Grade inflation in America’s colleges and universities is a serious issue. It is also an issue in the nation’s elementary and high schools. The curious thing is that while the problem is the same, the causes contrast sharply. The culprit in the colleges is a kind of emotional blackmail that students, aided and abetted by … Read more
My twelfth-grade English teacher terrified me, as she did most of my classmates. She was a pleasant person outside of class and very approachable if you asked for help. On the other hand, not to have prepared for class was an infraction that would be punished severely. She had a knack for asking the precise … Read more
Sometimes, I despair for the future of education. This occasional anguish was recently triggered by a videotaped lecture from a University of Michigan education professor. Her central premise was that elementary school math teachers must be constantly vigilant, lest they fall into verbal traps perpetuating racism. Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy … Read more
As any honest teacher will tell you, learning is difficult. However, teachers may only admit this truth when no one else is around. Such disclosures clash with the prevailing educational orthodoxy. In addition, learning difficulties are likely to be blamed on teachers, who thus make themselves targets. Therefore, making it easy to learn is a … Read more
Nate Bowling sees the current national controversy over Critical Race Theory (CRT) in simple terms. “It’s white backlash plus moral panic.” Mr. Bowling is not an uninformed observer. He is a social studies teacher and the 2016 “Teacher of the Year” for the State of Washington. He was quoted in the school administrators’ “trade paper,” … Read more
