I was conversing with an 80-year-old neighbor recently who taught and coached for decades in public schools in New York City and here in Virginia. When I mentioned having taught seminars in literature, history, and Latin to homeschoolers, he instantly brought up socialization, a word I’ve heard linked to homeschoolers since my wife and I began educating our oldest child at home 40 years ago.
“Homeschoolers shouldn’t go to public school when they get older,” he said, and I’m paraphrasing. “They’ve missed out on socialization. They’ve been with their moms, and then they’re put into school where there’s bullying and cursing. It even starts in kindergarten now around here, from what friends tell me. They’re just not equipped socially to handle that.”
As I’ve done on many other occasions, I defended homeschoolers against this supposed lack of social skills, pointing out that while they spend part of their days with their mothers or fathers and siblings, they also had friends, interacted with various adults, and participated in activities outside the home, like ballet, soccer, seminars like mine, and dual-enrollment classes at the community college.
But what I wanted to do was burst out laughing. Why on earth would any parent want their children “socialized” in a culture of bullying and obscenities? Continue reading
Over the past sixty years, there has been a significant shift, in how historians perceive President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In a survey conducted in 1962, Eisenhower was ranked 22nd among Presidents, considered just an average leader, comparable to Chester A. Arthur, and slightly superior to Andrew Johnson. However, by the 1980s, his standing had risen to 11th place, and by 1994, he had climbed to 8th. This position has remained consistent, as evidenced by current polls of presidential historians. Among Presidents who served in the last 75 years, he was surpassed in ranking only by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. So, who was the real Dwight D. Eisenhower? 
It is taken, in many cases, to be fact that the reason the Constitutional Convention was called and that the Constitution was ratified was because of the failure of the Articles of Confederation system. The folks at Heritage have made their position clear:
Across the country, teachers are sounding the alarm about a new kind of gap in the classroom: kids who can code on a tablet but cannot tie their shoes, write a legible sentence, or remember their own phone number. The viral stories are piling up, and so is the parental anxiety, as families realize these “basic” skills are not guaranteed anymore. Underneath the panic is a harder question, though, about what schools and homes are actually prioritizing in 2026. 
Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father, believed money could not bring lasting happiness. His life showed that desire grows with wealth, not contentment. Franklin, from modest beginnings, achieved great influence through self-education and public service. He established institutions and made scientific discoveries. His focus was on purpose, learning, and self-control, not accumulation. This perspective remains relevant today. 
Some conservatives are now bending over backwards to try to justify their calls for more federal intervention in local law enforcement around the nation. This has been problematic for many because some of these people also have pretended to be in favor of decentralization, local control, and a strict reading of the Constitution when it suits them.
Americans, living in what is called the richest nation on earth, seem always to be short of money. Wives are working in unprecedented numbers, husbands hope for overtime hours to earn more, or take part-time jobs evenings and weekends, children look for odd jobs for spending money, the family debt climbs higher, and psychologists say one of the biggest causes of family quarrels and breakups is “arguments over money.” Much of this trouble can be traced to our present “debt-money” system. 
Students attending American public schools are struggling. Test scores from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), released this year, indicate that 33% of 8th graders – a greater percentage than ever before – are reading at the “below basic” level.
When you think of Hollywood’s Golden Age, you probably conjure images of glamorous actresses walking the red carpet and lighting up the silver screen with their charm, looks, and talent. You most likely wouldn’t think that any of them were pioneering inventors who ushered in the age of global communication.