The United States government is on the verge of committing one of the gravest mistakes in the history of any modern government – eliminating the U.S. decennial census. Every legitimate, and in the case of North Korea and Syria, illegitimate government conducts a census of all inhabitants at some regular interval. Even the Soviets collected…
Some authors have an innate ability to create an instant rapport with me. Their words, compounds and elements, with pages as catalyst, crystallize in my mind. James Lee Burke is such an author. I discovered him a year ago, or so, after finishing another series of character-based novels, and wanting to develop a new reading…
I write because I think. My thoughts need a form. I give them a form through the laborious machinations of word selection, ordering, and penning them on some hard- or soft copy media, following generations old rules. My favorite author of all-time is Ray Bradbury. His prose is poetry. The meter, tone, tenor and lyrical…
I’m sure I’m like many college faculty. We become so frustrated with our students. Frustration builds like a storm as we feel stymied class after class by the apparent lack of knowledge absorption by our supposedly eager students. “What can I do different to encourage them to soak this stuff up?” The reality is we…
A good friend of mine lived abroad when she was of middle-school age. Her mother was in the military, stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Living abroad when old enough to notice the life going on around you, having a life in the States to compare to, and being old enough to appreciate the details and differences…
Forbes magazine ran an article 6 May 2012 alluding to “creating innovators.” Tony Wagner is an Education Fellow at Harvard, and author of The Global Achievement Gap. His research on identification of skills necessary for people to compete in the 21st century global workplace is outlined. More interesting is his web site, TonyWagner.com. I am…
I have to admit, I think my generation ruined the U.S. Educational System. I think I am Generation X, falling in the 1965-1980 era, just a little beyond the World War Two “Baby Boomer” scope. My generation is the generation “in power,” so to speak. We are the ones who occupy a good portion of…
One of the reasons I enjoy talking about geography is geography covers pretty much every topic. Every topic can be related to geography is some form or fashion. In my geography classes, the second assignment my students work on is compiling a list of traits or characteristics which, in their mind, are unique to U.S.…
This is an old essay, written in December, 2011. After rereading, and committing some edits, my sentiments still feel the same. As I write this, the country is caught in the midst of bickering that encroaches upon racism and bigotry. Two basic controversies test the U.S., under the guise of of one theme: Islam. First,…
I’m trying to get out of the habit of saying, “Americans.” As a society, we are really a self-centered lot. North America is comprised of both Canada and the United States. Technically, a Canadian could call herself an “American,” as she lives on the continent of North America. But, would that make people living in…
Constant Geography 
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