Tag: education
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News Outlets Take Sides in Battle Between Conservative Parents and School Administrators
News organizations have taken the side of teachers in the ongoing battle between conservative parents and school administrators over the future of US education. Despite Covid-19 school closures no longer making sense, major news outlets have repeatedly given teachers’ strikes kid-glove treatment, even as they become increasingly unreasonable and self-serving. Furthermore, the press has promoted…
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Is Michigan Headed for Another “Lost Decade” under Governor Whitmer?
Michigan’s “Lost Decade” during the Aughts under former Governor Jennifer Granholm saw the state suffer a severe economic downturn and population losses. Although Granholm is not to blame for the Great Recession, Michigan fared worse under her leadership than most other states, experiencing uninterrupted job losses until the last year of her tenure. Michigan was…
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The Importance of Studying Western Civilization in Modern Universities
Russell Kirk, a conservative academic, argued in his essay “Cultural Debris” that civilizations are held together by moral and intellectual principles rather than force of arms. For the West, those principles are exemplified by its canon, which is a complex tapestry woven from historical and philosophical threads. However, the state of the modern university has…
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The Importance of Western Civilization Studies in Maintaining the Fabric of Society
According to Russell Kirk in his essay “Cultural Debris,” civilizations are held together by moral and intellectual principles rather than force. The fabric of civilization is a complex tapestry woven from historical and philosophical threads, exemplified by its canon. As a conservative academic, Kirk was concerned with the state of the modern university, which has…
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How the Corporate Press is Taking Sides in the Battle Over Education
The corporate press has taken a side in the ongoing battle between conservative parents and school administrators over the future of education in the United States. Major news organizations have repeatedly sided with teachers on Covid-19 school closures, even after the closures no longer made sense. They have given teachers’ strikes a kid-glove treatment, despite…
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The Serious Business of Dictionaries: An Insight into the World of Lexicography
The creator of the first great English dictionary, Samuel Johnson, once wickedly mocked his own trade by defining a lexicographer as “a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words.” Yet, dictionaries are serious business, and the people who devote themselves to them are anything but harmless. Dictionaries…
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How Major News Organizations are Taking Sides in the Battle Over Education in the United States
Major news organizations have taken the side of teachers in the ongoing conflict between conservative parents and school administrators over the future of education in the United States. Despite the fact that Covid-19 school closures no longer made sense, the press continued to support teachers. They have also given teachers’ strikes, which have become increasingly…
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Can Michigan’s New Council Reverse the State’s Economic Decline?
Michigan suffered a severe economic downturn and population losses during the 2000s, a period known as the “Lost Decade.” Although former governor Jennifer Granholm is not to blame for the Great Recession, Michigan fared far worse under her leadership than most other states. Michigan was the only state to lose population between 2000 and 2010,…
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California Lawmakers Seek to Give More Power to Government Unions
California government unions have long funded political campaigns, leading to politicians rubber-stamping union demands, with catastrophic results in areas such as education, fire safety, health care, infrastructure, housing, cost of living, taxes, and crime. Now, state lawmakers are set to give even more power to government-union leaders. Senate Constitutional Amendment 7, proposed by State Senator…
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The Importance and Impact of Dictionaries and Lexicographers
Samuel Johnson, the creator of the first great English dictionary, once described a lexicographer as a “harmless drudge” who busies himself in tracing the original and detailing the significance of words. However, the importance of dictionaries is undeniable. They are repositories of erudition, monuments to linguistic authority, and battlefields in cultural and political struggles. Last…