Articles

Most recent posting below. See other articles in the column to the right.

Join or Die
March 31, 2009 By Peter Wood
You don't have to fight the academic Left’s campus hegemony alone.
1 comment - Last on 04/01/2009

Slouching Toward the Therapeutic University: Part 2
March 31, 2009 By Tom Wood
How the "students as customers" attitude and the self-esteem movement undermine good education.

Slouching Toward the Therapeutic University: Part 1
March 30, 2009 By Tom Wood
In the first of this three-part series, Tom Wood contrasts self-alienation and student-centered pedagogy.
2 comments - Last on 03/31/2009

Hey Guys!
March 27, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
The University of Arizona surveys: do professors and others on campus use "GLBT-inclusive language"?
1 comment - Last on 03/30/2009

Arrrrrggus
March 26, 2009 By Peter Wood
Check the facts please, Professor Derryberry.

River Rafting
March 26, 2009 By Larry Purdy
A response to "Affirmative-Action Programs for Minority Students: Right in Theory, Wrong in Practice."

Bucks for Buckeyes
March 26, 2009 By Peter Wood
OSU’s provost has preferences    Open PDF file ( 14.84KB) . . .

Suitable for Framing
March 26, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
FIRE, student paper, CHE, and John K. Wilson weigh in on Virginia Tech diversity requirements for promotion and tenure.
2 comments - Last on 03/26/2009

Monster Mail
March 25, 2009 By Peter Wood
Some of our more unusual letters from readers.

We Deliver
March 25, 2009 By Peter Wood
We offer a free CASNET subscription: you can get NAS and other important articles delivered to your inbox.

Tuesday Temptations
March 24, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Transparency, Stereotype threat and the SAT, Lottery admissions, and Immortal sustainability

New Tradition-Minded Academic Geographers Subgroup
March 24, 2009 By Jim Norwine
Announcement: proposed new group of academic geographers dedicated to inquiry and "the whole range of human values."
3 comments - Last on 03/25/2009

Postmodern Immunity
March 23, 2009 By George Seaver
Deconstruction's toll on liberal education and the American university

Friday Frogs Legs
March 20, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
DiversityInc ratings, Residence life video, Affirmative action in California, Students "feel empty" and look to Great Books, Peter Wood in Inside Higher Ed, Is the internet stupefying students?, Letter to Obama: lose "achievement" and "rigor," Best surfing colleges

Grinding Out Researchers
March 20, 2009 By Ashley Thorne and Peter Wood
Is "Research for America" a good idea?
1 comment - Last on 03/23/2009

Thursday Threnodies
March 19, 2009 By Peter Wood
Hangry, Scalia at Amherst, medical school match day, Lucy, and critical play

Cracking the Speech Code
March 19, 2009 By Greg Lukianoff
At the national NAS conference in January, Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, spoke on the state of free speech and civil liberties on campus. Here is the text of his speech, rich in links and civil liberties cases, where he correlates the rise of the speech code to the rise of college administrators.
9 comments - Last on 03/25/2009

Cellular Division
March 19, 2009 By Glenn Ricketts and Peter Wood
NAS invites scholars to debate President Obama's decision to revoke the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
3 comments - Last on 03/11/2009

Spinning Our Training Wheels
March 18, 2009 By Peter Wood
Where did "sexual harassment training" come from?
2 comments - Last on 03/19/2009

Tuesday Tangerine
March 17, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Going green, leapfrogging, and triggering
1 comment - Last on 03/20/2009

Free to Agree
March 17, 2009 By Peter Wood
Virginia Tech's dossier of doom
9 comments - Last on 03/18/2009

Monday Mudras
March 16, 2009 By Peter Wood
Anger, going nowhere, help wanted, tenure blues, NAS power    Open PDF file ( 2.90MB) . . .

HERI’s American College Teacher: Is It All in the Eyes of the Spinmeisters?
March 16, 2009 By Tom Wood
Be wary of HERI; its survey conclusions can be deceiving.

Is American Cultural Influence Declining?
March 16, 2009 By Herbert London
Cowboy hats in Japan? It seems America is still a trend-setter.

Supply for Econ 101 Hits the Floor; Could Demand Go Up?
March 12, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Now is the perfect time for college students to learn economics.
1 comment - Last on 03/16/2009

Charles Murray and Progressive Education-Part 3
March 11, 2009 By Tom Wood
In the conclusion of this three-part series, Tom Wood discovers an unexpected affinity beteen Charles Murray and the "progressive" educators.

Shopping Spree
March 11, 2009 By Peter Wood
Higher education needs to spend many unbudgeted billions by the end of this month. Will you help?
3 comments - Last on 03/16/2009

Banquet Luncheon and Awards Presentation
March 10, 2009
At our national conference in January, NAS presented awards to outstanding individuals who contributed to the defense of academic freedom, intellectual culture, and education reform. This year's recipients were Carol Iannone, Bruce Cole, Victor Davis Hanson, and Ward Connerly.
1 comment - Last on 03/12/2009

Charles Murray and Progressive Education-Part 2
March 10, 2009 By Tom Wood
In the second of this three-part series, Tom Wood connects Thorndike's theory (that all training is specific to the task at hand, and that there is no transfer of learning from one practice or field to another) and Charles Murray's criticism of the liberal arts.

Tuesday Tirades
March 10, 2009 By Peter Wood and Ashley Thorne
Science, Victimology, Grrr, Includer-in-Chief, Liberal Ed on the Brink, Lessons

Thirteen Is A Start
March 09, 2009 By Peter Wood
The NAS applauds the Chronicle of Higher Education's awakening to the systematic "mistakes" of American colleges and universities.

Charles Murray and Progressive Education
March 09, 2009 By Tom Wood
On doubting the liberal arts and learning transfer.
1 comment - Last on 03/17/2009

Hell for Brunch
March 07, 2009 By Peter Wood
Hell comes to Princeton to discuss campus identity politics, the sustainability movement, and Obama's everyone-goes-to-college plan.

Friday Frenemies
March 06, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Lesboprof weighs in, Churchill and Ayers, new social justice core, Barbie turns 50, and articles of the day

Thursday Thoughts
March 05, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Briefly noted: Social change vs. the classics, manliness, suggested articles, P2O defined, and expanding sustainability models.
1 comment - Last on 03/06/2009

Education and Intelligence-Part 4: The Flynn Effect
March 05, 2009 By Tom Wood
In the concluding part of this four-part series, Tom Wood examines a paradox at the heart of intelligence testing.

Education and Intelligence--Part 3: Neuroplasticity
March 04, 2009 By Tom Wood
In the third of this four-part series, Tom Wood looks at the "Copernican revolution in the brain sciences."

21st Century Ignorance
March 04, 2009 By Peter Wood
A new dictionary of educational lingo misses the latest fad: "21st century skills."
3 comments - Last on 03/05/2009

Education and Intelligence--Part 2
March 03, 2009 By Tom Wood
In the second of this four-part series, Tom Wood compares two key exams, NAEP and CLA. Both show that education improves intelligence.

Academic Freedom Is a Public Trust
March 03, 2009 By Steve Balch
Steve Balch calls for public vigilence against abuses of academic freedom. Here are his remarks on accepting the Jeane Jordon Kirkpatrick Academic Freedom Award from the American Conservative Union Foundation and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.
1 comment - Last on 03/04/2009

Education and Intelligence—A Response to Charles Murray
March 02, 2009 By Tom Wood
Formal education actually improves intelligence, and we have the data to prove it. Should anyone be surprised?
1 comment - Last on 03/03/2009

Sunday Blog
March 01, 2009 By Peter Wood
A weekend experiment in short-form commentary.