Tag: Education

This week on The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Barry Anderson interview UK University of Warwick Prof. Benjamin Smith. Prof. Benjamin Smith, author of The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade provides insights into various aspects of the Mexican drug trade, including its historical context and the evolution of illicit drug products over time. He discusses key cartels and their methods, the impact of the drug trade on Mexico’s murder rates, the immense financial scale of the trade, its effect on Mexico and the U.S., and the challenges law enforcement face in combating it. Smith explores the relationship among Mexican cartels, other foreign countries, and the illicit drug market in the U.S. He closes with a reading from his book, The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade.

This week on The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts Alisha Searcy and Charlie Chieppo interview Mary Tamer, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, Massachusetts. She focuses on the historic impact of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act on the commonwealth’s students’ high achievement on national and international measures. She explores the politics of the Massachusetts Teachers Association advocating against the MCAS test as a graduation requirement. In closing, Ms. Tamer also discusses the rise of teacher strikes and their implications for education reform in the Bay State.

First-Hand, Tragic Account of Growing Up Palestinian

 

I’ve seen a lot of videos, listened to many podcasts and read a great deal of history about Israel and the Gaza War. Nothing has shocked me as much as this interview with Dor Shachar, who spoke to Marissa Streit, CEO of Prager U. I rarely watch long videos, but I was mesmerized and appalled at the stories that Dor shared about growing up in Khan- Yunis, his rejection of Islam, his difficult journey of converting to Judaism, and his candor throughout. The horrors that he relates about his own life—being beaten, imprisoned, condemned and rejected by his family—are difficult to comprehend.

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Michelle Tandler, at X, says: I don’t have a baseline understanding of the principles our nation was founded on. I haven’t read the Constitution or Bill of Rights. I have never studied political science or government. Thinking now may be a great time to start. Preview Open

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Penn State on Trial, Again – Mark Steyn Edition

 

The Odyssey length trial against Mark Steyn and Rand Simberg by Climate Change scientist Micheal Mann has put Penn State University back into the legal headlines. This case might jog some people’s memories, vaguely remembering something about a football coach who fiddled with the kiddies and an intransigent administration. For many Pennsylvanians, like myself, it was something you certainly never forgot. Simberg and Steyn highlighted another scandal at Penn State at around the same time with Micheal Mann. Steyn appropriately points out that the same corruption that existed under then President Graham Spanier on the serial child abuse scandal was not simply confined to that one area. Spanier was a close ally to Mann. Evidence includes the consistent acknowledgements Mann gave to Spanier, even after he was sitting in prison. Spanier assured that a phony investigation into the conduct of Mann would lead to a PR stunt and a predetermined exoneration. Just like in the case of the serial child abuser Jerry Sandusky. However, in the case of Sandusky the lid could not be kept on it, whereas in the case of Mann the lid essentially held.

Once the Penn State system was circumvented and Sandusky was finally arrested, he was perp walked in a jacket that had “Penn State Wrestling” visible on the front. It reinforced to me that the universe has a caustic sense of humor. I specifically remember an exchange between a probing reporter asking then head Football coach Joe Paterno about his former long time assistant coach (Sandusky) and the emerging scandal that shocked the public. Joe “Pa” was then pretty much a figure head of the football program who refused to retire. He appeared to solidify himself as a crusty, old curmudgeon. His assistants did the coaching and Joe Pa didn’t even wear a headset for most of the games. Paterno’s response to the reporter’s questions was rather revealing… perhaps symbolic too; Joe Pa responded with the school chant “We Are, Penn State!, We Are, Penn State!”.

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A New Years resolution worth keeping. The President of Harvard is stepping down.  This is welcome news, but Harvard still needs institutional change following this scandal that reveals a deeper, broader problem at Harvard. Simply changing out this Harvard President for a mini-me just to deflect the blow doesn’t improve the situation adequately. An Austrian […]

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When it comes to going after the “invasion” of the Chinese into our education system, I doubt that any governor has been more aggressive than Ron DeSantis. Due to his condemnation of the Chinese, however, I have to question whether all his actions are warranted. Let there be no doubt that the Chinese have been […]

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‘The Courage to Be Free’: A Book Review

 

“The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present – and is to be gravely regarded.  Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.  It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system – ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.” — President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Farewell Address, January 17, 1961

This is a quote that Gov. Ron DeSantis chose to place in his new book, The Courage To Be Free, and sums up the contents of this book.

I happened to catch the last few minutes of an interview by Mark Levin of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Levin commented that he read the book and found it was not your typical political read. He said to DeSantis that the governor doesn’t attack his competitors in the upcoming race in this book. It is a snapshot of how he grew up and how he came to make the choices he’s made. He wants to give people a picture of who he is — as a person, a governor, a husband and father, and a candidate for president of the United States. If Levin was impressed, I wanted to read it, and I am also impressed.

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Perennials are flowers that grow back every year. Once planted, the flowers can continue to bloom from one spring to another. The word “perennial” signifies what the flower does, coming back each year. In history the word perennial means “evergreen, continual, or lasting.” I have taken the definition upon myself to identify who I am […]

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I Don’t Give Grades, Students Earn Them

 

My favorite teacher movie is The Emperor’s Club. Kevin Kline plays Mr. Hundert, who inspires his students to learn the great principles of history. Mr. Hundert makes no apology for the hard work it will take to master the subject. And the teacher has high expectations for his students as well as himself. But I think the down-deep reason I resonate with The Emperor’s Club is that education is meant to be rigorous.

Perhaps Mr. Hundert’s ideal is behind the two questions, I ask my students to ask themselves. In each of my college syllabi, the questions are posed: (1) What do I want out of this course? And (2) What am I willing to do, to get what I want out of this course? If students decide to go to college because they want a degree, then the result of their work is theirs alone. Students decide how important the class is. Students are responsible for the work they do. Students account for what they produce in a class. Students earn the grades they receive. Students oversee their own learning.

And here is a story you won’t soon forget. I used to hate my students. I know. That sounds very harsh. But hear me out. I never had an education course before I started teaching and had no idea what to expect. I thought students would hang on my every word. Ha! Nothing could be or is further from the truth. But here is the thing. I discovered that my responsibility was to do the best teaching I could do. I surely failed many times. But the next lesson was a life-changer in my second year of teaching. It dawned on me that once the teaching was given, the student was responsible for the learning.

This week on The Learning Curve, guest cohosts Charlie Chieppo and Alisha Searcy join Dr. David Steiner for a wide-ranging discussion about the importance of education as a means of transmitting enduring wisdom to young people. Dr. Steiner discusses differences in K-12 education between the U.S. and the U.K., explores how schools of education may be contributing to the decline of K-12 education, reflects on the politicization of U.S. history and civics education, and talks about what states, governors, and state legislatures can do to lead systemic academic improvements. Dr. Steiner concludes the interview with a reading from his new book A Nation at Thought: Restoring Wisdom in America’s Schools.

Joe Selvaggi speaks with Thomas Berry, research fellow at Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies; they explore the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, how it mostly bars race as a factor in determining who gets admitted to college, the sharply contrasting views of American history the decision exposes, and what comes next for colleges seeking to ensure diverse enrollments.

Guest

Target’s Deceptive Transgender Agenda

 

You probably thought the big story about Target was their selling transgender clothing in the front of their stores. How clueless they were! Didn’t they learn anything from the Bud Light debacle? After the initial kerfuffle, they felt they needed to place the merchandise in a more subtle location; we assumed that they at least got the message that their blatant support for transgenderism was not acceptable to many in their customer base.

We were wrong.

I learned today that Target has been affiliated for years with GLSEN, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. GLSEN has co-sponsored Target’s transgender activities, led by Carlos Saavedra, Vice-President of brand marketing at Target—and the treasurer at GLSEN. Target has also provided donations to GLSEN reaching $2.1 million.

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As some of you know, I studied Zen Buddhism for 20 years and had aspirations to become a teacher, a sensei. But the closer I moved to my goal, the more difficulties I seemed to encounter. My teacher and I were experiencing a lot of tension in our relationship. Periodically she lost patience with me […]

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It Should Be the Same Everywhere

 

It is the question I am often asked, “How do you teach at a public university?”

Honestly, the answer should be the same wherever I practice my craft: I try to teach with excellence and benevolence. I explained the words this way.

“Excellence” to me means that I hold myself to a high standard of both content and communication. I want to set before my students the best content ideas that will help them hone their skills as thinkers and writers. For example, if I am teaching about ethics, I set before them great thinkers such as Thomas Sowell, Bari Weiss, Glenn Loury, or Robert P. George to help them wrestle with what is right or wrong. And as a communicator, I spend hours ahead of class time to make sure the message of that session comes across in ways that students will understand.

Introducing Great Books to Children

 

The decay of the American public school system has parents rightly worried. Public education’s abandonment of the western canon of literature and its replacement with woke substitutes has many parents homeschooling or supplementing their children’s education.

“Before Austen Comes Aesop: The Children’s Great Books and How to Experience Them,” by Cheri Blomquist, offers a roadmap for parents looking to supplement their children’s literary education. Blomquist goes beyond the traditional canon of great books of Western literature aimed at adult audiences. She argues that a subset of great literature was written for or adapted to children. She maintains young readers profit by studying age-appropriate great books before delving into books too mature for them to understand.

Blomquist opens the book developing and defending her thesis. Children better appreciate literature by starting with children’s classics, especially important classics as indicated by literary history. She expands this by explaining how and why children benefit from this approach. She outlines how parents can guide their children’s literary education.

Americans have always had mixed emotions about schooling: in popular literature and television, teachers are often depicted as tyrannical authorities, even as in classroom settings they often try to style themselves as “friends.” Dr. Rita Koganzon, professor of political science at the University of Houston, discusses the history of the idea of authority in education, dwelling on Enlightenment thinkers like Locke, Rousseau, and Bodin. Along the way, she covers contemporary issues like homeschooling and parents’ rights, and how attitudes towards those concepts have changed from the Early Modern period to the present.

More on Dr. Koganzon, https://uh.edu/class/political-science/faculty-and-staff/professors/koganzon/

This week on The Learning Curve, Cara and Gerard speak with University of Virginia Professor Dan Willingham about cognitive psychology and K-12 education. Professor Willingham discusses the psychology of learning and the research that shaped his thinking and writing, including his advocacy of using scientific knowledge in classroom teaching and education policy and his critique of the “learning styles theory” of education. They explore what elements appear to be missing from American K-12 schooling and schools of education; his support of E.D. Hirsch, Jr.’s Core Knowledge curricular work; and what must be done to improve students’ enjoyment of and performance in primary and secondary education.

Stories of the Week