Education

Do Yourself a Favor and Memorize a Poem 22
- Culture, Education, Featured, Literature, Uncategorized
- June 30, 2025
Several times a year I require my students to memorize a poem. Sometimes I choose for them (say, “Death Be Not Proud,” by John Donne). Sometimes I hand them an anthology and let them choose. I don’t explain rhyme scheme or poetic devices. I only ask that the students know the meaning of every word
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An Ode to Amateur Recitals 29
- Culture, Education, Entertainment, Featured, Religion, Uncategorized
- June 27, 2025
Sitting in my winter coat, a Styrofoam cup of tea in hand, I listened in awe as the orchestra on stage finished Gustav Holst’s “Jupiter.” Nearby, several friends of mine sat in similar joyous awe, taking in the music. This was a regular Friday or Saturday evening occurrence during my college years. Thanks to the
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Teaching Children to Embrace the Difficult Delights of Life 23
- Education, Family, Featured, Uncategorized
- June 24, 2025
I browsed the shelves for as long as my mother would allow when I visited the library as a child. When her patience – or our available time – finally petered out, I brought seven or eight books up to the library counter to check out – a healthy mix of historical fiction, fantasy, mystery,
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Restore the American Garage 18
- Culture, Economics, Education, Family, Featured, Uncategorized, Western Civilization
- June 13, 2025
Twitter likes to vilify the large cookie-cutter suburban home with a garage bigger than the house itself. And surely this is in some way a symbol of a decadent, mobile society with little sense of place or community. But the American garage gets too much flack from even those on the right. The house on
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The Beauty of Broken Things 42
- Culture, Education, Family, Featured, Uncategorized
- June 5, 2025
It was one of those weekends. Last Saturday, I was driving my oldest son, Noah, to the driving range on a golf cart when my iPhone had enough of life and flung itself from my pocket. A kind motorist, waving us through the crossing, watched in horror as the screen exploded into a crystalline crime
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Why a Harvard Education Just Doesn’t Cut it Anymore 27
- Education, Featured, Uncategorized
- June 4, 2025
My mom was working in her garden the other day when a car pulled up and a man stepped out. A frequent visitor to the neighboring house, this man was no stranger to my mom, particularly because he often made unexpected comments in passing. This time was no different. “Harvard forever,” he said as he
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