On Academic Freedom and the Spellings Report

Please see Patricia J. Williams on the DOE report, “A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education.” Here is an excerpt from the article, with a key quotation from the report: “Student achievement, which is inextricably connected to institutional success, must be measured by institutions on a ‘value-added’ basis that takes into … More On Academic Freedom and the Spellings Report

Louisiana HB 199

I had been meaning to post about HB 199. Then this e-mail was forwarded to me, so am posting a version of it. A colleague comments that student opposition to this bill is very strong, and that this point may help convince legislators to oppose the measure. House Bill 199 of the current legislative session … More Louisiana HB 199

Anger I Sing

I am busy today so I am posting one of my old drafts. It does not correspond to today’s events factually, but it does so metaphorically very well. Even the comments I am now writing fictionalize the situation, although they do convey its gestalt. My feelings today are not primarily anger but frustration, nervousness, and … More Anger I Sing

Amores criollos

CINCO DE MAYO Today all members of Greater Mexico celebrate the Battle of Puebla. I am celebrating with a son huasteco. You should really follow that link – it goes to a really classic performance which cannot be embedded elsewhere. Here is a good live performance of the petenera, with the audience dancing. And there … More Amores criollos

White Hot

Another of the reasons I do not work with ‘feminist’ or Women’s Studies faculty is that so much of their energy seems to go into justifying the boorish behavior of men. “He means well,” they say, “and he is surely struggling with his behavior and attitude.” The rejoinder “Consider what he did” falls upon deaf … More White Hot

May Day

Given that this is the situation, should I our should I not bother to put more time into AAUP and, or and/or, committee work for Academic Senate? AAUP is in my opinion permanently valuable, but for various reasons the charge the Academic Senate would like to give me is more attractive to me personally. Yet … More May Day

Al grano (On my article which says actual “procrastination” may be far less prevalent than it is rumored to be)

I am revising my paper on “procrastination” which has been accepted by a non-refereed journal after being rejected by one competitive refereed one and one non-competitive refereed one. I think it is a good paper but apparently it is hard to understand and not obedient enough. The non-refereed journal thought the same thing but I … More Al grano (On my article which says actual “procrastination” may be far less prevalent than it is rumored to be)