Louie Lang wrote an article in Phlexible Philosophy entitled “An Education Based on Happiness” (Full disclosure, I also write for Phlexible Philosophy.). The premise is that we need a shift of emphasis in education away from career-oriented education and towards a happiness education. That will go a long way towards stopping the mental health crisis….
In his book Deschooling Society, Ivan Illich takes issue with the way that children are treated. In Chapter 2, “Phenomenology of School,” Illich writes, His thoughts about childhood in relation to school have really stayed with me, especially as a result of the pandemic. Making society “livable for the young” takes on a whole new…
Student loan forgiveness has been a big part of the public debate (such as there is) for a little while now. I always encourage debate, and I’m all for student loan forgiveness. (After the financial services industry destroyed the world economy without facing any serious consequences, I’m actually for all personal debt being forgiven, but…
Today was my daughter’s first day of kindergarten. Although, she thinks tomorrow is her first day due to the weirdness of the schedule. Either way, she is very excited. I will be very upset at anyone who diminishes that excitement. It is wonderful to see her so excited. Sadly, I’m having a really hard time…
The most important moment of Dr. Robert Putnam’s presentation “Closing the Opportunity Gap” on July 21st at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts came after he’d already offered his conclusion. During the question and answer session, an audience member asked Dr. Putnam about former presidential candidate Bernie Sander’s plan to make college free. The…
Today, as I do most everyday, I was scrolling through 3 Quarks Daily. In case you don’t know, it’s an excellent site. Once a week, on Monday, they have a collection of original essays. The rest of the week, they are a high quality aggregator. Instead of the usual headlines, they tend to feature longer works dealing with…
There are certain basic life skills everyone should have. It’s one of the major failures of our educational system that many people lack them. What’s worse is that most people are never offered the opportunity to learn these skills in school. This list is far from complete, but it’s a start. 1. Sewing – I’m…
There is nothing that bothers me more than seeing bad arguments put forth by a group I want to be sympathetic to or for a position I support. If it can get worse it would be when the group, or person, making the argument should know better. Unfortunately, for these very reasons, teachers drive me…
The Scottish independence referendum left me disappointed. That’s funny because I would have voted against separation if I had been able to vote. I didn’t have any kind of stake, but it looked to me like Scottish independence would have been bad for the UK as well as for Scotland. Divorces are almost always messier…
