A couple of days ago, The New York Times published a piece by Gina Bellafante entitled “A Chance at Learning.” It ends with a couple of paragraphs that seem emblematic of the state of education in America today, a state created by No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top and, now, the Common Core curriculum……
The Campaign for the Future of Higher Education [http://futureofhighered.org/ ] is a loose association of the major faculty unions and faculty associations in the United States. These groups have come together several times each year to share information on issues affecting high education and to shape responses to those issues that emphasize the paramount importance…
This post has been written by Jeff Kolnick. a professor of history at Southwest Minnesota State University. _______________ The fall semester is an exciting time to be a college professor. The spring semester has its charms with the promise of summer and the thrill of graduation, but for me, the start of the school year is…
This guest post was written by Michael DeCesare, a Sociologist at Merrimack College. With the new academic year waiting around the corner, I’m reminded of a popular motto from the 1980s: “Just Say No.” The story of the saying’s origin goes like this: At a meeting with schoolchildren in Oakland, then-First Lady Nancy Reagan was…
This seems to be the day for infographics. What follows has just been released by the White House: Although President Obama may be very well-intentioned in his continuing determination to forge some sort of bi-partisan agreements, this plan simply incorporates the major features of the proposals being put forward by those most interested in gutting…
Note: On Monday of this week I posted an article about plans to cut 40 jobs, including 22 faculty members at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Earlier today, I posted another article on the situation at Clarion on Raging Chicken Press. This article features an interview with the President of the Clarion chapter of the faculty…
Over the past six months or so, I have saved the following headlines. I think that they justify the title of this post. _______________ 1,000 California Foster Care Homes Match Sex Offender Addresses Are We Going to Become Allies of al-Qaeda “Bea Arthur Naked,” John Currin Painting, Auctioned for $1.8 Million Body Slamming Piglets to…
Let me begin with a broad observation. When Republican politicians are caught up in sexual scandals, the emphasis in the resulting commentary is typically on their hypocrisy. In contrast, when Democrats are caught up in such scandals, the emphasis is usually on the salaciousness of their behavior. This may seem like a distinction without a…