In today’s standards-based education system, the main focus is on teaching skills rather than content. There’s a prevalent idea that it matters less what students read just so long as they are reading. But according to E.D. Hirsch, professor emeritus of education and humanities at the University of Virginia, that’s bull. Some of you may
READ MOREToday New Hampshire votes in the primary. It’s a different setup than Iowa as people aren’t limited to attending a caucus for a few hours in order to cast their vote. New Hampshire, while also predominantly white like Iowa, has a very different political culture. Right now, the polls gathered by Real Clear Politics have
READ MOREJonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who is Professor of Ethical Leadership at NYU’s Stern School of Business. I follow him with interest because he makes substantive, empirically sound claims that nearly everybody appreciates but that grind no ideological axe. He used to vote exclusively Democrat, and is “absolutely horrified by today’s Republican party,” but
READ MOREIf I recall correctly, I first heard of the 5-second rule as a teenager while working in a community kitchen with some other girls. Someone likely dropped a cookie on the floor, yelped “Oops! 5-second rule!”, dusted off the cookie, and popped it into her mouth. We giggled over the incident, saying with feigned sarcasm,
READ MOREWould students of all types – athletic or academic – benefit from the separation of school and sports? That’s the gist of a question recently asked by Michael Hansen in U.S. News and World Report. According to Hansen, sports in both high school and college are a huge drain on financial resources, and often draw
READ MORE“But what about socialization?” We who educate our children outside the school system confront an exhausting array of accusations posing as concerns, but the most puzzling — and the most persistent — is the socialization question. For years, I’ve taken it at face value: How, the skeptic seems to be asking, will your kids ever
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