Archive
Besides his books, Bill has written a variety of poems, short stories, opinion pieces, and more.
Change is in the ivy….
In this season of caps and gowns, change is afoot. The architecture of ivy-decked privilege is ceding ground to a still-evolving but more accessible and affordable vision of higher ed...
Educational Culture
You can feel it within minutes of entering a school: the demeanor of the students, the bearing of the teachers, the care for the physical plant, the artifacts of discovery,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 I had...
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...
