“Divestment is not an incrementalist goal. True divestment necessitates nothing short of the total collapse of the university structure and American empire itself…to divest from this is to undermine and eradicate America as we know it.” Those statements comprised the beginning and the end of an entry placed on the social media platform Telegram. The … Read more
The United States education system is corrupted from top to bottom. That is a strong statement but one that is quite easy to defend. The evidence is all around. This article will focus on one aspect of that corruption: grade inflation. Order Today: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where … Read more
As the school year begins, protests are expected to break out at university campuses across the country. No one should have any illusions about the malice and intentions of the most radical protesters. These protesters will not seek to change the present society. They do not want reform; they want revolution. A Dark Glimpse at … Read more
For many years, I believed that the Advanced Placement United States History (APUSH) exam was a truly noble endeavor with which I have been connected for decades. Every human society has had its “storytellers” who inform the young about their tribe’s past. Here, we call them history teachers. I have delighted in my association with … Read more
A new expression is increasingly appearing in the education press—student disengagement. This phenomenon takes two forms. Disengaged students are either not mentally prepared to learn in class or stay away from school altogether. The School as Therapy “Disengaged behavior” is nothing new. “Skipping school” is a practice that is as old as the schools themselves. … Read more
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 and abetted by … Read more
Decades ago, the quest for superior grades acquired a catchphrase—the “paper chase.” Those who aspired to be the best students went to extreme lengths to earn superior grades. However, there were also many who wanted grades for which they were unwilling to work. Part of the university’s task was to separate the best from the … Read more
In too many schools, teaching handwriting—especially cursive—is extinct. Over the last half-century, America’s public, private, religious and charter schools became obsessed with “critical thinking.” As that obsession grew, mechanical processes were discarded. Emphasizing grammar, the doctrine taught, inhibited children from expressing their thoughts. Teaching historical facts repressed students’ creative opinions about past events. Memorizing mathematical … Read more
Distraction has always been a teacher’s biggest problem. After all, lessons can only take root if students are paying attention. Distractions are inevitable. No teacher, no matter how skilled, can filter them all out. Kids bring their distractions to school with them. A sick parent, a lost dog, lack of breakfast, an argument on the … Read more
By any reasonable standard, organic chemistry Professor Maitland Jones, Jr. would be a star on any faculty. He literally wrote the book on the subject. His career began at age thirteen, washing test tubes in a Yale University laboratory. He taught at Princeton University for forty-three years. In 2007, he retired from Princeton and moved … Read more
