The State as Religion and the End of History (i.e., conflict)

The State as religion is not a new thing.  See here: Ely was also one of the most prominent post-millennialist intellectuals of the era. He fervently believed that the State is God’s chosen instrument for reforming and Christianizing the social order so that eventually Jesus would arrive and put an end to history.  The State, …

eHow on How to Register a Complaint Against a LAUSD Teacher

When I see online sites offering step-by-step procedures on how to complain against a LAUSD teacher, I know for a fact that we’re grinding out a living in a Stalinesque bureaucracy.  Paranoia has been vindicated.  

I’ve Heard of UTLA, but NewTLA? Here Is Their "Official" Definition.

This post was initially posted back in July of 2011. NewTLA is a caucus of dues-paying members of the United Teachers Los Angeles UTLA.  NewTLA’s membership includes rank-and-file teachers, school-site Chapter Chairs, and elected UTLA leaders.  NewTLA is associated and affiliated with and only with UTLA and its dual affiliates, the National Educators Association, or …

11-Year Old Joanna Ramos Dies in Hospital Following Emergency Surgery

An 11-year girl gets into a fight after school and then shows up to an after-school program, says she’s not feeling well and is taken to the hospital where emergency surgery is performed, and she dies in the hospital.  But the way that the Associated Press frames it, they  make it sound like she died …

Be a Better Teacher?

1.  80% of my lessons focus on the most important concepts for each class.Identify the most important concepts for English 9, English 10, Am. Lit./Cont. Comp., and Expos. Comp. 2.  Craft quizzes, in-class activities, and lecture materials towards one concept: the day’s deliverable. 3.  20% of my lesson focus on the most important ideas from …

Beaten and Battered

Battered-Homeowner Syndromeby Doug French on June 24, 2011 “I don’t think people can stay stupid forever,” says Richard Plaster, president of Las Vegas homebuilding company Signature Homes, and a leading advocate for people to walk away from their homes. He thinks more people will walk away as home prices continue to fall. “People who keep …

A Californian

I taught high-school English for seventeen years.  The first few years were pleasant enough.  The kids liked me.  They were patient enough with me.  The fact that only a fraction of the kids actually read and comprehended was tolerable because the kids were nice.  I arrived at a high-school with debt and with fantasies of …

Reading List

The best description of what government money did to higher education is Robert Nisbet’s book, The Degradation of the Academic Dogma (1971).

Horace Mann Was the Front Man for the Wealthy

Daniel Webster denounced Horace Mann’s character and morality.  After Mann had done his job, he was exiled to the presidency of Antioch in Ohio, a former utopian colony, essentially declared a non-citizen.  In his biography, he denounces the guys who set him up.