Why an education aimed at mastery can never hit its mark
Archives for May 2021
Who will enhance humanities research at Christian colleges?
I am happy for my STEM colleagues at Christian colleges. Here is Inside Higher Ed: Nine Christian colleges will receive more than $1.5 million in total grant funding as part of a project to enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics research at Council […]
Sam Wineburg on “critical ignoring”
Critical thinking requires critical ignoring. Here is Stanford’s Sam Wineburg: The web is a treacherous place. A website’s author may not be its author. References that confer legitimacy may have little to do with the claims they anchor. Signals of […]
Krispy Kreme is giving away free doughnuts to vaccinated people. Meet the guy who is taking full advantage of the offer
In this post we take a break from our usual fare to introduce you to my new hero. His name is Joe Caramagna. Here is a taste of his interview with Heather Schwedel at Slate: Back in March, doughnut chain Krispy […]
Are American conservatives advancing a new “Lost Cause?”
Paul Waldman writes: “Everywhere conservatives look, their view of America’s racial story is being challenged.” Most of our culture war debate right now seem to focus on school curriculum and race. Here is Waldman at The Washington Post: As conservatives […]
Evangelical roundup for May 24, 2021
What is going on in Evangelicalland? University of Pennsylvania professors on Trump and evangelicalism Eric Metaxas tells his audience to vote for Guardian Angel Curtis Sliwa in the upcoming New York City mayoral election. Metaxas apparently thinks he has a […]
Texas and Massachusetts: A Tale of Two States
Why have pro-life states opposed COVID restrictions—while pro-choice states have not?
Sunday Night Odds and Ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: David Brooks talks to Joe Biden Liberal Black intellectuals on race Mother Theresa as a cult leader? John Calhoun, the filibuster, and anti-majoritarianism Lecrae and white evangelicalism “Hey Stella” and […]
Rick Santorum is out at CNN
Here is The New York Times: Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator and Republican presidential candidate, has been dropped from his role as a CNN political commentator amid controversy over recent remarks in which he seemed to erase the role […]
Southern Baptists in the wake of Russell Moore’s departure
The most sane voice in the Southern Baptist Church has finally had enough. Russell Moore just left for Christianity Today. Meanwhile, the country’s largest Protestant denomination approaches its annual meeting in Nashville as a deeply divided body. Can the members […]
Biden dumped Trump’s 1776 Commission, but its members are still meeting
If you are not familiar with the 1776 Commission, get up to speed here and here and here. Here is The Washington Examiner: The education advisory commission set up by former President Donald Trump will resume operations despite being disbanded by President Joe […]
The Cheez-It turns 100
As American Historical Association director Jim Grossman likes to say, “everything has a history.” Here is Leo DeLuca at Smithsonian Magazine: Dayton’s historic Edgemont neighborhood is cocooned inside a crook in the Great Miami River, a winding waterway that snakes through […]
The Tampa Bay Times rejects “just the facts” history
History teaching begins with facts. But history teaching that stops with “just the facts” is not history teaching. Historians think about “what happened” in context. They think about facts in relations to other facts, leading them to tell complex stories […]
Marjorie Taylor Greene goes on Trump court journalist David Brody’s show and compares House mask mandates to the Holocaust
Here is CNN: Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, during an interview on a conservative podcast this week, compared House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to continue to require members of the House to wear masks on the chamber floor to steps the […]
All That Jazz, and So Much More
What does it take to turn a place into a destination?
What Obama and Biden thought about Trump’s election
Over at The Atlantic, Caroline Mimbs Nyce interviews Edward-Isaac Dovere, author of the upcoming book Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Trump. Here is a taste: Initially, President Obama seemed pretty restrained when commenting on the 45th […]
Texas is trying to whitewash its history
One of these days I will try to put together a list of state education boards trying to change their history curriculums so that students do not come face to face with the many sins of America’s past. Texas will […]
Bible Passage of the Day
2 Corinthians: 5:17-21 (RSV): 17 Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the […]
Most popular posts of the last week
Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Way of Improvement Leads Home: Russell Moore leaves Southern Baptist post. Joins Christianity Today Some early reaction to Russell Moore’s move to Christianity Today Are you looking for […]
The Post-Pandemic Millennial Identity Crisis
Rejection letters, dried-up funding, and social isolation add up to more than “First World problems”