I flip through the newspaper and notice an article about a meeting between the CEOs and founders of huge technology firms and governors of various states.  The goal was for these corporate leaders to instruct the politicians about how schools need to change.  At first, this seems like an arrogant move.  After all, I would not tell ...

I often rail against standardized education, holding a fist out at the McGraw Hill Company, speaking out against No Child Left Behind and publicly blasting the AIMS test.  For me, the best metaphor for standardized education is McDonalds.  Students shuffle through quickly driven by the value of effecienecy.  Teachers are ...

Growing up, the show was controversial.  Parents hated it.  Groups boycotted it.  Kids reveled in it, because it was real.  Unlike the plastic, pollyana Cosby show or the TGIF line-up, The Simpsons spoke to a generation of youth who loved the satire on childhood.  Nowadays, its shock value pales in comparison to ...

I rarely watch television, not so much out of moral obligation, but out of a lack of time. I find most shows to be trite and annoying. Yet, the other day, I saw a show called ''Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?'' It's an innovative idea, pitting adults against ten year olds. I can't help but laugh when an adult can't remember the Order of ...