Blog 3 Columns

Why Thoughts and Prayers are Better than Righteous Anger 0
- Philosophy
- February 26, 2018
It is fashionable to “prayer shame” those who offer “thoughts and prayers” as a response to violence. Public response to the gun violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is an example. If you did not deliver an angry diatribe against gun ownership, your failure to fall in line with the politically correct position is
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Prominent Magazine Ranks America as a ‘Flawed Democracy’0
- Politics
- February 26, 2018
The Economist magazine recently issued a study purporting to compare countries on the basis of how democratic they are. The U.S. ended up ranked as a “flawed democracy.” In one sense this is absolutely true. As great as America is, it will always be flawed, as will any other country in which human beings run
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Newsflash: Teachers Are Already Armed 0
- Culture
- February 26, 2018
In the wake of yet another mass shooting in a public school, a host of familiar recommendations have resurfaced about how to “prevent this from ever happening again.” Predictably, both conservatives and liberals are looking to the government for a solution. Americans have somehow arrived at a point where they cannot conceive of human action
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Five Reasons Why Being Kind Makes You Feel Good – According to Science 0
- Culture
- February 26, 2018
Everybody can appreciate acts of kindness. But when it comes to explaining why we do them, people often take one of two extreme positions. Some think kindness is something completely selfless that we do out of love and care, while others believe it is just a tool that we cunningly use to become more popular
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Can American Students Be Ready for College When They Read at an 8th Grade Level?0
- Culture
- February 26, 2018
A friend of mine recently told me that her family was having a discussion when a particular word was used. Her two teenage daughters looked confused and asked, “What does that mean?” Without missing a beat, her younger son, still in middle school, looked up from where he was reading on the sofa and calmly
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How New York’s Wealthy Parents Try to Raise ‘Unentitled’ Kids 0
- Culture
- February 23, 2018
Wealthy parents seem to have it made when it comes to raising their children. They can offer their kids the healthiest foods, the most attentive caregivers, the best teachers and the most enriching experiences, from international vacations to unpaid internships in competitive fields. Yet these parents have a problem: how to give their kids these
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Betsy DeVos Urges Americans to Embrace ‘Education Freedom’0
- Education
- February 23, 2018
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is calling on Americans to embrace a vision of “education freedom” that empowers students and parents with a “multitude of pathways” toward new opportunities. DeVos, speaking during a question-and-answer session Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, said one such pathway would be educational savings accounts to benefit military families who
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What Ivy League Professors Could Learn from George Washington 0
- Culture
- February 22, 2018
Back in 2005, The Washington Post reported on a Gallup poll asking Americans which U.S. president was the greatest. At the time, men like Reagan, Clinton, and Lincoln led the pack. America’s first president, however, had only five percent support for top slot, leading the WaPo to quip that George Washington would “find it necessary
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The 5 Best Books on Education 0
- Education
- February 22, 2018
There are a lot of books on education, but few that are very good. Here are five books that cut to the chase of what education is and how it should be done: 1) Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture, by Werner Jaeger. Jaeger was a German scholar writing in the early to mid-20th century. He
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Why Thoughts and Prayers are Better than Righteous Anger 0