Sometimes, news reports are so shocking that putting thoughts into words becomes difficult. The NBC report that drag queens will appear in an advertisement during the 54th Super Bowl is one of them. Eyes on the Screen The annual football game is one of television’s most-watched programs. According to Statista, 98.2 million U.S. viewers watched … Read more
One of the most appalling articles in recent memory comes from the people at National Public Radio. Entitled “Raising The Minimum Wage By $1 May Prevent Thousands Of Suicides, Study Shows,” it refers to a report in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. This conclusion is troubling on many levels. First is the suspicion … Read more
Public schools can represent the most socialist aspect of American life. The New York Times is trying to make sure that your child becomes a committed leftist. Recently, The Times released its “1619 Project.” The web page that the Times produced to support it shows a seascape and begins, “In August of 1619, a ship … Read more
The world of American education is replete with catchphrases. Even those outside the education establishment have probably heard, “If you can read this, thank a teacher” or “Build schools now or build prisons later.” One catchphrase that got some traction at the end of the Cold War was: “It will be a great day in … Read more
Over the Christmas holidays, I — and thousands of others — visited the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina. Built by George Washington Vanderbilt in the waning days of the nineteenth century, it is America’s largest privately-owned dwelling. Mr. Vanderbilt’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren have dedicated themselves to preserving it and opening it to the public. … Read more
A recent article by Dana Goldstein in the New York Times about the Common Core displays a common tendency among liberals. They never acknowledge that their pet programs can fail. When a “progressive” proposal fails, the left never goes back to construct an entirely new scheme. They return to their overriding goals, tweak the old … Read more
For a least a half-century, American education has been run by an informal alliance of five groups. The coalition consists of the faculty of schools of education, associations of school administrators, the two major teachers’ unions, the U.S. Department of Education and its state counterparts and the civil rights establishment. What unites this diverse group … Read more
Christmas concerts have been a staple of American schools nearly as long as there have been schools in America. At these happy events, children sang and played traditional Christmas Carols like Silent Night and Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem alongside more secular selections like Jingle Bells and Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. In more recent times, … Read more
“Purgatory (to say nothing of Hell), penance, expiation, God’s holy justice: these just do not fit in with today’s cheerfully cheap religiosity.” – Hungry Souls. No one can say how many modern Catholics believe in Purgatory, but the percentage is unlikely to be high. A recent study showed that less than a third of Catholics … Read more
A new book is planting the ideas of revolutionary egalitarianism in our children’s hearts and minds. It comes with bright pictures, happy animals, and catchy rhymes. The purveyor is Scholastic, a company with a long reach into America’s schools and libraries. The chances are excellent that your neighborhood or parish school hosts a Scholastic Book … Read more
