As parents pack their youngsters off to college, they might ask themselves whether it's worth both the money they will spend and their children's time. Dr. Marty Nemko has researched that question in an article aptly titled "America's Most Over-rated Product: Higher...
CULTURE
A Hollow Victory for Homeschooling: California Children Still Considered State Property
Are parents mere drudges whose social duty is to feed and house their spawn between mandatory indoctrination sessions at government-approved schools? Or are they sovereign individuals whose right to guide their children’s development the state may not infringe?
Amateurs Outdoing Professionals
When amateurs outperform professionals, there is something wrong with that profession. If ordinary people, with no medical training, could perform surgery in their kitchens with steak knives, and get results that were better than those of surgeons in hospital...
On The Rise of Islamic Rule in Turkey
Any “interpretation” of Islam that is consistent with the Koran as a revealed, unquestioned authority will end in a reversion to its brute, fundamental meaning: the subordination of women and non-Muslims to dictatorial rule by a clerical elite.
Objectivism, the Journal, and the Future: An Interview with Craig Biddle
Capitalism Magazine: Who is Craig Biddle? Craig Biddle: I'm a guy who is fortunate to have discovered "Who is John Galt?" I'm a writer and editor specializing in books and articles from an Objectivist perspective, and I'm a husband and father who can best be described...
The Economics of College, Part III
Why does college cost so much? There are two basic reasons. The first is that people will pay what the colleges charge. The second is that there is little incentive for colleges to reduce the tuition they charge. Those who want the government to provide subsidies to...
The Economics of College, Part II
Those who argue that the taxpayers should be forced to subsidize people who go to colleges and universities seldom bother to think beyond the notion that education is a Good Thing. Some education is not only a good thing but a great thing. But, like most good things,...
The Economics of College, Part I
A front-page headline in the New York Times captures much of the economic confusion of our time: "Fewer Options Open to Pay for Costs of College." The whole article is about the increased costs of college, the difficulties parents have in paying those costs, and the...
Should Heidi Moore Read Ayn Rand?
The Argument from Intimidation is the attempt to substitute psychological pressure for rational argument.
Your Child Is Not State Property
Education, like nutrition, should be recognized as the exclusive domain of a child’s parents, within legal limits objectively defining child abuse and neglect.
Islamic States and Thought Crimes: The Thug’s Ideal
What deeper attack on civilization, freedom, the mind, and human life could be possible than to propose the establishment of thought crimes in an American university?
An Open Letter to America’s Students–Will “Atlas Shrugged” Change your Life Forever?
Some 95% of my students report that “Atlas Shrugged” is the best book they’ve ever read. No book that I’ve taught comes remotely close to fostering a more robust exchange of ideas in the classroom.
The New Rational Manager
In the 1960's, Charles Kepner and Benjamin Tregoe translated a few key logical processes into simple, practical, teachable procedures. Since then, their methods have helped three generations of managers solve problems and make decisions at work. Their book, The New...
Black Colleges
The Lincoln Review, a Washington-based black think tank, published an article titled "What Does the Future Hold for Historically Black Colleges?" in its September/October 2007 edition. It recalled the experiences of Bill Maxwell, a St. Petersburg Times columnist and...
The Meaning of Jihad
To counter such mystically motivated fanatics, we who wish to uphold reason, civilization, and individual rights must understand our own case thoroughly and oppose the forces of the dark ages with forthright conviction.
Yesterday’s Highlights: Stories From Home
We at VanDamme Academy love hearing stories about things the students do or say at home that reflects their VanDamme Academy education. I recently asked parents to share some stories from home. Here are a few highlights: Calvin (5): I was talking to Calvin about the...
Thank You
Most are thankful to God. I am thankful to man — specifically, to those individuals who (over the centuries) have created the countless things I need for survival and enjoyment.
After Ten Years, States Still Resist Assisted Suicide
Conservatives have no right to force such mindless, medieval misery upon doctors and patients who refuse to regard their precious lives as playthings of a cruel God.
The Influence of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged
So while Atlas Shrugged has provided millions with inspiration and with some level of appreciation for the virtues of capitalism and the evils of statism, it has not had nearly the influence it could have had, had its underlying ideas gained wider understanding.
Why Businessmen Love Atlas Shrugged
If you ask any hundred successful businessmen chosen at random to name the book that has most inspired them, you will undoubtedly hear one title repeated over and over: Atlas Shrugged–Ayn Rand’s epic novel, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this month.
The First Day of School: VanDamme Academy Style
“We always understood why we were learning what we were learning.”
Ashland University Reenters the Dark Ages
Yesterday, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on Dr. John Lewis' recent travails at Ashland University (subscription required). For those who are unaware, here is a brief recap: After initially denying Lewis tenure this spring because Lewis supports Ayn Rand's...
The Writing Process: One Step at a Time
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (or NAEP), the average high school student is an incompetent writer. To evaluate their writing ability, testers asked high school juniors to write a paragraph based on notes they were given about a haunted...
Dr. Jack Kevorkian and The Right to Assisted Suicide
If you have a duty to go on living, despite your better judgment, then your life does not belong to you, and you exist by permission, not by right.
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