Blog 3 Columns

To Be Happy, First Be Pessimistic 0
- Culture
- July 8, 2019
We all want to be happy, but we’re not terribly good at it. As a result, for centuries philosophers have wrestled with how to attain happiness. Few, though, have offered as novel an answer as Marcus Aurelius, one of Rome’s greatest emperors. Ready for it? Be a pessimist. This is admittedly an unappealing proposition, ranking
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The Roots of Political Correctness 0
- Culture
- July 8, 2019
Over the last thirty years, political correctness has metastasized. Today, so many politically-correct assumptions have become mainstream that, as Tocqueville once predicted, they have narrowed our questions and our ability to question, rather than actually tell us the exact answers to things. Over the last decade, it has become normal for students, professors, and the
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The Misery of Modern MLM 0
- Culture
- July 8, 2019
“Hi Emma! How are you? It’s been years!!” I received this message from a woman who added me on Facebook. The years, by my count, were at least 20. And our contact was pretty limited even back then. My parents were friends with her parents during my childhood. She was several years older than me
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New York City’s Students Deserve School Choice 0
- Economics
- July 8, 2019
Heloise Moxey does not want to send her four-year-old son Bentley to the low-performing, South Bronx district schools that he is zoned to attend. “I won’t send him to the local public schools. The scores are horrible,” she said, adding that older son Lamar, 8, is thriving at the Leader’s Institute Charter School in Harlem.
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It’s Not Just Her: The Worst Thing About Teaching 0
- Culture
- July 8, 2019
Tara Blair Ball has taught for nine years. And she hates teaching. At the end of the school year, she published an article on Medium entitled, “The #1 Reason Why I Hate Teaching.” Inspired by a complaint received at the end of the school year, Ball explains how a parent was upset that her daughter
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Why We Need Second Breakfast: Three Things Hobbits Teach About Friendship 0
- Culture
- July 5, 2019
Are you depressed by the fact that your circle of friends is consistently shrinking? Do you even have a circle of friends? Are you tired of being lonelier than Gollum? The Hobbits, a care-free and peace-loving people from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world of “The Lord of the Rings,” have three tips for becoming a better
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Why the Minimum Wage Can’t Solve the Poverty Problem 0
- Economics
- July 5, 2019
If wages for those at the bottom are high, you may naturally expect low poverty rates. No matter how you define it, higher wages would most logically relieve poverty levels. This is also the argument made by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). An increase in the minimum wage may very well reduce poverty in the
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What Is Personalized Learning and Why Is It so Controversial? Five Questions Answered 0
- Culture
- July 5, 2019
Editor’s note: The term “personalized learning” is becoming more common. Indeed, 39 states mention personalized learning in their school improvement plans, as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act. Not only are states legislating personalized learning, but philanthropists are funding it and, in some cases, families are pushing back against it. Penny Bishop, a researcher
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U.S. ‘Non-Profit’ Hospitals and CEOs Raking in Big Bucks 0
- Culture
- July 5, 2019
The rising cost of healthcare is undermining the American Dream. Families who are working hard to get ahead now pay nearly $20,000 per year in insurance premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs for healthcare. Our OpenTheBooks Oversight Report – Top 82 U.S. Non-Profit Hospitals, Quantifying Government Payments & Financial Assets studied the largest charitable healthcare providers.
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To Be Happy, First Be Pessimistic 0