The uncommon common school
“ … A common murderer, possibly, but a very uncommon cook.” -- Saki, “The Blind Spot” A few years ago,...
Read More >Trusting John Dewey?
The curriculum and the teaching method that are ideal for children have long been in dispute and remain so. Favorite...
Read More >The state of the (teachers) union
Somebody in the White House has been thinking. President Trump’s recent State of the Union address, while wanting perhaps in...
Read More >The child's right to the parent's choice
Nearly a century ago, in 1925, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Pierce v. Society of Sisters. The state of Oregon...
Read More >'You pays your money and you takes your choice'
Editor’s note: In a February 1988 New York Times column, William Safire traces this expression to a cartoon in an...
Read More >A no-loser solution?
New York City’s “public” schools offer many parents a choice among providers – if their child happens to be gifted...
Read More >Good luck, Ms. Jones
Dress’d in a little brief authority Most ignorant of what he’s most assur’d -- -- William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure...
Read More >Images of ‘equality’
Kneeling ne’er spoiled silk stockings; quit thy state; All equal are within the Church’s gate. -- George Herbert, 1593-1633 Academics,...
Read More >The conscripted child as agent
“A child’s a plaything for an hour.” -- English poet Mary Lamb, 1764-1847 The speech of Nazis and pornographers is...
Read More >A third-grade conversation
Billy to his teacher: “Where do right and wrong come from?” Ms. Bland: “Well, it’s in our genes; we’re made...
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