I read somewhere that hard work is a sign of a willingness to be responsible. So typically people who are getting things done are usually getting them done for others as well as themselves. Some time ago in an interview with the Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Jackson, I described myself as a man that picks up sticks. That may sound strange to most of you and it does sound a little strange to me as well. So let me explain how all of this works.

Years ago I had the privilege to attend and obtain a Scouting award called Wood Badge. The aim of this program is to make Scouters better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills. One of those teaching skills that I particularly enjoyed was the art of “picking up sticks” or “teaching that everyone can work at any level and provide a service and that service need not be for profit of the wallet but one of the heart”. Continue reading →

Reading plays an integral role in developing our intelligence and problem-solving and analytical skills. Good reasons to do more of it.

We’ve all had it embedded within us since the day we were born: The only way to become smarter, no matter what you study or where you are, is to read. What few people tell us, however, is why reading plays such an integral role in developing our intelligence, problem-solving, and analytical skills, and our ability to understand others with alacrity. Continue reading →

Keeping our kids out of school poses a greater threat to their health than COVID-19.

Earlier this year, fears over the coronavirus shuttered classrooms across the country as school systems opted for makeshift online learning. At the time, the stopgap measure seemed like the only way to keep our kids both safe and engaged with their schooling –  BUT… Continue reading →

Erasing History ~ Image: Lance Page

Americans educated by government today are, for the most part, hopelessly ignorant of their own nation’s history – and that’s no accident. They’re beyond ignorant when it comes to civics, too. On the history of the rest of the world, or the history of communism, Americans are generally clueless as well. This was all by design, of course. Continue reading →

“War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength.” ~ George Orwell, 1984

There are a great many things that people take for granted. For instance, people flip a switch and expect the lights to come on, or turn on the tap and see water coming out of the spout. People also expect to go to the grocery store and see row after row of goods to purchase. There are a lot of things people take for granted, but if I were to ask people what it is that they take for granted I’m betting that I wouldn’t hear anyone say books. Continue reading →

Let’s use this opportunity to address some of the chronic ones we’re seeing in government-supplied K-12 schooling.

There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted childhood education. In many countries, kids have physically returned to school. In others, schools were never closed. Yet in the United States, many public schools have been closed since March, yielding disastrous results for millions of kids. While scientific data say it’s safe to bring them back, incentives in the school systems are such that many kids continue to be locked up at home rather than receiving a proper education.

A school’s main role is to educate children. They can feed low-income children and supply day care for working parents, but these benefits are secondary to providing a quality education to all enrolled children. Continue reading →

No my friends… contrary to what the image shows… this is NOT a rewrite of the old 1986 Rodney Dangerfield movie.

I have discovered manuscripts which I had begun to prepare some years ago for the publication of my third book of the series, AMERICA: The Grand Illusion. I chose to no longer publish the series of books, as I felt that what we had to share was greater used by those who I was privileged to serve here – at the Metropolis Café. Many of the new historical posts can be found in the category of Mr. Adair’s Classroom, but also you will find the links with brief introduction through Words & Deeds, within their respective date categories.

…and so we begin to add to our library once more.

When I was a kid growing up in the Soviet Union, it was essentially forbidden to make a better life for yourself.

You couldn’t just decide to go back to school, start a business, or switch careers to a thriving new industry, and it didn’t matter how hard you worked – you were most likely NEVER going to be promoted. All the top jobs in the Soviet Union were reserved for party loyalists. Continue reading →

A DC-area school board votes to rename schools named for Thomas Jefferson and George Mason.

In the Washington, DC, suburb of Falls Church, Virginia, the local school board recently unanimously voted to rename Thomas Jefferson Elementary School and George Mason High School because of what have become all too frequent “woke” considerations. As one board member explained, “Our schools must be places where all students, staff, and community members feel safe, supported, and inspired.” The board member forgot to mention that such sentiments apply to everyone except those who hold conservative views on free speech and love this nation, but we digress. The names of two men whose incredible contributions to human history included crafting the founding documents of the greatest nation on earth but who also owned slaves clearly don’t comport with the sensibilities of modern social justice warriors. Continue reading →