Readin', 'ritin', and 'rithmatic... the three "Rs" of a basic education. How long ago did we lose this basic education in our public schools? I went to public school (I also did a one-year stint in a private school), my wife went to public school, and we raised (are raising) four children in the public school system. This is one of my favorite subjects to discuss -- or be disgusted by. Teachers' unions, new math, homework, year-round schooling, teaching how to put condoms on cucumbers, homework, forty-pound backpacks, homework, NOT teaching reading phonetically, homework,... etc., etc., etc. (Yul Brenner, The King and I, circa 1955). This is near and dear to my heart, so please select a title and read on.

We Shouldn't Translate Math's Abstractions Into English, from "OTHER OPINION", in the Hartford Courant, Feb. 15, 2000. Some people are mathematicians, others are not. Why do we try to make math less mathematical for those who are not? We hurt the future mathematicians, engineers and scientists, NOT help those who do not have a propensity for the subject!

Ivy League? So What?, from "AS I SEE IT", in the Hartford Courant, May 4, 2002. Regional pride in local colleges sometimes becomes a blind pride that skews the actual significance of what a college education can provide.

For the latest blog, please press here.