To a Degree

The issue of exactly who has access to higher education is a thorny one, full of truths, half-truths, and outright lies. Recently, I was reminded of an incident which took place over thirty years ago, before the preponderance of “woke” assertions regarding education became “common knowledge.” Back in 1992, my son (a white male, by the way) was about to graduate from high school. He had his heart set on attending California Institute of Technology, and it looked very promising that he would end up there. However, to explore his options and to prepare for summer employment – possibly even an internship or two – he applied to a certain government agency for an entry-level summer job in mathematics. Now, at this point, I should explain that my son was a top mathematician in his high school, holding a place on the Math Team and the It’s Academic Team. In fact, he graduated as valedictorian, and I proudly listened from the stands as he delivered an excellent exhortation to his fellow stud...

As a lowly English teacher / instructor / professor, I am quite familiar with the “tools of my trade”: books and textbooks of literature. The difference between a book and a textbook is not that important to this discussion, but, nevertheless, I will explain it: A book almost always covers one subject or topic or story and is commonly written by one author. A literature textbook contains more than one subject, topic, or story, and, while it often has one or more editors, it also features a number of authors. The latter offers a teacher a more varied amount of material to use in his or her class / course. When I was a young person, I loved both. I loved reading particular authors, or topics, or themes. I felt enriched by the experience of reading, chiefly because those in authority over me chose helpful or inspirational books. My choices were not censured; rather, I was given a wide choice of appropriate material to feed my imagination, my interest, and my faith. God was, as I exp...

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. ~ Abraham Lincoln I grew up in Catholic schools, elementary and high school (there were no junior high or middle schools in the Catholic parochial system when I was young). I generally loved school in all of its seasons. Despite modern-day rumors and half-truths, the nuns who taught me were not abusive to me or to any of my classmates. Yes, children got well-deserved punishments for bad behavior, but no one ever complained in my hearing that the punishments were arbitrary or outlandish; everyone knew better. I have photographic proof that our school was completely and fairly integrated; in fact, I was smitten with a young mulatto boy in first grade, and proudly boasted to my racist grandmother that I intended to marry him one day. (World War III almost started in our house that day!) Being a Catholic at the time, I attended Mass every day when I could. I heard many, many pass...