How to Educate an American is a collection of essays edited by Michael J. Petrilli and Chester E. Finn, Jr. that embraces a serious task. The subtitle set out its goal – The Conservative Vision for Tomorrow’s Schools. Unfortunately, this book cannot deliver something that does not exist. There is no unified conservative vision for … Read more
Recently, I went to a local funeral home for a viewing. The deceased was a former student. He was driving while intoxicated, and the resulting high-speed collision was horrible. His passenger died as well. I will refer to the young man as John, even though that is not his real name. John was in his … Read more
“If you were to examine any speech made by a university president fifty years ago, you would find that the word ‘excellence’ occurs with great frequency…. If you made the same examination now, you’d find that ‘diversity’ has taken its place.” This quote summarizes the main idea behind the book, The Breakdown of Higher Education: … Read more
Almost anyone in academia or business administration has seen a “TED Talk.” These are five to twenty-five-minute lectures first given at TED events. The presentations are then available on YouTube. The Power of TED The power of these talks comes from their easy availability. They have a Creative Commons license. They can be used for … Read more
Does America need more government or less during the Coronavirus crisis? In the face of the challenges of the coronavirus crisis, it is an awkward question. Without quick action, people could lose their homes. Healthy companies could go bankrupt. A strong case exists for government aid. Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy … Read more
Those who sincerely believe in “anthropogenic” (formerly manmade) climate change are a hard bunch to understand. This excludes those who cynically use environmentalism to promote an overall leftist agenda or to sell books and turn a profit. Millions of people really await an apocalypse that they see as imminent. They have a deep emotional connection … Read more
In November, most Americans will go to their polling places. Most will have decided which candidates they will vote for president, governor, senator and legislator. However, very few will have informed opinions about the district attorney. Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got … Read more
“Education is the only field in which the fact that something worked fifty years ago means that we cannot possibly do it now.” During the last decade of my career in public education, I repeated this sentence many times. My colleagues in the faculty’s lunchroom must have grown tired of it. Nonetheless, it was true … Read more
“Public health” brings to mind preventing the flu or better dental hygiene. It often incorporates current events like the water crisis in Flint, Michigan or the ongoing controversy over “vaping.” That is not what you will find in the February issue of the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH). The articles in this issue provide … Read more
The world is abuzz with the seventeen-year-old “climate activist,” Greta Thunberg. Within the last year, she has addressed the United Nations, become Time magazine’s “Person of the Year,” spoken to world leaders at Davos for the second year in a row, and may receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The Greta phenomenon is puzzling. Why her? … Read more
