On Merit

Read God, Save Us from Merit Pay for Teachers! by The Chaff. Via Unsane and Safe. In good news, 20,000 meritorious people protested WHINSEC on November 18. Bill Quigley writes: Even if the US government is reluctant to close the school, Latin American countries look like they will do it themselves. Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, … More On Merit

Geoffrey Philp

Check him out. Wouldn’t you like to have him come to speak at your school? I know I would. I would need to get several departments on board with me to organize this, though. Perhaps for next year. Meanwhile, following the advice of Unsane and inspired by Morphological Confetti and Wandering Caravan, I have been … More Geoffrey Philp

In Costume

This post is dedicated to Melissa, the thesis writer. Jennifer said in a comments thread here some time ago that “reality” is made up of stereotypes to a greater degree than we commonly think, and I found this quite perceptive. The degree to which stereotypes determine our perception and our experience it is our theme … More In Costume

In Church

I need to write the journalistic article I discuss here and two academic articles, and I need to do these things very soon. But it is Sunday and everyone in town but my pagan self is in church confessing, so I will confess, too. I dislike a post to which I will not link and … More In Church

Nightmare

I I dreamed last night that I was drowning a baby in a rushing gutter. I was very sorry to do it but I had been given my instructions – the baby or myself – and I had made my choice. It was a compliant, yet resilient baby. It understood it was to be drowned … More Nightmare

On Hiring Women

In my graduate department was a Bright Student who had, furthermore, an excellent situation since she was married to a Nurse. She therefore had no financial worries, roommate worries, or dating worries, and her situation was slated to continue indefinitely: this Nurse, being a Nurse, was in a position to move, when she got an … More On Hiring Women