Scott Klinger – Where Has All the Money for Our Schools Gone?

As fall approaches, millions of moms and dads are scrambling to prepare for the first day of school, excited to support their children’s success. But are schools ready to receive our kids and foster that success? Increasingly, the answer is no. In at least 18 states, local government funding levels are declining, according to an analysis by the Center for Budget and …

DAVID ROSEN – Are We Entering an Era of Postmodern Serfdom?

Over the last few years, a growing numbers of authors have convincingly argued that America’s social order is in a deepening crisis.  Among these studies are: Louis Uchtelle, The Disposable American (2007); Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine, (2008); Don Peck, Pinched (2011); Donald Barlett and James Steele, The Betrayal of the American Dream (2012); D. W. Gibson, Not Working (2012); and Barbara Garson, Down the Up Escalator (2013). These and other writers …

Interview with Pam Koch from the Tisch Food Center– 02.11.16

Pam Koch is the Executive Director and Research Associate Professor of Nutrition Education at the Tisch Center for Food. She conducts research about the connections between a just, sustainable food system and healthy eating, and she translates her findings into useful resources for educators and policy makers.

Pam is the primary author of the three Linking Food and the Environment (LiFE) curriculum series books: Growing Food; Farm to Table & Beyond, and Choice, Control & Change. Pam speaks about nutrition education and sustainable food systems at meetings and conferences across the country. She also collaborates with several groups that are working to increase access to healthy, sustainable food around New York City, including Wellness in the Schools, Edible Schoolyard, and Food Corps. She completed her BS and MS degrees in nutrition at Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, and her EdD and RD from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Jaime O’Neill – An Open Letter to the Stupid People of America

Among my sort, by which I mean liberals, it’s often considered politically incorrect to single out people who suffer from impaired mental or intellectual function. We know that there are fellow Americans who are “thinking-challenged,” or poorly educated, and we know that it would be bad manners to think or speak harshly of these poor wretches who have enough trouble …

Glenn Greenwald – Those Demanding Free Speech Limits to Fight ISIS Pose a Greater Threat to US Than ISIS

n 2006 – years before ISIS replaced Al Qaeda as the New and Unprecedentedly Evil Villain – Newt Gingrich gave a speech in New Hampshire in which, as he put it afterward, he “called for a serious debate about the First Amendment and how terrorists are abusing our rights–using them as they once used passenger jets–to threaten and kill Americans.” In that speech, Gingrich argued: Either before we …

Mary S. Holland – The Legality of Censoring Speech on Vaccines & Autism

In a recent guest column, Professors James G. Hodge, Jr. and Doug Campos-Outcalt explore ways to limit presidential candidates’ speech about a link between vaccines and autism. Noting recent comments by Trump, Carson and Paul associating vaccines and autism, the authors decry the politicians’ “free pass” to “spread such public health lies.” They even suggest that the candidates’ statements are …

How human activity alters soil microbes around the world

Adding nitrogen and phosphorous to the soil beneath grasslands shifts the natural communities of fungi, bacteria, and microscopic organisms called archaea that live in the soil. Scientists associated with the Nutrient Network, a global grid of scientists who investigate ecological responses in grasslands around the world, reveal that microbial community responses to fertilizer inputs were globally consistent and reflected plant …

KEVIN CAREY – Student Debt in America: Lend With a Smile, Collect With a Fist

The American student loan crisis is often seen as a problem of profligacy and predation. Wasteful colleges raise tuition every year, we are told, even as middle-class wages stagnate and unscrupulous for-profit colleges bilk the unwary. The result is mounting unmanageable debt. There is much truth in this diagnosis. But it does not explain the plight of Liz Kelley, a …

Ask Beatty – 11.23.15

What is the role of schools and colleges in terms of educating students about the realities of life…the good, the bad and the ugly? As educators we have a responsibility to prepare our students to navigate through muddy waters. This can only happen if we encourage responsible debate, discussion and distention about a variety of issues that effect all of us including: religion, gender, sex, relationships and racism. Let’s keep our students safe from violence. Everything else should be up for debate!