Blog 3 Columns

What Harvard Neglected in 1982 0
- September 19, 2015
Going through some old, family documents this week, I stumbled upon a clipping fromHarvard Magazine that included an address given by Reverend Peter J. Gomes of Harvard University to the school’s graduating seniors in 1982. It’s a heart-felt and lively address, which is reproduced below. What stands out most is that Rev. Gomes recognized
READ MORE
What 8th Graders Had to Know About Geography in 1907 0
- September 18, 2015
The other week, Slate Magazine ran an article which decried the lack of geography literacy amongst American students. Author Joshua Keating declared, “I still strongly believe primary schools and universities need to do a much better job of educating Americans on the natural and political features of our world. Geographical literacy is a major problem:
READ MORE
We’re Sitting Ducks 0
- September 18, 2015
The economic recession of 2007-09 made many Americans aware how dependent upon the government and the present system they had become. Those who had recently bought houses with little down payments were underwater on their homes. Those who had accumulated a large amount of student loan debt as an “investment” saw their “guaranteed” job opportunities
READ MORE

Refugees, Migrants, or Invaders?0
- September 18, 2015
Stories of refugees and immigration fill the news. After the awful image of a drowned child washed up on a Turkish beach was promoted around the world, one gets the feeling that any opposition to refugees and migrants is unacceptable. I have a child that age and I see her when I look at that
READ MORE
People in 1890 Waited Longer to Get Married, Too 0
- September 18, 2015
As you may have heard, Americans are getting married at later ages than previous generations. Many quickly chalk that fact up to a modern tendency to avoid responsibility and commitment. But it might not be so simple as that. Currently, in America, the median age for men’s first marriage is 28.7, and for women
READ MORE
C.S. Lewis on the 4 Major Differences between the Present and the Recent Past 0
- September 18, 2015
You may have read C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, and perhaps you’ve even read some of his nonfiction works such as Mere Christianity or The Abolition of Man. But chances are you haven’t come across Lewis’ “De Descriptione Temporum” (“On the Description of Ages”) – the first lecture he gave after receiving the
READ MORE

Are We Discouraging Parenting?0
- September 18, 2015
Do you know children who are being raised by their grandparents – or were you even one yourself? According to Time, roughly 2.7 million U.S. grandparents are raising their grandchildren, a number that has risen in the last 20 years. What’s driving the increase in custodial grandparents? “Addiction and incarceration rates, child abuse and neglect,
READ MORE
What is “Secularism”?0
- September 17, 2015
What is fascinating about our times is the dominant cultural narrative is set against religion. By that we mean that our modern secular society depends upon acknowledging that previous cultures were established upon religion and we are not. In other words, we as a society are moving away from something, that something being a religious
READ MORE
These Americans Can’t Answer Simple Citizenship Questions: Are Schools to Blame?0
- September 17, 2015
September 17th marks the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. To recognize “Constitution Day,” the day “when all schools receiving federal funds are expected to provide lessons or other programming on our most important founding document,” the folks at the Fordham Institute prepared a special project. They examined the mission statements of the
READ MORE

What Harvard Neglected in 1982 0