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“Sentimentality”: Is It Screwing Up Education?0
- Education
- December 16, 2015
Modern society is infected with sentimentality—“the cult of feeling”—and it’s screwing up our education system. That’s the thesis of British cultural commentator Theodore Dalrymple in his book Spoilt Rotten: The Toxic Cult of Sentimentality. According to Dalrymple, sentimentality has its roots in Romanticism and a Rousseauian view of children as having been born in a
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Here Are Some REAL Ways to Avoid Massive College Debt 0
- Education
- December 16, 2015
Yesterday, the Huffington Post put out a lousy article titled “This Will Make You Feel Better About Looming College Bills.” It offered a fairly ho-hum collection of advice that probably should not make students or parents feel any better about paying for college. The advice ranged from “Odds are, your child will likely get some
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Social Promotion in U.S. High Schools Reaches an All-Time High!0
- Education
- December 16, 2015
There is much rejoicing in recent headlines, for the U.S. high school graduation rate has reached a new high. NPR reports: “For the fourth straight year, the U.S. high school graduation rate has improved to an all-time high of 82 percent in the 2013-2014 school year, the Department of Education announced today. Achievement gaps have
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Minnesota Teacher: “We’re Powerless to Discipline”0
- December 16, 2015
In Minnesota, the Saint Paul Public Schools district is in a state of chaos. Earlier this month, a high school student assaulted a teacher and left him with a traumatic brain injury. Last year, nine teachers at a middle school quit within the first three months because the students were “out of control.” Reports of
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A gun ban isn’t happening.0
- Culture
- December 16, 2015
For those in favor of keeping the 2nd Amendment, a new poll from ABC News/Washington Post has determined that you are in the majority and the trend line is on your side. What’s incredible is the change in public opinion since 1994. Love them or hate them, one has to admit that the pro-gun crowd
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‘Hands up, don’t shoot’: A biggest lie of 2015 0
- Culture
- December 16, 2015
The Washington Post has published its annual list of the “biggest Pinocchios of the year” for 2015. The list is almost entirely composed of politicians of all stripes telling whoppers. No surprise there. What was surprising was the inclusion of the phrase “Hands up, don’t shoot” which was spawned after Michael Brown of Ferguson, MO
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