Unicorn

She couldn’t walk, and she yearned for an unabridged Oxford English Dictionary. This was at the tail end of the OED existing in book form. All those huge, expensive, books, guarding the history of English like a dragon. She taught me what it was, and then I loved it, too. She was stuck in a […]

Warm Cookie Wednesday

I went home after Ash Wednesday service and baked chocolate-chip cookies. They gooed and fell apart as I was eating them. They were still hot. I used to feel reverent abstaining from pleasures for Lent. This year I felt reverent eating chocolate. I like to get into complicated political and religious discussions. In such a […]

For People Who Haven’t Been In School For A While: Teachers’ Unions

Teachers’ Unions, the argument: Teachers formed unions so they wouldn’t have to work so much, and they’d get paid more for doing less. They get lavish pensions and benefits (even summers off!), while people in the private sector are seeing their salaries and benefits cut. Because of unions, teachers can get tenured, which means they […]

For People Who Haven’t Been In School In A While: Standardized Testing

Test scores, the argument: News media says American education compares poorly to other countries on standardized tests. People want someone held responsible. Standardized tests measure students’ learning. Teachers are the ones who are responsible for that lack of learning. Let’s use standardized tests to fire teachers whose students get bad tests scores, and then hire […]