Category: Uncategorized
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UVa Religion Faculty Hate Speech against Evangelical Christians
by James C. Sherlock Thirty percent of Virginians identify as evangelical Christians. So, one can never say that the University of Virginia, in targeting them with school-sponsored hate speech, doesn’t swing for the fences. Members of UVa Department of Religious Studies faculty have unloaded on white evangelicals in as wide-ranging and comprehensive an example of…
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VDOE Does Define Educational Equity as Equal Outcomes
by James C. Sherlock An African American Superintendent’s Advisory Council (AASAC) was formed by the Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2020. It is charged “to develop policy recommendations to advance African American students’ academic success and social emotional well being to inform VDOE priorities and strategies”. It has proven extremely influential. I have yet…
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Michael Saylor: Prophet or Charlatan?
by James A. Bacon Great cover story in Virginia Business magazine this month: MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor’s $2 billion gamble on bitcoin. I’m glad to see this story. First, it represents a return to the kind of business journalism Virginia Business did when I was editor and publisher many eons ago, when we wrote about…
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Ball of Confusion
by James A. Bacon Virginians are still suffering from massive confusion about what the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is proposing for its controversial Virginia Mathematics Pathways Initiative. The befuddlement arises from the use of various words that are seeming synonyms but have precise, different meanings when used by educators. Two columns appearing in my…
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State Anthem Controversies: Carry Me Back to Old Virginia
by James Wyatt Whitehead V In the early 1870s, a young pre-law student at Howard College was inspired by classmate and future wife, Mamie Friend. James Alan Bland would listen to the homesick sentiments of Mamie and her home in tidewater Virginia. During a trip to meet Ms. Friend’s family the two sat down together…
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Virginia School Superintendent Supports Accelerated Math Pathway
Dr. James F. Lane, Supervisor of Public Instruction, has been gracious enough to address with me his thoughts on the the Virginia Department of Education Virginia Mathematics Pathways Initiative (VMPI). The headline for readers of this column is that he will not support any program that eliminates acceleration in mathematics. I sent him my column…
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VDOE and the New “Math Path” — Healthy Skepticism and Professionalism Would Be Appreciated
by James C. Sherlock The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) describes the proposed Virginia Mathematics Pathways Initiative (VMPI) as follows: “The Virginia Mathematics Pathways Initiative (VMPI) is a joint initiative among the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). The Initiative…
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State Anthem Controversies: Maryland, My Maryland
by James Wyatt Whitehead V Tensions had reached a boiling point in the city of Baltimore on April 19, 1861. 160 years ago, a mob of pro-Southern sympathizers attacked the 6th Massachusetts Infantry as the unit was making its way by rail to Washington, D.C. There had been trouble the day before when regiments of…
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Journalism, Confirmation Bias and the Presumption of Racism
by James A. Bacon People believe what they want to believe. They seek information that affirms their worldview, and they downplay or ignore evidence that conflicts with it. Psychologists have term for this proclivity: “confirmation bias.” Confirmation bias is extremely well documented in the psychological literature. Everyone falls prey to it. It doesn’t matter how…
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A Day Late — Jeanine’s Sunday Memes
I forgot to link to Jeanine’s Sunday memes on the Bull Elephant yesterday. But letter late than never! — JAB
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If Only Robes Could Talk
“To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well.” — John Marshall by James Wyatt Whitehead V John Marshall, fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, wore the same judicial robe for 34 years. Preservation Virginia, which maintains the John Marshall House on Marshall…