American Exceptionalism, the idea that the United States is inherently different because it was founded on the principles of personal responsibility, freedom from over-reaching government, and equality, was alive and well for nearly 200 years although it would appear over the last few decades that that notion has been expelled from American culture.  In its [...]

Society is breaking down all across the western world. Unfortunately, it is bands of youths doing the breaking, literally. So, what should be done? How do we regain a level of respect for others, a respect of the rule of law and private property in our increasingly out of control youth? And what and or [...]

Everyone knows that Evernote is awesome and that you can bring your iPad to class and systematically record AND take notes on your professors amazing lecture. Sure, you’ve developed a classy, effective system for categorizing and completing your assignments, their due dates and your study schedule. By now, you’ve probably adapted your entire life to [...]

On Monday, we told you about a TIME magazine special that raised the possibility of a “new greatest generation.” Troops returning home from service in Iraq and Afghanistan are taking an active role in both bettering their home communities and continuing the mission they started abroad. A collection of young former service-members have thus far [...]

War is brutal. Or, more famously said, war is hell. Only the bravest dare fight them and only the most dedicated, honorable men and women dare lead young people into battle. The prospect of armed conflict is not only daunting, even though it has effectively preserved our freedom for centuries, but an aspiration for only [...]

This is kind of a universal truth: our lives are filled with huge, expected and unexpected changes. Whether you’re moving in with someone, setting off on your journey into higher education or starting a business, getting used to something new and different is never particularly easy, but there are a few simple ways that you [...]

Its not always easy to return to education, but in a crippling job market, many Americans are waiting out the dry spell by adding to their resume. Thousands of Americans are flocking back to school to complete Bachelors degrees, Masters degrees and beyond, and families are finding themselves confronted with a whole new set of [...]

Over the past decade, Detroit has been in the news for it’s rapid and dramatic disintegration. With the Census reporting a lost of nearly a quarter of a million people, and it’s boundaries rapidly shrinking (with entire neighborhoods disappearing off the map into a wasteland ruled by prairie grasses and wild dogs), Detroit has been [...]

Earlier in the week we showed how some classrooms are slowly building their own social media content and incorporating technology into their curriculum, but just because your school doesn’t totally embrace social networking doesn’t mean that you can’t use the technology you’re used to using every day to give you a leg up in class. [...]

With all the ways students are able to connect with technology, it might seem surprising to some that traditional classrooms still exist. Colleges are moving more toward an online model as students become more comfortable communicating and working from a computer screen in the comfort of their own home or local coffee shop; companies are [...]

No, this isn’t an advertisement for a get-rich quick scheme or a momentary lapse in judgment on the part of a major university. Real life CEOs and education experts are asking millions of students who are looking to four year colleges and universities to provide them a better future to forget higher education and, instead, [...]

Conan O’Brien is probably best known for being the first man to lose the Tonight Show to a former host with a penchant for jokes first written in 1994, but you might want to know that he has a soft side, too. In fact, he has a spot in his heart for college graduates, and [...]

I believe I am one of the few who routinely compares the fields of health and education. The reason: lessons from one field are often applicable to the other.
The parallels are obvious: In both fields (1) we have systematically suppressed normal market forces; (2) the entity that pays the bill is usually separate from the [...]

The GOP’s victories on November 2 have once again raised the call for smaller government, and given soaring budgets and lack of improvement, reducing K-12 education spending is one obvious target. This will not be easy, but there is a sensible strategy.
Begin by recognizing that abolishing any specific program, even clear-cut ineffective boondoggles, is doomed [...]

She was caught trying to smuggle contraband into West Friendship Elementary School and was severely upbraided.
The smuggled goods turned out to be candy. She is my granddaughter and is the biggest sweet-tooth since her great-grandmother. In spite of my prime directive that a government monopoly will always produce negative unintended consequences, I admit I was [...]