Education Issues

Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling

Posted by Stephen on August 11, 2010 at 9:47 am

Text of speech:
There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, “If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, “Ten years.” The student then said, “But what if I [...]

The Socratic Method: Teaching by Asking Instead of by Telling

Posted by Stephen on June 25, 2010 at 3:40 pm

The following is a transcript of a teaching experiment, using the Socratic method, with a regular third grade class in a suburban elementary school. I present my perspective and views on the session, and on the Socratic method as a teaching tool, following the transcript. The class was conducted on a Friday afternoon beginning at [...]

Against School

Posted by Stephen on June 22, 2010 at 1:06 pm

How public education cripples our kids, and why
By John Taylor Gatto
John Taylor Gatto is a former New York State and New York City Teacher of the
Year and the author, most recently, of The Underground History of American
Education. He was a participant in the Harper’s Magazine forum “School on a Hill,”
which appeared in the September 2003 [...]

Everything You Love You Owe to Capitalism

Posted by Stephen on May 16, 2010 at 8:50 pm

I’m sure that you have had this experience before, or something similar to it. You are sitting at lunch in a nice restaurant or perhaps a hotel. Waiters are coming and going. The food is fantastic. The conversation about all things is going well. You talk about the weather, music, movies, health, trivialities in the [...]

The Trouble with Reform

Posted by Stephen on April 9, 2010 at 11:47 am

In the socialist-calculation debates of the 1930s, when free-market and anti-market economists argued about the workability of socialism, socialists Oscar Lange of the University of Chicago and Fred Taylor of the University of Michigan presented a two-pronged argument that seemed to carry the day. They argued that although socialized economies lacked market prices that were [...]

Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change

Posted by Stephen on March 28, 2010 at 5:36 pm

After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.
The [...]

Is “Academic Freedom” a Special Kind of Freedom?

Posted by Stephen on January 29, 2010 at 11:06 am

[The Libertarian Forum, June/July 1972] Mises Daily
More phony-white-liberal crocodile tears have been shed over the issue of academic freedom than perhaps over any other. More academics have waxed more eloquent over it than over perhaps any other topic receiving their tender attention. In the eyes of some, it has been equated [...]

Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall

Posted by Stephen on January 19, 2010 at 12:18 am

Think long and hard about the meanings of this song.

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Schools take on the roles of parenting

Posted by Stephen on January 13, 2010 at 12:14 am

Children are sent to school every day so that they may gain valuable knowledge that will guide them through life and help them secure a career that will enable them to support themselves and their families. The role of a school is to educate a child, however it is not the role of a school [...]

Revisionaries

Posted by Stephen on January 6, 2010 at 4:58 pm

This article concerns the hijacking of Texas education standards, and in actuality, a large proportion of the nation’s standards. Admittedly, there is a “left slant” to this article, but the points made are relevant and worthwhile. It is alarming to me that the education standards are hijacked by either side of the bias’. There is [...]

When a School Gets Sick

Posted by Stephen on January 5, 2010 at 12:12 pm

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however [...]

“Meep” now a dirty word, banned from school

Posted by Stephen on December 1, 2009 at 8:35 pm

A school in Danvers, Mass. has banned the word “meep” after school officials found out that students were planning a large disruption at school by saying “meep”.
When school officials found out about what the students were planning on Facebook, Thomas Murray the school’s principal banned the word meep. After students ignored warnings to stop the [...]

A Letter from a Child

Posted by Stephen on November 10, 2009 at 1:36 pm

Parents send their children to school to acquire the knowledge that has come down to us as a legacy of our culture– whether it is mathematics, science, or whatever– so that those children can grow up and go out into the world equipped to face life’s challenges.
Too many “educators” see teaching not as a responsibility [...]

How government programs drive up college tuitions

Posted by Stephen on November 2, 2009 at 9:56 am

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Keep Evolution Out of School

Posted by Stephen on October 29, 2009 at 9:42 pm

So if I was writing biology text books for use in Texas or Kentucky or Missouri schools I think I would join their education authorities in demanding that the word evolution not be mentioned. Instead I would put all of my effort into explaining speciation. Show how that original bacterium could become 2, 4, 8, [...]