Electrics are great – but don’t expect heat
Consumers Reports, a cheerleader for the heavy foot of government on automotive manufacturers, is also a big fan of all things green. Electric cars? Wheeh! Except sometimes the truth gets out anyway. The publication has a new online review of the Nissan Leaf, which was built with $1.4 billion of your money. Sure, there a few nice things about the car. But it has one […]
Slavish devotion to the law corrupts the culture
If allegations from Pennsylvania’s top cops are true, there’s been some very sordid business going on at Penn State University – starting with allegations that an assistant football coach raped a 10-year-old boy. It continues with charges that key administration officials committed perjury and covered up a number of dirty deeds. Naturally, everyone wants to know what the Big Man on Campus knew, and what […]
School Elections Are Getting Political–Thankfully
Tomorrow is school election day, which prompts the question: Is a non-political approach to education possible–or even desirable? A recent article in the Star-Tribune carries the headline “School board races become more political.” The lead paragraph says, “polarizing politics seen nationwide are filtering down to the most local level.” What’s the evidence? “Community campaigns have endorsed strings of like-minded candidates, a blog with political accusations forced one […]
LaPlante: Union dinosaurs vs. online learning
Digital technology has transformed the way we read, bank, shop, keep in touch with one another, and do business. Can it shake up the nation’s sluggish public schools? Perhaps – but only if we don’t expect tomorrow’s schools to be managed like yesterday’s. Consider that, according to the Michigan Department of Education, one of every of four students who enters the ninth grade does not […]
Pay Up For Your Purple Delusions
Are Minnesotans doomed to hand over $400-$500 million to a man whose financial worth is twice that amount? Tom Powers, sports columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, recently wrote about the prospects of a new taxpayer-paid stadium for the Wilf Vikings. The headline tells it all: “Like it or not, you will be paying for a new football stadium.” I have to admit that […]
Online Learning Grows Fastest in Charter Schools
Charter schools have been one of the most important innovations in public education in the last 20 years. They are the natural home to online learning, which is the next new thing. Online learning, which goes by the name of online learning, cyberschools, and a few other terms, is subject to both hype and unfair criticism these days. A recent report from the Office of […]
Pawlenty endorses Obamneycare
[The following was the lead article on “The Michigan View,” an opinion portal of the Detroit News.] The Republican Party battle between the establishment and the tea party took another twist today, with a would-be populist throwing his weight behind the candidate of the establishment, Mitt Romney. Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota, has endorsed Mitt Romney as the Republican’s 2012 standard-bearer. You might remember […]