Education and Liberty

This article on Mises.org (HT: Blake Stephenson) gives an example of how the negative feedback loops inherent in large, centrally directed bureaucracies stifle the use of judgment, local knowledge and initiative. The article illustrates why the modern state should not be in charge of public education. But I think it also suggests that there are problems that [...]

A lot is being said about torture recently—but not enough. It is terrifying that so many are unconcerned about arrests without Habeas Corpus, military prisons, and torture. These activities don’t bring anyone more security.  In fact, they bring about a false sense of security while simultaneously making life more systematically dangerous for all. Arrest without [...]

One of the women in my education masters program came up with the following advertisement to recruit secondary teachers after reading Phil Gang’s Rethinking Education .  She did it with a little tongue and cheek, but frankly, it’s spot on!

“Secondary level teacher of ……………required, must have high self esteem, be intelligent, have a full extra curricula life, [...]

Today would have been the 110th birthday of F.A. Hayek.  He was one of the greatest minds of the past century.  This is what Steve Horwitz has to say over at The Austrian Economists

When future historians look back, they will recognize that the 20th Century was the “Century of Hayek” in terms of who generated [...]

We recently came across the following anecdote about Jacob Klein, an eminent liberal artist and once dean of St. John’s College , at this blog :

During WWII the Navy considered seizing the campus of St. John’s via eminent domain in order to expand the Naval Academy. The fledgling New Program based on the great books of western tradition had [...]

The ultimate goal of education is to kindle a love of knowing and to nurture the ability to inquire.   The vision of a Liberal Arts Education, as I understand it, is to support the student’s development of independent judgment, clarity of thought and the habit of inquiry.     My own love of the liberal arts began when I was [...]

When you’re in love with someone, you can’t see their faults: “Love is blind and lovers cannot see.” Since one of my students introduced me to Daniel Hannan through this video , I can’t get enough of him. He is a blogger journalist and a British Member of the European Parliament. I don’t associate myself with politicians, [...]

Rachel’s last post about music and the market reminded me of this most fabulous article by Leonard E. Read called “The Miraculous Market.” Leonard Read was one of the greatest advocates for peace and human freedom.  His advocacy for these principles was founded on a deep gratitude for human beings and the creativity they express.  Read’s [...]

It is important to note that the economic crisis we are in right now is not the result of technical or material conditions.  It is an economic problem, a problem regarding the coordination of individuals’ plans and the available resources. Sustainability requires a balance of conservation with use. Governments everywhere subsidize consumption and tax saving [...]

This is a great article by Michael Strong.  In it, Michael talks about how Socratic practice helps develop student’s rational abilities and helps make rational, tolerant discourse a cultural norm.  
Michael actually has a column on this website. 
 
 

Maria Montessori writes the following in “To Educate the Human Potential”: “How can the mind of a growing individual continue to be interested if all our teaching be around one particular subject of limited scope, and is confined to the transmission of such small details of knowledge as he is able to memorize? How can [...]

I found out recently that the Christian Science Monitor published an excerpt from John Maynard Keynes’ “General Theory” next to an expert from Frederic Bastiat’s “What is seen and what is not seen” about economic stimulus. What a cool idea!  Here’s the link . It’s a pity they didn’t publish just a little more of Bastiat’s article.  [...]

I have been reading Ayn Rand’s essay “Philosophy: Who Needs It” again recently. This is an excellent and accessible essay that almost everyone would enjoy. In it, Rand sets out to explain why everyone needs philosophy. One of the main points of the essay is that every one of us is already possessed of a [...]

I have a number of very intelligent and eager students who meet with me after school for various intellectual clubs. (There is Philosophy on Mondays, Logos, a math and logic club, on Wednesdays, and Debate on Thursdays. I also facilitate the Socrates Café in Houston on a Sunday once a month and Benjamin Cohen-Kurzrock, one [...]