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William Bennett was U. S. Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988. During his tenure, he released three documents that outlined his views on what children should know at each level of schooling: First Lessons: A Report on Elementary Education in America, James Madison Elementary School: A Curriculum for American Students, and James Madison High School. They are all out of print today. But we thought we’d share an excerpt from First Lessons, written in 1986, Read more…

If you haven’t already heard, CLSA director Martin Cothran is joining Professor Carol at the University of Dallas this Saturday, Oct. 7 to talk about arts education. If you are in the Dallas area, you don’t want to miss it! (more…)

In a recent article, Education Week magazine asked ten professionals for their advice on “How to Prepare Students for Tomorrow’s Jobs.” Now the first thing to note is that education is not primarily about getting a job. Education is about the formation of a human being. And, of course, the better you are as a human being (knoweldgeable, honest, personable) the better employee you’ll make no matter what you do. But even so, many of Read more…

According to two recent studies, American civics education is in a sad state: (more…)

If you are like me, you have a hard time remembering the exact definitions of the various items on the astronomical calendar. Fortunately, like other sciences, astronomical terms are mostly Latin in origin. (more…)

My new article, a response to a blogger who champions specialization over being well-rounded (and widely educated), is now up at Memoria Press: (more…)

Writing in the New York Times Book Review, Timothy Aubry, an English professor at Baruch College, discusses two new books on the uses of a liberal arts degree: According to both Anders and Stross, the ever-expanding tech sector is now producing career opportunities in fields — project management, recruitment, human relations, branding, data analysis, market research, design, fund-raising and sourcing, to name some — that specifically require the skills taught in the humanities. To thrive Read more…

From Gene Edward Veith’s blog, a post about the new Classic Learning Test: (more…)