Feeding Mind, Pursuing Truth
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Is Trump Fudging Murder Stats to Claim More Power?0
- Culture
- February 8, 2017
Donald Trump appeared deeply confused this week as the president declared today that “the murder rate in our country is the highest it’s been in 47 years.” Perhaps Trump confused the word “highest” with “lowest” since he would be far closer to the truth if he said the homicide rate in the US is “the lowest
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A Catholic Priest’s Observations on Islam—in 18510
- Culture
- February 8, 2017
Rummaging through some antique books recently, I came across a volume of church history from 1851, originally written in German by a Catholic priest, Dr. Giovanni Alzog, and translated into Italian. The volume, translated Universal History the Christian Church, covers the period from 400 until just before the Protestant Reformation. Naturally, the author had occasion
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5 Causes of the Civil War (Besides Slavery)3
- Culture
- February 8, 2017
As I type, the secession movement in California is picking up steam. Polling shows that one in three Californians support leaving the Union following Donald Trump’s victorious presidential campaign, and an organization–YesCalifornia.org–is circulating a petition calling for a special election that would allow Californians to vote for or against independence. The movement is unlikely to
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What’s Really Wrong with American Schools0
- Education
- February 7, 2017
With the confirmation of Betsy DeVos to head the U.S. Department of Education, it’s a good time to think about what’s wrong with our schools and what will have to be done to fix them. DeVos is most notable for her efforts in support of school choice. School choice is important, but it is only
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This Overlooked Statistic May Explain America’s Education Problems0
- Culture
- February 7, 2017
It’s often said that America’s education system hasn’t changed much in the last 100 years. Supposedly it’s stuck in the industrial age and needs to be revamped to keep with the times. But while that may be true, it’s not the case that the education system has avoided all changes. It has changed… and perhaps
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The NEA’s 14 Principles–From 19080
- Culture
- February 7, 2017
Have you ever wondered what the Nation’s largest teacher union (the National Education Association or the NEA) thinks about religion, the Bible, and character education? I honestly don’t think I’d ever given it much thought until the other day when I unearthed a set of the organization’s 14 principles from 1908. They were so surprising
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Happy 150th Birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder0
- Culture
- February 7, 2017
Laura Ingalls was born on February 7, 1867, in a log cabin in Pepin, Wisconsin. The family’s trip from Pepin to their ultimate destination in DeSmet, South Dakota would take less than seven hours today; for Laura Ingalls and her family – Pa, Ma, Mary, Carrie, Baby Grace, and the faithful bulldog Jack – the
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Battling Porn With Virtue Education (and Common Sense)0
- Culture
- February 7, 2017
For more than four decades, my work as a developmental psychologist and educator has focused on helping schools and parents develop good character in youth. I direct a character education center at the State University of New York in Cortland, New York. Among many things, our Center’s work includes teaching young people how to respect
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America’s Public Schools Are No Longer Serving the Public0
- Education
- February 7, 2017
Betsy DeVos, the new U.S. Education Secretary, is an advocate of school choice. As such, her confirmation hearings have generated warnings that Trump wants to “destroy” public education. The very adjective “public” is a marketing advantage for those who support the current government-run school system. For many Americans, it still connotes a non-elitist form of
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