Birthdays Are Special On June 20, 2024, the great State of West Virginia celebrated its 161st birthday. On June 24, 2024, the author of this blog celebrated his 37th birthday. I have always enjoyed birthdays and the concomitant celebrations. Until this year, I’ve not really given much thought as to why I have always had…

Snakes and Sparklers: An Economics Lesson I’m a firm believer that economics is everywhere. And we can learn the lessons of the discipline from even the most unlikely of sources. But first, I’ll begin with a more likely source, 1976 Nobel Laureate, Milton Friedman. In his 1993 essay, Why Government is the Problem, published by…

Responding to The WV Watch In a recent commentary piece, the WV Watch puts West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship squarely in its sights and holds no punches.  Here’s where they got it wrong.     Do the Math  The WV Watch claims that West Virginia’s schools need more money.   Like most states, West Virginia spends roughly…

Bullying: Every Person's Worst Nightmare It is every family’s worst nightmare, but it is the life the Teusch are living after their 10-year old son Sammy took his own life due to bullying at school. Sammy’s family says that the local school system, Greenfield-Central Community Schools in Greenfield, Indiana, was part of the problem. The…

Tribalism is a Human Impulse In an election year, it’s hard to avoid lamentations about tribalism and the general negative effect it has on the national discourse. I’m inclined to agree in most instances, especially when this political tribalism seems to distract our elected officials from grappling with major issues facing the country. So obviously,…

Primary Elections Are Over On Tuesday, May 14, West Virginians went to the polls to cast their votes in the 2024 primary election. In a deep red – or blue – state, the primary election simply matters more than the general election as the general contest is, normally, non-competitive. Thus, it is highly unlikely that…

April Showers Bring May Foster Care Awareness For many, when we think of May, the first things that come to mind might be summer holidays like Memorial Day and Mother’s Day or summer BBQs and celebrations. While these occasions are noteworthy and reason for celebration, it’s important to recognize another holiday that May brings: National…

Civil Discourse Is Lacking Because Civics Education is Sidelined You don’t have to look very hard to surmise that civil discourse in this country is fundamentally lacking. Often, there seems to be an outright refusal to engage in anything that might resemble a reasonable discussion. What is most surprising about this phenomenon is that civil…

Greetings from Ireland! My family and I are currently about two-thirds the way through a wonderful vacation where we’ve been able to use our American driving stamina, much to the amazement of some of the Irish we’ve come into contact with, to see vast portions of the Irish island whose size is sometimes compared to…

Traveling to Arizona to Learn About Unbundled Education West Virginia, whether she knows it or not, is in the midst of a revolution. An unbundled education revolution. And I am here for it! But where did it all start and where is it heading?   I was fortunate enough to attend an education conference in…