Around Valentine’s Day, stories of old, wizened married couples tend to grace newspaper pages with renewed fervor, such as this recent one about Nicholas and Rafaela Ordaz who just celebrated 82 years of marriage. For many millennials who seemingly struggle with a lack of commitment and fear of divorce, such long-lasting marriage is amazing, particularly
READ MOREMany of our readers have heard of, and a few have probably been educated by, “Great Books” programs. They consist of reading and discussing “classic” works of literature, philosophy, and even science that were a standard part of many high school and college curricula as late as a century ago. For decades they have been
READ MOREIn order to really be said to “know” something, it must become a part of you. Information, ideas, and data: these are external to us. It is only through undertaking the hard, focused work of thinking through these things and understanding them that we internalize them; that they become “knowledge.” One finds this sentiment echoed
READ MOREHeading out on an overnight school trip, my daughter spent 90 minutes each way on the bus with her classmates. Before the trip, the school laid out the electronic use policy—students would be allowed to use iPhones and iPads on the drive to and from their retreat but not during their stay. A few parents
READ MOREThe education received by the characters in the Little House on the Prairie books has long amazed readers. How in the world did the Ingalls girls manage to get such a stellar education in the midst of primitive surroundings and a transitory lifestyle in the 19th century? In honor of Laura’s birthday on February 7th, here are
READ MOREWhile lecturing on the atheist Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) in graduate school, my university professor lamented about the state of atheism today. Men such as Feuerbach, he explained, were passionate in their atheism, and undertook a thorough study of a religion such as Christianity in order to criticize it. (Feuerbach’s critique of Christianity is encapsulated in
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