Making standardized tests easier won't increase their value: The previous version of the SAT featured reading passages that ranged from 500 to 750 words with multiple questions following each passage. But the new version has reading passages ranging from only 25 to 150 words, with just one question tied to each passage. The ACT has made similar changes: 44 fewer questions overall, a shorter test (125 minutes versus the previous 195 minutes), and more time per question. The ACT’s reading section is now 40 minutes long (previously 35 minutes) and has 36 questions (previously 40). It’s … [Read more...] about Making standardized tests easier won’t increase their value
Capitalizing on College?
Author Josh Brown has written a fascinating book on how higher education in the United States has shifted from "mission driven" to "margin obsessed." I recently had the chance to interact with him about his book. You outline four different strategies that private Christian colleges employ. Briefly, what are they? Each school creates different combinations of endowments and enrollment markets to financially sustain the school and its mission. I found four different approaches and a fifth that was starting to emerge. Briefly they were: Traditional – a college that expects students “to come” to … [Read more...] about Capitalizing on College?
Mary’s Heroism in “It’s a Wonderful Life”
George Bailey and Mary Hatch For those who enjoy the classic film "It's a Wonderful Life": Have you ever wondered about how Mary is portrayed in the alternate world in which George Bailey never existed? Bizarrely perhaps, she winds up an "old maid" - closing the library on Christmas Eve. Wouldn't she have married someone else and lived a great life? This essay examines that question, showing that Mary is the greatest hero in this story. Intentional, purposeful, and wise throughout, she makes George into the man he becomes. In his darkest moment, she’s what makes him want to live again. … [Read more...] about Mary’s Heroism in “It’s a Wonderful Life”
Zechariah, Mary, and Trust
For those of us following the Christmas story, we see an amazing pair of dialogues in Luke 1. Zechariah and Mary are each visited by the angel Gabriel. Each is told of a miraculous birth to occur. One will be John the Baptist, the other Jesus Christ. Each asks what sounds like a similar question. But Zechariah receives a rebuke and Mary sings a Magnificat. What's the difference? Z's question stems from a posture of distrust and Mary's from a posture of trust. There's a world of difference between How shall I know this? (Zechariah) and How will this be? (Mary). One says "I don't believe … [Read more...] about Zechariah, Mary, and Trust
Live Not By Lies
Dreher's thesis in Live Not By Lies is that Western society, and America in particular, is sliding towards a soft totalitarianism. A totalitarian state is "one that aspires to nothing less than defining and controlling reality." Soft totalitarianism appeals to pleasure and comfort more than threats of pain and punishment. It's more Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and less George Orwell's 1984. This soft totalitarianism, argues Dreher, will be supported by a nexus of big business (Fortune 500 companies and others), big tech - social media, and consumer habit data collection mechanisms in … [Read more...] about Live Not By Lies
Living Life Backward
One of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was to "begin with the end in mind." It's in this same vein that Pastor David Gibson exhorts us to live life backward. We must allow the inescapable reality of our death to dictate how we live: "Death can radically enable us to enjoy life. By relativizing all that we do in our days under the sun, death can change us from people who want to control life for gain into people who find deep joy in receiving life as a gift." Gibson draws from the mysterious book of Ecclesiastes to unpack his theme. The book can be thought of as one, … [Read more...] about Living Life Backward