Scaling Down Inequality

Gender bias in student evaluations of college professors diminishes considerably by changing the scale.

Texas Trying To Force Students To Stand For Pledge Of Allegiance

The State of Texas is arguing in Court that a school district can force a student to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment.

Ohio State Suspends Urban Meyer Three Games Amid Assistant Coach Abuse Scandal

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees has suspended football coach Urban Meyer for three games over his handling of allegations of domestic violence by an Assistant Coach dating back to 2015.

University Of Maryland Football Coach Suspended Amid Reports Of ‘Toxic Culture’

The head football coach at the University of Maryland has been suspended after reports of a “toxic environment” that led to the death of a student athlete in June.

Federal Judge In Indiana Rules In Favor Of Transgender Student

Another Federal Judge has ruled in favor of a transgender student seeking the right to use the gender that conforms to the gender they identify with.

Federal Judge Rules In Favor Of Transgender Students In Restroom Access Case

A Federal Judge in Oregon has rejected an efforts by a parent’s group to block a school district policy that allows transgender students to use the restroom facilities that conform to their gender identity.

Honorifics, Gender, and Journalism

A seemingly innocuous change to a newspaper style guide has some significant implications.

Indiana Teacher Fighting Policy Requiring Calling Transgender Kids by Preferred Name

He thinks his Constitutional rights are being violated. They’re not.

Commission Set Up To Examine School Shootings Won’t Look At Role Of Guns

The Trump Administration’s School Safety Commission isn’t getting off to a very good start.

School Shootings No Longer Shock Students. It Shouldn’t Be Like This

We have a generation of schoolkids who aren’t even surprised when there’s a shooting at their school. That’s a problem.

Federal Judge Rules In Favor Of Transgender Student In Bathroom Access Case

A Federal Judge in Virginia has handed a significant legal victory to a student who sued their school district because they were barred form using the bathroom of the gender they identify with.

Fixing Schools Requires Changing the Social Contract

Solving the problems created by neighborhood-based schools isn’t going to be easy.

Rice Commission Issues NCAA Reform Recommendations

The Commission on College Basketball recommended an end to the one-and-done rule and other major reforms.

Ryan Zinke the ‘Geologist’

CNN reports that the Interior Secretary, who claims to be a “geologist,” merely has a geology degree.

Millennials Don’t Know Much About The Holocaust

A plurality of Americans aged 18 to 34 have no idea how many people were killed, what Auschwitz was, or how Hitler came to power.

“Learning Styles” Likely Are Just A Myth

The idea that individuals have different “learning styles” is apparently not borne out by the evidence, according to recent research.

Teacher Says ‘America Has Never Been Great for Minorities’

Johnetta Benton was caught on tape in a 15-minute rant against President Trump’s campaign slogan. She ain’t wrong.

Student Evaluations of Professors Should be Illegal

Repeated studies have demonstrated their bias against women and minorities. Why do we use them to make employment decisions?

Wisconsin Waging War on Higher Education?

Wisconsin-Stevens Point is shuttering 13 majors, including English, history, political science and sociology while expanding more job-oriented programs.

Teacher Accidentally Shoots Student While Demonstrating Gun Safety

Yet another example of the foolishness of having firearms in the schoolhouse.

National School Walkout Commemorates Florida School Shooting

Students across the country are staging 17-minute protests at 10 am in their time zones.

Is Fear of School Shootings Irrational?

Kids are more likely to be killed driving to school than shot while there. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try and prevent them.

Texas Wesleyan Fires Coach for Abject Stupidity

Mike Jeffcoat rejected a prospect, in writing, on account of marijuana being legal in his state, adding, “You can thank your liberal politicians.”

Lehigh Faculty Votes to Revoke Trump’s Honorary Degree

The faculty would like to strip away a 20-year-old honor in light of several statements in violation of the institution’s core values.

How The Reaction Of One Sheriff’s Deputy Rebuts The Arguments For Arming School Teachers

If a law enforcement officer with 30 years of experience can’t stop an active school shooter, what makes anyone think a teacher with a gun can?

Trump Floats Idea Of Arming School Teachers

President Trump is pressing the idea of arming teachers to stop shootings in schools.

Education Dept. Stops Investigating Complaints By Transgender Students About Bathroom Access.

The Department of Education announced yesterday that it will no longer investigate civil rights complaints from transgender students regarding bathroom access in public schools.

‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ And ‘Huckleberry Finn’ Banned By Minnesota School District

Two classic pieces of American Literature have been banned from the curriculum in Duluth, Minnesota. This is a mistake.

Mandatory SATs and Upward Mobility

Combining universal and mandatory (and free) college-board exams with a program for targeting college recruitment of disadvantaged groups could–if coupled with a commensurate financial commitment by the state to such groups–go some distance in bringing more qualified economically disadvantaged groups into higher education. 

Mississippi School District Bans ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’

The school district in Biloxi, Mississippi has removed ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ from the 8th-grade reading list because it “makes people uncomfortable.”

Another Professor Fired After Another Stupid Tweet

A stupid comment about Hurricane Harvey cost a Florida professor his job.

Supreme Court Strikes Down Bar On Secular Aid To Church-Run Schools

The Supreme Court ruled today that states may not exclude church-run schools from an aid program with a wholly secular purpose.

Seventh Circuit Rules In Favor Of Transgender Student In Bathroom Access Case

A Federal appellate court has ruled that a transgender student must be allowed to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity.

Underfunded Higher Ed

Musings on the costs of college.

Supreme Court Considers Church-State Separation Case

The Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in a case dealing with whether Missouri can deny a religious school from participating in a program to make school playgrounds safer.

Supreme Court Punts Transgender Bathroom Case Back To Fourth Circuit

The Supreme Court has decided to return the case involving a transgender student’s right to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity to the Fourth Circuit rather than deciding it during this term.

Trump Administration Rescinds Obama Era Guidelines On Transgender Students

Not surprisingly, the Trump Administration has revoked guidelines to public schools that required accommodation of transgender students.

Betsy DeVos Confirmed As Secretary Of Education After Tie-Breaking Vote By Mike Pence

Despite two Republican defections, Betsy DeVos was confirmed today as Secretary of Education.

Rolling Stone Loses Defamation Suit In University Of Virginia Rape Case

Journalistic malpractice has real consequences.

Supreme Court Upholds Affirmative Action Based College Admissions Program

In a somewhat surprising opinion from Justice Kennedy, the Supreme Court upheld the University of Texas’s race-based admissions program.

Rigor in Professional Military Education

My latest for War on The Rocks, “Professional Military Education and the Rigor Problem, has posted.

Some Thoughts on Grades

More accurately, some thoughts on commentary about higher ed.

Divided Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Affirmative Action In University Admissions

A divided Supreme Court heard argument today in a case involving affirmative action in college admissions that is before the Court for the second time in two years.