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The End of Ideas in American Politics?0
- Culture
- February 18, 2016
Americans have long mistrusted intellectuals, nowhere more so than when intellectuals have had access to power. There is considerable irony in this apprehension, for the Founding Fathers were themselves men of intellect and learning. Refined and erudite, many were well and widely read in history, politics, law, and science, and applied their knowledge to solving
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Can a Christian build a wall?0
- Culture
- February 18, 2016
From CNN, we learn that Pope Francis jumped into American politics with a comment about Donald Trump and building walls: “But Francis left little doubt where he stood on the polarizing issue of immigration reform. ‘A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This
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What’s the meaning?0
- Culture
- February 18, 2016
Shepard Fairey of OBEY Clothing and known politically for his famous Barack Obama “Hope” poster has thrown his support behind Bernie Sanders’ candidacy for president. In a video released by the Sanders campaign, Fairey said, “I’m supporting Bernie Sanders because I want to push principles, not personalities.” With his support, he also released a t-shirt
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You Can’t Separate ‘Critical Thinking’ and Good Writing 1
- Education
- February 17, 2016
One of the main things that today’s education system seeks to instill is “critical thinking.” But as progress in critical thinking is difficult to measure, how can we know if students are learning this valuable skill? The answer, I discovered, is simple: look at their writing skills. Such an idea was suggested in the early
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Teachers Fed Up with Undisciplined Students 0
- Culture
- February 17, 2016
According to George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times, an increasing number of teachers may be pondering an exit from the profession, and are reluctant to encourage others to follow in their footsteps. Their reasons for such feelings were varied, but the looming elephant in the room was the lack of respect and poor discipline
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A Trump-esque President in a Catholic University?0
- Education
- February 17, 2016
Mount St. Mary’s University, near Baltimore, is the nation’s second-oldest Catholic university. Faced with financial trouble, the Board of Trustees saw fit a few years ago to hire a businessman, Simon Newman, to fix the problem. But Newman’s style, and now his very mission, have created a huge kerfuffle. He has made numerous administrative changes,
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