In Part I of this series, I laid out why privatization will lead to the formation of large private school companies and franchises as we see in South Korea. To summarize: It just makes economic and business sense. If people involved with education are interested in making a profit, it…

Part I: The Corporatization of Education ‘Cutting corners to achieve maximum profit; manipulating data to hide product defects; outsourcing work; spending millions to lure in new customers and investors instead reinvesting to improve product performance; focusing more on creating the appearance of success rather than actually working to achieve it…

Personal Preferences Recently I wrote about the epistemology class I teach and why many people would mistake lessons that develop critical thinking for indoctrination. Along those same lines, I think many people would be surprised to learn that critical thinking, which does require looking for multiple perspectives, does not involve…

A Neighborhood by Neighborhood Guide My wife and I recently got married right here in New Orleans. While I know our friends and family would have come no matter where we got hitched, having the wedding in New Orleans, a city famous for its food, music, and nightlife was an…

I can understand why, but it’s easy to prove I’m not — While many teachers work to develop the critical thinking skills of their students — something sorely lacking in the age of standardized tests — I teach it exclusively. …

This summer I proposed to my girlfriend in a beautiful, secluded spot in the Ronda, Spain, a place where “The entire town and as far as you can see in any direction is romantic background…”, according to Earnest Hemmingway. We went on a daytime hike around the base of the…

Back in 2013, when I was living in South Korea, a Korean passenger plane crashed in San Francisco. As the initial phase of the investigation ruled out mechanical error, I wasn’t surprised to hear Korean culture mentioned as a possible cause. Korean airlines from the ’70s to the late ’90s…

Capitalism and its free-market did something amazing for humanity: it brought about the industrial revolution that ended the scarcity of necessities. Where our ancestors often went without their basic needs being met, we can get anything we want delivered to our door and will likely complain if it takes more…

Well, it depends… — “I don’t think I would have finished your book if it had been written by a white man,” my then-girlfriend, now fiance’, told me after reading my first travel memoir. …