There are many education critics or analysts who think they see a convergence at the very top of the society: rich capitalists somehow on the same page with far-left ideologues. Does that make sense?

 But what exactly is a Bill Gates? He gave $1 billion, give or take, to force Common Core on the country. Many people think this will make the country dumber, despite all the rosy claims. But what's in it for Bill…

There is still a big debate going on about the value of the lecture. 

 Here's an article that mainly explains why it's good:

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/05/in_praise_of_the_lecture.html

The point I'd like to make here is that the attack on the lecture is, covertly, an attack on knowledge. In other words, a good lecture by a good…

Once upon a time, believe it or not, kids routinely learned to read in the first grade. Having learned to read, they then started reading to learn. Wow, what a beautiful thing that was.

 Our Education Establishment has very skillfully undermined this age-old template. Now, due to an onslaught of bogus approaches, we have children in the sixth, seventh or eighth grades who are still in the first grade, by traditional standards.

 You know this is true because…

How many know about Richard Mitchell, one of the great figures in American education? He was known as the Underground Grammarian and is famous  as the author of books such as "The Graves of Academe." (One interesting footnote. I bet that you would have to explain to MOST college students  these days why that title is witty. If true, that fully  justifies Mitchell's wrath against the dopiness of so much K-12 theory and practice.)

 In researching Mitchell for…

There is so much bad science in education. There is so much money in education. There also seems to be a lot of hostility and perversity in education. All this stuff is slopping around but in general tending toward mediocrity and malaise.

 Now Common Core wants to pile on. Lock everything in by legislation. Centralize authority in Washington DC. Where does all this end up? Arne Duncan sends out a memo at 9…