Blog Template

Are Standardized Tests A Necessary or Unnecessary Evil?0
- Education
- February 5, 2016
Spring is on its way – or so says the Groundhog – and with it, the annual battery of school tests and assessments. If recent years are any indication, this testing barrage will likely be met with reports of stressed students, frustrated teachers, and angry parents who decide to have their child “opt out” of
READ MORE
Should the Education System Embrace ‘Subsidiarity’?0
- Education
- February 5, 2016
Reports of failure in public schools tend to be systemic. Stories of success tend to be localized. Is this a reason to promote subsidiarity in the public school system? Subsidiarity is a principle that calls for decision-making power and responsibility to be held at the lowest level as much as possible. Applied to schools, this
READ MORE
What is a friend?0
- Culture
- February 5, 2016
A recently released study by Oxford University claims to be “the first real attempt to test whether online social media do allow us to increase the size of our social networks.” The conclusions of the study? Your Facebook friends aren’t your friends – except for, maybe, four of them. “…there is a cognitive constraint on
READ MORE

6 Thoughts from Famous Americans on Love and Marriage 0
- Culture
- February 5, 2016
Getting tired of the sappy, sweet nothings which permeate our culture in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day? If so, check out the following statements made by famous historical Americans. They’re guaranteed to shock and provoke thought on the true value, meaning, and purpose of love and marriage. “It has ever been a maxim
READ MORE
Why It’s Good to Mark Up Books 0
- Education
- February 4, 2016
(Image: Jack Kerouac’s copy of Dostoevsky’s An Unpleasant Predicament) I truly appreciate the existence of libraries, which provide many people access to books that their budgets would not allow them to purchase. But the thing is, I rarely check out books from them. The reason why? I love to mark up books. Since high school—thanks to
READ MORE
Is Respect for Good Women Disappearing?0
- Culture
- February 4, 2016
I picked up Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park for the first time last month, and since finishing it, I’ve had a nagging thought at the back of my mind concerning male-female relationships. But a little background before I mention that nagging thought. For those unfamiliar with Mansfield Park, one of the main plot threads finds Henry
READ MORE