways. Some are inspired by philology, others by all kinds of philosophical and social systems. So many contradictions have arisen around defining culture, and the related word “civilization” gives rise to so many contradictions that international congresses of scholars and professors have … Read more