Author Archives

  • COLOR ME UNIMPRESSED

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    When you’re happy you enjoy the music. When you’re sad, you understand the lyrics.” ― George Jones Over the past several years we’ve repeatedly heard Tennessee’s Governor Bill Lee voice how impressed he is with his Commissioner of Education Penny… Read More ›

  • THE BREAK IS UPON US

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    “Your ego wants to conceal your insecurity and your fear. And that’s why it can be such an unwelcome intrusion when we’re trying to create or perform. You need your human frailty to be at least somewhat visible if you… Read More ›

  • AN EVER GROWING DISCONNECT

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    “If a liar tells you he is lying, is he telling the truth.” ― Shehan Karunatilaka, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew   I’ve said it before, but it always bears repeating, when I first started writing about education policy… Read More ›

  • DING, DONG, IS THE WICKED WITCH DEAD?

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    “She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls. You must not complain, then, if she goes hunting.” ― Alan Garner, The Owl Service   A great cry of joy arose across the land, Pitchforks were raised by town… Read More ›

  • SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES

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    Why are people so fucked up?” I asked “Maybe you do need college, Poiter,” Everett said. “You want to know why people are so fucked up? Son, that’s about the only question I can answer with even a small measure… Read More ›

  • I KNOW THE ANSWER, DO YOU?

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      “I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am.” ― Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses It’s been a week, both on a personal level, and in regard to education policy in… Read More ›

  • SHINY OBJECTS GALORE

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      F“The link between literacy and revolutions is a well-known historical phenomenon. The three great revolutions of modern European history — the English, the French and the Russian — all took place in societies where the rate of literacy was… Read More ›

  • A DAY OF CELEBRATION

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    “Knowledge is a skyscraper. You can take a shortcut with a fragile foundation of memorization, or build slowly upon a steel frame of understanding.” ― Naval Ravikant   This morning, out in Knoxville, the nation’s First Lady Jill Biden kicked… Read More ›

  • AND TO THINK I THOUGHT I HAD NOTHING TO SAY

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    “When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.” ― Queen Elizabeth II This week, two notable events transpired that are worthy of… Read More ›

  • SPLITTING THE EARS OF THE GROUNDLINGS

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    “Are people so unhappy when they love?” “Yes, Christine, when they love and are not sure of being loved.” ― Gaston Leroux,   Over the last several weeks I’ve been reading accounts of a wave of “quiet quitting” sweeping the… Read More ›