Education

Are We Too Smart for Our Own Good?0
- Culture, Education, Featured
- January 22, 2026
When I was a kid in Boonville, N.C., I’d occasionally hear a grownup say, “He ain’t got a lick of sense,” meaning someone had just done something really stupid. I’d also hear, “That old boy’s too smart for his own good,” meaning someone with an overabundance of brains unchecked by common sense can bring himself
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‘Socialization’ Depends on Who’s Doing the Socializing 0
- Culture, Education, Family, Featured
- January 20, 2026
I was conversing with an 80-year-old neighbor recently who taught and coached for decades in public schools in New York City and here in Virginia. When I mentioned having taught seminars in literature, history, and Latin to homeschoolers, he instantly brought up socialization, a word I’ve heard linked to homeschoolers since my wife and I
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Taking School to the Woods 0
- Culture, Education, Family, Featured
- January 15, 2026
English philosopher John Locke once advised that children should have “shoes so thin, that they might leak and let in water, whenever he comes near it.” Yikes! I thought when I first read that passage in “Some Thoughts Concerning Education” years ago. The mother’s heart of caution within me still balks at that idea … but
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What Harvard Neglected in 1982 0
- Culture, Education, Featured
- January 12, 2026
Going through some old, family documents this week, I stumbled upon a clipping from “Harvard 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 that
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You Can’t Be Diverse if You Exclude White Men 0
- Culture, Education, Featured, History, Literature, Politics, Uncategorized, Western Civilization
- December 30, 2025
It’s that time of year again when everyone from columnists to friends on Facebook proudly post the books they’ve read in the last year, and the ones they hope to tackle in the next. As an avid reader, I’m always intrigued by said lists. But in recent years I’ve noticed a recurring theme, namely, many
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The Analog-Digital Battle Your Children Need to Win 0
- Culture, Education, Family, Featured, Literature
- December 22, 2025
I recently called attention to Beth McMurtrie’s piece, “Is This the End of Reading?” which discusses the decline of reading in our schools and universities. McMurtrie’s piece ended on a bleak note with comments from a professor who suggested that we’re “entering into a hybrid oral-written culture.” He concluded, “Humanity is going to take its
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