In this article, the author states that "critical thinking" has mesmerized academics across the political spectrum and that even high school students are now being called upon to "think critically." He furthers adds that it is no exaggeration to say that "critical thinking" has quickly evolved into a scholarly…

In this opinion piece, Michael Toscano writes that his criticism of the Common Core State Standards ultimately has very little to do with their innate quality, but rather that their relation to other social spheres is disordered. He refers to the full reordering of American education away from families and local communities--which he states are…

When "Academic Questions" editor Peter Wood asked the author to give some thought to the dispute between the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers (ALSCW), he thought he should say no. Well, what did the CFR report prepared by an independent task force chaired by Joel I. Klein, former…

In this article, the author describes five types of teachers who remain in the yeoman or domestic category of the profession, that is, who rely more on standardized idiosyncrasy than on the numen of "personality" as a means of ensuring recollection among their students. These are: (1) the Mother; (2) the Martinet; (3) the Peer; (4) the Maverick;…

The question of the relation between liberal education and political liberty, perennially important, is driven for this forum by the Obama administration's endorsement of "A Crucible Moment: College Learning & Democracy's Future," according to which the chief ends of postsecondary civic education ought to include the promotion of sweeping…

On December 31, 2013, Hillsdale College--a small liberal arts college in rural south-central Michigan--will no longer be authorized to recommend students to the state of Michigan for teacher certification. Hillsdale's over a century-and-a-half tradition of preparing teachers for public schools will, sadly, come to an end. Hillsdale will lose the…

In the nearly ten years since the attacks by Muslim terrorists on 9/11, people have seen an exponential growth in homegrown radical Islam, or Islamism. Insufficiently recognized and acknowledged, this metastasis has produced its natural, deadly effects: jihad against American citizens on their own soil. Some analysts cite "the narrative" as the…

Educational institutions across America face growing pressure to accommodate the religious practices of Muslim students. One of the biggest hot spots in this respect may seem unlikely--the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in America's heartland. In Minnesota, controversies about religious accommodations have arisen at a number of public…

Academics are inclined to think of their work as a pure calling. But the fact remains that the profession of higher education--like all professions--is embedded in various rules, assumptions, and programs that further the fiduciary obligations of the profession and also protect the rights, agendas and self-interests of the profession's members.…

A report from the National Endowment for the Arts, among much other such research, reveals that literacy is in serious decline in America. Ramifications of this decline extend beyond English and language departments to affect all other disciplines, ultimately raising the question of how a democracy can function when its citizens abandon the…

The motivation and methodology for measuring intelligence have changed repeatedly in the modern history of large-scale student testing. Test makers have always sought to identify raw aptitude for cultivation, but they have never figured out how to promote excellence while preserving equality. They've settled for egalitarianism, which gives rise to…

Plato wrote that higher order thinking could not start until the student had mastered conventional wisdom. The American educational establishment has turned Plato on his head with the help of a dubious approach to teaching developed by one Benjamin Bloom. Bloom's taxonomy was intended for higher education, but its misappropriation has resulted in…

"Brown v. Board of Education" only presumed to eliminate the "de jure" apartheid that existed in 1954. It was never intended to resolve the "de facto" gap in minority achievement that still faces education policymakers today. Sociologist David J. Armor goes beyond "Brown" to identify a set of definite risk factors--the devaluation of the family,…

It's unsettling to hear of credentialed school teachers who--ignorant of our principles and of so much more--are seduced by, and pass on, ludicrous and even subversive accounts of our history. Sandra Stotsky tells of curricula that equate white Americans with Nazis and of officials who discredit the Constitution as a license for slavery. She…

The author wants to relate a little incident that certainly made her realize that something is lacking in civilizing mechanisms today. She and a friend of hers were having a snack on a weekday afternoon at a fast food restaurant in which a number of people were eating. Near them was a group of schoolgirls talking in loud, piercing voices. Her…