Tag: Education

A Different Kind of School Choice

The following is a fictitious letter… Dear Parents, The tragic events in a Florida high school have inspired the Mastodon School District to evaluate its security procedure to ensure the safety of your children. In this process, we have...

Misplaced Rage

For the sake of full disclosure, I have been a proud member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) for several years. I own three pistols, and I have a concealed carry permit. The horrific massacre in a Florida school has resulted in a vicious...

The Dark History of Communism and Today’s Students

We should not be shocked that a recent survey shows considerable support for socialism by Americans. In March 2017, the conservative magazine National Review reported on a survey by the American Culture and Faith Institute finding that four out of...

A Teaching Moment Missed, Part II

Part I told the (true) story of Daniel, a high school junior whose correct answer to a test question was marked wrong and whose teacher refused to consider his explanation of the thought process that led to his answer. The teacher thus missed an...

The NFL Theatre of the Absurd

Perhaps this is just old news but the NFL controversy, while having disappeared as a headline news item, still is going on. I used to like professional football until I started playing in a Fantasy Football League many years ago. The latter really...

A Teaching Moment Missed, Part I

Daniel is an 11th grade student who takes Advanced Placement courses in history, physics, English, calculus, and social studies and earns almost perfect grades. If he gets a single question wrong on a test, he is eager to learn where he went wrong...

The Magic Circle

“The more I think, the more certain I am that obedience is the gateway through which knowledge enters the mind of the child.” These are the words of the character of Annie Sullivan in William Gibson’s wonderful play The Miracle Worker. Based on the...

Education’s Failing Grade

In 2016, Minneapolis scholar Katherine Kersten reported that public schools were the most dangerous places in St. Paul, MN. The use of obscene language, overturning of furniture and trash cans, and fistfights had become common in grade schools, she...