Time to Resume Teaching Civics and Begin Teaching Media Literacy

If current political events have taught us anything, it’s how vulnerable we all are to misinformation and innuendo. And if 80% of us don’t trust our own government, we must… Read More

Castleton University?

I’m not one to spoil a party but I remain puzzled by Castleton’s decision to become a university. It’s a fine school and President Wolk deserves kudos for making it… Read More

A New Public School Model

We can’t keep doing things the way we are in education. The costs are unsustainable and results are questionable, especially as connectivity, content distribution, and career options evolve. It’s not… Read More

It’s Time to Update Vermont School Governance

Sixty years ago, our family drove to Burlington two or three times a year. This was before the interstate, car culture, and paved roads wove Vermont together into a rural… Read More

Trigger Warnings

When I first heard the term “trigger warning,” I imagined Roy Rogers leaning down and whispering something to his horse but I’ve come to understand that the concept is something… Read More

The Future of Higher Education

We can’t know the future. We can, however, try to understand how the future will evolve by studying trends. Take college for example. We know tuition costs are rising too… Read More

UVM’s Challenge & Opportunity

  Listen 3:23   UVM was kind enough to admit me to its junior class in 1966 after I explained my abysmal record at Kenyon College and the life lessons… Read More

Higher Ed.: Excellence or Marketing

The heart of education is the relationship between a wise and knowledgeable teacher, a willing learner, and the intellectual culture in the student’s home. Next, comes the availability of educational… Read More

Slip Slidin’ Away

Life promises us nothing. The quality of our lives is determined as much by arbitrary circumstance as it is by our individual capacity for learning and enterprise. And if we… Read More

Our Schools, Ourselves

We are in a six-passenger compartment on the eight-hour train ride from Marrakesh to Fez. It is like a small ensemble theater company that will change characters as we move… Read More

Toys

When I was first married 40 some years ago, there was little spare money for Christmas toys. We relied on well heeled relatives to fill the empty white area under… Read More

What’s Wrong with Our Schools?

A number of things… As a community, we have lost respect for our schools. We speak disparagingly of our schools in front of our children. We no longer instill in… Read More