My lecture on “Progress and Betrayal — Latin American Intellectuals and the Difference between North and Latin American Economies” is up at YouTube: Thanks again to Federico Fernandez and the Bases Foundation for making this 2016 event possible.
“Progress and Betrayal” lecture, Rosario, Argentina Read More »
Brett Veinotte interviewed me on postmodernism and its implications and impact on education. After some significant context-setting, the interview portion with me starts around the 28-minute mark. The book discussed is here in various editions and translations. My lecture on philosophy of education and postmodernism is here.
School Sucks podcast on education and pomo Read More »
Kevin Currie-Knight pointed me to this Atlantic article by Susan Engel, in which Engel notes: “Many teachers are pressured to treat pleasure and joy as the enemies of competence and responsibility.” That perverse duality pervades so much of education historically and today. I’m reminded of John Locke’s hopeful musing in the 1690s on how best
Joy in education — Susan Engel asks why it’s missing Read More »
Educating a child is a hugely philosophical project. How does one become a fully-functional adult with a zest for all that life has to offer—and acquire the knowledge, skills, and habits to pursue it? Homework, traditionally conceived, is not part of the answer. And when we consider the sadly large number of young people who
Against Homework [Good Life series] Read More »
Things have only gotten worse on campuses in the last five years. But Nick Gillespie’s interview of the excellent Kors on “Campus Speech Codes, Libertarianism, & The Case for the Humanities” is timelessly relevant.
Alan Charles Kors on free speech and education Read More »
Here’s Albert Shanker, who was president of the American Federation of Teachers for twenty-three years, from 1974-1997: “When schoolchildren start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.” The quotation’s accuracy is disputed, but it captures perfectly the relevant stances in education’s structurally adversarial dynamic. As in legal proceedings, attorneys
Teachers unions and what’s good for the children Read More »
Here’s Dr. Ann Laing, superintendant of the Racine, Wisconsin Unified School District: “The African-American families are the ones who are most prone to enroll their kids in the fly-by-night schools that cropped up after vouchers existed, and they don’t know how to make good choices for their children. They really don’t. They didn’t have parents
Educational paternalism and race — superintendant Ann Laing edition Read More »
For weekend readers, two articles from me this week on the campus battles: “Should Politicians Force Diversity at Universities?” Published by the Berens Foundation’s The Right Insight. Excerpt on politicized universities: “Politicians must then choose either (1) to fail in their responsibilities to taxpayers by continuing to spend their money on educationally irresponsible institutions, or
Universities: Forced diversity? Nuanced judgment? Read More »