- news
- writings
Test Failure
The MTTC (Michigan Test for Teacher Certification) tests create a significant cost for prospective teachers and for the state without providing any meaningful return.
Michigan Education Report and The Mackinac Center for Public Policy (forthcoming)
Back from Boston (short story)
It began, to pick an arbitrary beginning, with a key that would not turn in a lock.
Fogged Clarity, January 2010
Two Cents About COIN
Policymakers' belief in the power of COIN may encourage them to see military solutions where none exist.
Antiwar.com, Nov. 7, 2009
A Limited Ecumenism
Reconciliation with a significant twist.
Sightings, Nov. 5, 2009
Empathy Across Neighborhood Lines
The only way to break down barriers is through the continued exchange of people, conversations, and capital: We must visit each other's homes and communities, walk awhile in each other's shoes, and see the places where each other lives.
Chicago Weekly, October 28, 2009
Wide Awake Mind (interview with The University of Chicago Magazine)
Self-educators are curious about the world and willing to do something about their curiosity.
University of Chicago Magazine (online), August 19, 2009
The Case for Reading Good Books
No matter what your interest, becoming a serious and disciplined reader is the surest path to educational growth
Wide Awake Minds, July 22, 2009
Self-Education: A Manifesto
Self-educators embrace learning opportunities wherever they occur.
Wide Awake Minds and Parental Intelligence Newsletter, July 20, 2009
On Language Learning Textbooks
The student of languages is a student in the fullest sense of the word; his highest aspiration is to speak a language as well as a native speaker - any native speaker, regardless of age or station.
Wide Awake Minds, July 9, 2009
Resist the Urge to Confront Kim Jong-Il
It is time for direct talks aimed at a comprehensive peace.
Antiwar.com, July 1, 2009
How to Think About Politics
Politics touches everything and everything touches politics.
Fogged Clarity, July 2009
For Us, Mr. Daley, Driving to Work is a Necessity, Not a Vice
For many Chicagoans, driving to work - and finding affordable parking after work - is a necessity, not a luxury.
Crain's Chicago Business and ChicagoBusiness.com, June 15, 2009
War: The More We Spend on It, the More We Get
The Obama/Gates defense budget, like its predecessors, is an enormous waste of resources and wealth.
Antiwar.com, June 15, 2009
Torture Proponents' Desire for Distance Is Telling
If television networks and newspapers think they are being neutral and apolitical by describing torture as "enhanced interrogation," they ought to think again.
Antiwar.com, June 1, 2009
The Day-Trader (short story)
His business, too, would recover from this setback. It must go on - there was meaning in it, it mattered.
Fogged Clarity, June 2009
Out of Range
The increasingly widespread practice of drone warfare raises serious ethical questions.
Antiwar.com, May 15, 2009
The Next Forgotten War
Political education must aim to combat apathy and stand between people and their prejudices.
Antiwar.com, April 20, 2009
Popular Coach, Athletic Director Fighting Illness (profile)
Swinburne's career is a testament to the power and importance of high school athletics.
Muskegon Chronicle and MLive.com, April 11, 2009
Missing the Train (short story)
In a hurry, always, I stuffed the last piece of the daily in the trash and ran to catch the next train, whenever it may come.
(Nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2009).
Fogged Clarity, February 2009
Rays (short story)
The sky trembled behind buildings, Tokyo went about its business.
Fogged Clarity, February 2009
The Nuclear Peace and Its Consequences for China's Rise
M.A. Thesis, University of Chicago Committee on International Relations.
Faculty advisor: John J. Mearsheimer, Ph.D. Preceptor: Nuno Monteiro, Ph.D.
(Not online).
May 2008
Belief Isn't For the Unimaginative: Let Kids See The Golden Compass
It is in literature that kids will find the most convincing evidence for eternal things, and it is through exposure to literature that they will develop the imagination that belief requires.
(Original no longer available online).
Philadelphia Inquirer, December 10, 2007
Is The Da Vinci Code Dangerous?
If tough questions are openly examined and discussed, the truth ought to prevail without the help of boycotts, political intervention, or force.
Sojourners (online), May 19, 2006
Japanese Security Policy and the Future of the East Asian Peace
Presented at the Denison University Undergraduate East Asian Studies Conference.
(Not online).
February 18, 2006