The Irascible ProfessorSM
Irreverent
Commentary on the State of Education in America Today
Archive of Older Commentaries
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2006:
Comment of the day - December 30, 2006 - Trans facts.
education health education trans-fats
Comment of the day - December 21, 2006 - Tag, you're dumb! Guest commentary by Erik Deckers.
education K-12
Comment of the day - December 6, 2006 - Does it matter if English majors read Ulysses? Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
education college university English
Comment of the day - November 25, 2006 - Malaise. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger)
education K-12
Comment of the day - November 10, 2006 - Liberty and the librarian. Guest commentary by Beverly C. Lucey.
education K-12 libraries
Comment of the day - October 30, 2006 - Careers beginning with a P. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
education college university
Breaking News - October 26, 2006 - Cal State University Auditor releases scathing report on Business and Financial Affairs Office at Cal State Fullerton.
Comment of the day - October 5, 2006 - How to raise a spoiled child. Guest commentary by Erik Deckers.
education K-12 children
Comment of the day - September 20, 2006 - You can't take that away from me. Guest commentary by Jane Goodwin.
education reading library
Comment of the day - September 13, 2006 - Running into a former student at the beach. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
education college university
Comment of the day - August 31, 2006 - Dispensing with the indispensable. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
education books
Comment of the day - August 21, 2006 - The thirteenth annual Emperor's Awards. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
education K-12
Comment of the day - August 12, 2006 - One-room schoolhouse redux. Guest commentary by Jane Goodwin.
education K-12
Comment of the day - August 6, 2006 - Hertz hurts. Guest commentary by Beverly C. Lucey.
education university college
Comment of the day - July 21, 2006 - It's time for Charlie Reed to go!
education university California State University
Comment of the day - July 12, 2006 - You probably don't remember me, but..." Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
education university college
Comment of the day - June 28, 2006 - Let the chips fall where they may.
education university research
Comment of the day - June 20, 2006 - Entitlement (a commencement address). Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
education K-12 graduation
Comment of the day - June 15, 2006 - Diary of a strung-out search committee member. Guest commentary by Marilyn D. Davis.
education college university
Comment of the day - June 7, 2006 - Calculator dependence. Guest commentary by William Kohl.
education K-12
Comment of the day - May 30, 2006 - What are we willing to do to improve education? Guest commentary by Georganne Spruce.
education K-12
Comment of the day - May 18, 2006 - My last senior year. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
education K-12 high school
Comment of the day - May 11, 2006 - Who needs a four-year college? Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
education college university vocational education
Comment of the day - May 3, 2006 - Has Barry Munitz no shame?
education college university Barry Munitz
Comment of the day - April 27, 2006
Just tell me I'm wonderful and give me the A. Guest commentary by Tina Blue.
education college university writing
Comment of the day - April 20, 2006
Excuses, excuses, excuses. Guest commentary by Erik Deckers.
education K-12
Comment of the day - April 13, 2006
Politically correct but hardly ethical.
education college university political correctness
Comment of the day - April 5, 2006
Stairway to nowhere. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
education K-12 NCLB
Comment of the day - March 30, 2006
Drowning in Jessicas. Guest commentary by Beverly Carol Lucey.
education college university
Comment of the day - March 22, 2006
College costs are stifling upward mobility.
education college university
Comment of the day - March 15, 2006
How dangerous are David Horowitz's 101 most dangerous American academics? Guest review by Sanford Pinsker.
education college university
Comment of the day - March 7, 2006
Ready or not, reading matters.
education K-12 reading
Comment of the day - March 1, 2006
Email etiquette an oxmoron? Perhaps not. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
education higher education college university
Comment of the day - February 22, 2006
The best high school education that $25,000 per year can buy.
education K-12
Comment of the day - February 5, 2006
The silicon bullet. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
education K-12
Comment of the day - January 25, 2006
A dialogue on the California High School Exit Exam. Guest commentary by Jo Rupert Behm with a response from the Irascible Professor.
education K-12
Comment of the day - January 15, 2006
The purple stapler. Guest commentary by Miss Dennis.
education K-12 special education
Comment of the day - January 10, 2006
Kids today. Guest commentary by Beverly C. Lucey.
education higher education K-12 college
Comment of the day - January 2, 2006
Student pressure and your average English department. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
education higher education English college
- No child left unrecruited. Guest commentary by Eric Eaton.
- Great expectations.
Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
education K-12
- Looking out
for number one.
education K-12 college university
- This is only
a test. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
education K-12
- Another shot
fired in the war against science.
education K-12 evolution
- Borderline
stupidity. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
education K-12
- The teaching
of English may not be dead after all. Guest commentary by Nils Clausson.
education
- The physics
classroom where science and superstition met. Guest commentary by
Sanford Pinsker.
education K-12 evolution intelligent design
- The virtues
of work. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
education K-12
- The world
according to señor Poje´. Guest commentary by Felice
Prager.
education K-12
- Not so intelligent
design.
education culture evolution intelligent design K-12
- The rise of
the critic and the death of the teacher. Guest commentary by Mike Grayson.
education culture literary criticism
- Totally awesome
in a groovy far-out kind of cool way, not. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
education culture K-12
- The back-to-school
email blues (or the need for a Provost in absentia). Guest commentary
by Sanford Pinsker.
education culture
- Is it time
to establish more men's centers on college campuses?
education culture
- Students:
Take care of business! Guest commentary by Tina Blue.
- The twelfth
annual Emperor's Awards. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- Left behind:
A wake-up call for education. Guest commentary by Trish Gannon.
- California's
teacher tenure reform initiative - a recluctant "No".
- School reform
- left, middle, and right. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- Religion and
literature in the Age of Bush. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Climate change
McCarthyism.
- The re-education
of Cookie Monster. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- Fighting the
red menace.
- Better than a
dead grandmother. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Hellfire and
school assemblies. Guest commentary by Beverly Carol Lucey.
- Tolerance or
lack thereof at the Air Force Academy.
- I don't DO math.
Guest commentary by Jay C. Oddafer.
- Keeping up with
the Jetsons. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- I know how much
it costs to hear The Caged Bird Sing. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Comment
of the day - March 25, 2005
- Calling a cigar
a cigar. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- Who's to blame
for the high cost of textbooks? Guest commentary by James Beach.
- Ward Churchill
and my modest proposal. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- The myths and
realities of public employee pension plans.
- Jefferson's general
religion. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- Integrity - scientific,
academic, and public.
- Time for electives.
Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- Mississippi west.
- Embracing common
sense. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- Are we Sparta
or are we Athens? Guest commentary by Brian Crouch.
- Please waste
your money on me. Guest commentary by Herbert Jack Rotfeld.
- Congressional
pork sinks the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education.
- A New Year's
toast to common sense. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
2004:
- Is there a link
between teaching and research? Guest commentary by Nils Clausson.
- Generations of
fear. Guest commentary by Kathy A. Schaeffer.
- Give him the
money! Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- What's in a name?
Guest commentary by Carolyn Segal.
- Are the forces
of darkness on the march?
- The death of
postmodernism? Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- I'm the Teacher,
You're the Student by Patrick Allitt. Guest commentary by Beverly Lucey.
- Name that loon.
Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- On bookbags (heavy)
and modern life. Guest commentary by James R. Brown.
- My son, the SAT
guinea pig. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- The eleventh
annual Emperor's Awards. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- Charting the
charters.
- Sizing things
up. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- Whajaget? Guest
commentary by Felice Prager.
- Absence makes
the teen grow smarter? Guest commentary by Marilyn D. Davis.
- Environmental
education.
- Amazing Grace?
Guest commentary by Tina Blue.
- Hidden costs
- education in the age lawyers. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter
Berger).
- Pinsker on office
hours. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Reagan - the
ultimate salesman.
- High-stakes testing
- the view from the "right coast". Guest commentary by Steve Klass.
- To the class
of '04 (A commencement address not given). Guest commentary by Robert McHenry.
- Testing. Testing.
1,2,3 testing. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- Algebra for all?
- Actualizing in
our classrooms. Guest commentary by David B. Shields.
- In the trenches
with the California High School Exit Exam. Guest commentary by Elise Vogler.
- Standing up to
the ayatollahs of Westminster.
- The Excuse Machine.
Guest commentary by Beverly Carol Lucey.
- Rubric's cube.
Guest commentary by Jason Berry.
- Connecting the
dots - education, outsourcing, and terrorism.
- I jumped the
biggest turtle. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- What sends us
back to the basics? Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- Stop teaching
my kid. Guest commentary by Elise Vogler.
- Research in predominantly
undergraduate colleges and universities.
- Real math - what
if they gave a test, and nobody passed? Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- Interesting!
Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Doing the Texas
two-step.
- No surprises?
Guest commentary by Craig M. Newmark.
- Waste, fraud,
and abuse not!
- Valor, common
sense, and the right answer. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
2003:
- Noted pork buster
reverses his position on academic pork.
- Grading standards
that students can understand. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Where was I?
Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- The great American
English class. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- Making the most
of adversity - or how to improve quality in the face of budget cuts.
- Another route
to grade inflation. Guest commentary by Tina Blue.
- Harsh advice.
Guest commentary by Conrad Geller.
- So much for individual
attention!
- Progress in the
wrong direction. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- What do you teach
best? Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- Ahhnold the educator.
- Looking for trouble.
Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- How to tell the
good teacher from the bad. Guest commentary by Nils Clausson.
- While the cat's
away, the
- SOLomon's wisdom.
Guest commentary by Pamela Matlack Klein.
- We don' need
no stinkin' gifted programs! Guest commentary by Tina Blue.
- The bachelor's
degree - a new entitlement?
- The book not
taken. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Language and
music. Guest commentary by Ben Carter.
- A sea change
in the California State University system?
- That's not a
knife. This is a knife! Guest commentary by Erik Deckers.
- A nation still
at risk?.
- A novel idea
- guest commentary by Beverly C. Lucey.
- Who's Teaching
Your Children? by Vivian Troen & Katherine C. Boles - a review.
- The veracity
of vocabulary - guest commentary by Marilyn D. Davis.
- The gospel of
inclusion - guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- Grade Inflation
by Valen E. Johnson - a review.
- Teachers beware:
corporate America has invaded the schools! Guest commentary by John F.
Borowski.
- My personal dactyloscopy.
Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- The finals buzz.
Guest commentary by Tina Blue.
- It's cheaper
to send someone to Penn State than to State Pen!
- Widgets and other
misunderstandings. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- Reply to "Yet
another attempt to lower teacher preparation standards in California."
Guest commentary by Perry Marker.
- Yet another attempt
to lower teacher preparation standards in California.
- How I almost
became a celebrity intellectual or my "Factor" fantasy. Guest commentary
by Sanford Pinsker.
- The top five
education related things that bugged me since I woke up. Guest commentary
by Felice Prager.
- The affirmative
action war heats up.
- In praise of
students. Guest commentary by Beth Clarkson.
- Charlie, perhaps
it's time to go.
- History and the
heirs of the republic. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- I don't know
HOW to read this book! Guest commentary by Tina Blue.
- The not so public
university.
- Will research-based
reading instruction prevail? Guest commentary by Patrick Groff.
- Got duct tape
(a tale of eleven highlighters)? Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- Judith, say it
isn't so!
- Gimme an 'A'...
or else! Guest commentary by Erik Deckers.
- Something's not
computing here.
- The Lake Wobegon
effect - all our high school graduates are "above average".
- Grade complaints
at the speed of light. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Significant improvement.
Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
2002:
- Academic pork
- $1.8 billion and rising.
- Don't ask Marilyn!
- Mathematical
cartwheels. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- The Disappearing
Cemetery -- a review.
- Life's equations.
Guest commentary by Roberta Beach Jacobson.
- The dangerous
myths of Alfie Kohn.
- No experience
desired. Guest commentary by Poor Elijah (Peter Berger).
- Part-time faculty
- higher education on the cheap.
- History on purpose.
Guest commentary by Tom Cordle.
- Censors and scissors.
Guest commentary by Beverly Carol Lucey.
- "Scrubbing the
Web" - a step backwards in HIV/AIDS education.
- Thought control
in disguise?
- The new SAT is
to snow as winter is to Arizona. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- Got shots? Guest
commentary by Eric Eaton.
- Fiat lux not!
The new California "master plan" and higher education.
- Confessions of
a non-bungler. Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- A one size fits
all straight jacket.
- The new "master
plan" for education in California - myths and realities.
- College admissions
in the era of political correctness.
- Doing the math
(life's not fair). Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- Students - partners
not customers.
- Grade inflation:
the "customer" is not always right. Guest commentary by Tina Blue.
- Give us this
day our "dailyjolt.com," or student evaluations reach rock bottom. Guest
commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- The organizational
chart says it all!
- Wow them with
wonder, but keep your politics at home! Guest commentary by Pamela Matlack.
- Political correctness
run amok!
- Scopes revisited?
The Kansas Board of Education's 1999 decision on evolution. Guest commentary
by Tina Blue.
- Uncivil discourse.
- Waiting for a
better excuse (or fear of the run-on sentence). Guest commentary by Felice
Prager.
- A response to
The Irascible Professor's commentary on the California teacher shortage
(May 3, 2002). Guest commentary by Perry Marker.
- Evolution and
education. Guest commentary by Beth Clarkson.
- The California
teacher shortage - recruitment or retention crisis?
- Can we go home
early? Guest commentary by John Sheirer.
- Bad science.
Bad, bad science. Guest commentary by Beverly C. Lucey.
- The political
implications of modern reading research.
- Who needs chapter
one? Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- The buck starts
here. Guest commentary by Remy Benoit.
- The faculty hiring
crisis in the California State University system.
- Two cups of coffee,
a student, and a table. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Now I'm just
amused - Nixon Redux.
- "Kewl Ur Jets!
This Aint Skool". Guest commentary by Felice Prager.
- Headlines to
ponder at Krispy Kreme U.
- Survey, survey?
We don't need no stinkin' survey!
- Unity and the
university - listen up Charlie Reed, listen up!
- Grade inflation
and me. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Grade inflation
- myths, reality, and consequences.
- 36% of California
State University freshmen can't read at college level.
- Educator pension
funds lose big in Enron collapse.
- "Teacher rabbits"
- another view on computers in the classroom. Guest commentary by Beverly
C. Lucey
- "Disagreeing"
disagreeably at Cal State Sacramento. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker
- Harvard's loss,
Princeton's gain?
2001:
- How to write
the "perfect" college admission essay; and, Technology Implementation Committee:
No, thanks. Two guest commentaries by Conrad Geller.
- Oversold and
Underused: Computers in the Classsroom - a review.
- Lynne Cheney's
thought police are in action again.
- Perverse incentives
and corporate delusions in the administration of the California State University
System. Guest commentary by Robert H. Daniels.
- Results of the
IP's survey on higher education in the United States.
- Teaching Hemingway's
In Our Time in our time. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Student visas
and national security.
- Back to the future:
Residential colleges and the reform of campus life. Guest commentary
by Robert J. O'Hara.
- An IP survey.
Your chance to tell the Irascible Professor what you think about American
higher education.
- The sleeper education
story of the year - Williams v. California.
- My modest experiment
and my Dean. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- A presidential
puff at Krispy Kreme U. - guest commentary by an anonymous colleague.
- A real world
education - guest commentary by Tom Cordle.
- The knowledge
war.
- September 11,
2001 - a day of infamy.
- A disgusting
spectacle!
- School reform?
Ask the teachers. Guest commentary by Georganne Spruce.
- Fresno dump added
to list of National Historic Landmarks by Bush Administration.
- The righteous
an' the holy behind the Orange Curtain.
- Worrying about
Professor Joseph Ellis and myself. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Unfit to teach.
Guest commentary by Tom Cordle.
- Campus fire safety.
- Fantasizing about
my last faculty meeting. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Charter homeschool
funding - the California debate.
- Imagine year-round
schools. Guest commentary by Beverly Carol Lucey.
- BA and MA degrees
in astrology! What are they smoking in Seattle?
- Technology and
tolerance - is it a gay thing?
- Teach me to pray.
Guest commentary by Tom Cordle.
- Who owns my grades
anyhow?
- Two views of
affirmative action. Guest commentary by Russell Eisenman with a response
by the Irascible Professor.
- Inside Charter
Schools - The Paradox of Radical Decentralization - a review.
- Isms, religions,
and myths of origin - Darwinism in the schools. Guest commentary
by Ben Carter.
- America's crumbling
schools and the Bush education budget.
- High stakes testing
- will it teach students to think? Guest commentary by Brian Crouch.
- Now this IS your
father's Harvard!
- The "three R's".
Were they really all that good? Guest commentary by Tom Cordle.
- Controlling administrative
bloat in higher education.
- A father looks
at fifty...and his children's education. Guest commentary by Skip
Corsini.
- Double standard
at Krispy Kreme U.?
- I swore I'd never
say... . Guest commentary by Ihla Nation.
- Texas "energy
bandits" lose a round.
- Assembly Line
Education. Guest commentary by Remy Benoit.
- Salmonella burgers!
Is that Dumb-ya or not?
- The Horowitz
Hustle.
- The game show
of standardized testing. Guest commentary by Beverly Carol Lucey.
- How to steal
a college.
- Failing public
schools? Who says? Guest commentary by Conrad Geller.
- Gifted and talented
education - a forgotten stepchild.
- Un-SAT-isfactory.
- Let's just call
'em "The Gringos".
- The case of Kennewick
Man - identity politics and science education.
- The United States
is losing the race.
- But this is not
good enough!
- Science education
and the dilemma of "high-stakes" testing.
- Science teaching
as a subversive activity.
- This is not your
father's Harvard.
- Is the AAAS unfair
to independent online journalists?
- Building Wealth
- The new rules for individuals, companies and nations in a knowledge-based
economy - A review.
- The "book burners"
are still alive behind the Orange curtain.
- Power to the
people!
- A "merit-pay"
plan with precious little merit.
- Ring around the
mollybarry bush. Guest commentary by Scott Rice.
2000:
- Ban the campus
credit card vultures.
- Learning disability
- handicap or privilege.
- A tale out of
school. Guest commentary by an anonymous colleague.
- The town that
Andrew Carnegie missed.
- BYU bans heavy
metal.
- The education
election.
- Can't Pass?
Blame the Test! Revisited.
- Pork-barrel politics
in academia.
- Gems from the
mailbag.
- A response to
our review of Taming the Beast. Guest commentary by Jason
Ohler.
- The voucher battle
- public debate over privatized education. Guest commentary by Mark
Karadimos.
- Is Big Al a no-account
on accountability?
- Dubya's doubletalk
on vouchers.
- Reflections on
year one.
- Let's fix our
schools now - Yes on Prop. 39!
- Is the California
voucher campaign buying votes?
- The IP challenges
Bush and Gore on education.
- Are we asking
too much of our schools?
- Them's as has
gets.
- Comparing the
Republican and Democratic Party education platforms - differences.
- Comparing the
Republican and Democratic Party education platforms - similarities.
- The incredible
shrinking endowment!
- Taming the
Beast - Choice & Control in the Electronic Jungle - a review.
- Process vs. Substance
at Portland State.
- Follow the money
- the University of California pension fund money, that is!
- The school improvement
debate - a no-holds-barred analysis of school reform. Guest commentary
by Mark Liberator.
- The Social
Life of Information - a review.
- Where have all
the boys gone?
- Redemption at
Texas A&M.
- The commencement
follies. Guest commentary by Sanford Pinsker.
- Academic freedom
vs. college speech codes.
- Will privatization
lead to fair pay for teachers?
- CSU Fullerton,
the campus where audits are preeminent.
- A few thoughts
on commencement.
- Innovative methods
combined with high standards = great teaching.
- Resign Bobby,
Resign!
- Tax breaks for
teachers - the dumbest idea yet!
- Who should get
the scholarship? - Guest commentary by James M. Pierce.
- Voucher, Voucher,
Who's Got the Voucher?
- "Tradition" leads
to tragedy at Texas A&M.
- It's time to
reform college athletics.
- The Feel-Good
Curriculum: The Dumbing Down of America's Kids in the Name of Self-Esteem
- a review.
- Courage at Kilgore.
- The growth of
the administrata.
- Another dirty
little secret from the "University" of Phoenix.
- Choosing a future.
Guest Commentary on Distance Education by Jerry Farber.
- Getting students
to use seatbelts. Guest commentary by Peter Vajk.
- Can't pass?
Blame the test!
- Charter schools:
the good, the bad, the ugly.
- A radical solution
to the remediation problem.
- The great American
campus water scam.
- The uncertain
promise of technology in teaching.
- The growing gulf
between administration and faculty in the CSU. Guest commentary by
Michael Gregory.
- Are these really
the 100 best high schools in America?
- Penny wise and
pound foolish - school fire safety.
- 30 years after
the first man stepped onto the moon. Guest commentary by Gisela Hausmann.
- Traditional
Degrees for Nontraditional Students: a review.
- The view from
inside the Beltway.
- The silly season
- Politicians on education.
- Putting the bite
on incompetence.
- Ethical challenges.
- Dirty little
secrets of the "University" of Phoenix and other "for profit" education
vendors.
- Will PeopleSoft
sink the CSU?
- The "marks" of
a college graduate.
1999:
- Student evaluations
of teaching - Are the inmates running the asylum?
- Cover-up at Cal
State Fullerton?
- Is there a Hyundai
in your future?
- Distance Education
- Do they really think we are that dumb!
- The Math Wars
- it's the teachers stupid!
- Let's fix our
schools now - Yes on Prop. 26.
- Assessment; Charlie,
Charlie, Charlie. Guest commentary by Jerry Farber.
- And the Irascible
Professor's award for stupidity goes to... .