Digest, 7/16/2022: 🤔
the fifty-sixth digest post
Yet another podcast appearance!
Above I talk with my buddy C. Derrick Varn about teacher unions and the Democrats and the left and our current political economy. It was recorded some weeks ago, in case you’re feeling the discussion is a little dated.
Come see me present on the Cult of Smart in White Plains tonight! Suggested donation is $5.
This Week’s Posts
Monday, May 11th - Education Doesn’t Work 2.0
An updated version of my (long) argument that schooling can’t close relative academic gaps.
Wednesday, May 13th - Questions for Pure Environmentalists
Pivoting off of that, some unanswered questions for people who don’t think genes can or do have any influence on academics. (Yes, the title seems misleading, got it.)
Thursday, May 14th - Anti-Anti-Woke Physician, Heal Thyself
Anti-anti-woke arguments are a dark mirror of anti-woke arguments.
Friday, May 15th - Hard Work For My Kid, Not for Yours (subscriber only)
Affluent liberal parents decry the idea that hard work and perseverance matter in their political lives and then work overtime to instill those things in their own kids. Which is kind of disturbing!
And we got a new chapter of The Red, The Brown, The Green.
From the Archives
Song of the Week
Non-Garbage Online Reading
Book Recommendation
The Pelican Brief, John Grisham, 1992
Since somebody accused me of only putting snooty books here…. Look, the basic premise of this book is absurd: a law student writes a brief that accurately describes a conspiracy that resulted in the death of two Supreme Court justices, so the orchestrators of that conspiracy set out to kill her and a journalist who comes to her aid. The conspiracy and murders aren’t what I find absurd - that’s just the stuff of thriller writing - but rather that they would be afraid of being exposed to the degree that they are. I won’t spoil the actual content of the conspiracy or who’s behind it, as that’s part of the fundamental mystery of the book, but there’s so much plausible deniability that they wouldn’t really be afraid. That being said, this is a fun romp of a book with a profound sense of propulsion to its story and a lot of great intrigue. I particularly like a very oily character who is set up to be disliked and yet who operates with a peculiar sort of code. I hate the concept of the “beach read,” as it seems condescending to me, but I think this book fits very well in that genre in the more generous sense.
Comment of the Week
… A significant problem with educational policy is that people who set the policies didn't attend public schools like mine. They tend to come from elite educational backgrounds and the professional managerial class, and very few of them have direct personal experience with people who are bad at and don't like school. So they think that all students will be like they were and will succeed at school, if we just have high expectations for kids and do this new and fashionable intervention (whatever it may be this time)…. Mari, the Happy Wanderer
That’s it! See you next week.
I am absurdly proud to be Comment of the Week!
I was confused by the picture caption until I realized that the word for “to take the skin off of something” and “to put skin on something” are the same word