I am an educator. I have retired from the classroom (actually the school library), but I continue to teach as a Sunday School teacher and through this blog. Educators are on the front line in the ongoing war against ignorance. The battle used to be a relatively gentle one. Every new class of children and … Read more
Recently I attended the 2022 Utah State Democratic Convention. At the convention (which was partially online) 57% of the delegates (782 to 594) voted to support independent candidate Evan McMullin in the election for US Senator from Utah. This means that the Democratic candidate, Kael Weston, was not nominated by the party and will not … Read more
Recently, I started an adult Sunday School lesson on the Fall of Adam and Eve by saying “Today we are going to partake of the Tree of Knowledge.” I then took a big bite of a juicy red apple. After savoring the taste, I offered another apple to a class member sitting in the front … Read more
The solid world exists, its laws do not change. Stones are hard, water is wet, objects unsupported fall towards the earth’s center. Winston Smith (in the book 1984 by George Orwell) As an amateur rock climber in my younger days, I can tell you from personal experience that climbers are highly aware of gravity. The … Read more
In Matthew, chapter 10, Jesus gave his Twelve Apostles instructions before sending them out to preach the Gospel. He warned them that they would be made to suffer by other Jews (Matthew 10: 16-18), but that they should continue to speak out. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be … Read more
A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again. Alexander Pope Both the diagram and the quotation above illustrate the human tendency to think we know more than we do. They do not discourage learning, but remind … Read more
The other day at Costco I found a novel by Stacey Abrams entitled “While Justice Sleeps.” It is a courtroom thriller set in the Supreme Court of the United States. A quick glance at the back inside cover flap told me that this book was, indeed, written by the Stacey Abrams from Georgia that I … Read more
The internet has facilitated an explosion of information. Unfortunately, the information literacy skills of most information consumers have not kept pace. Amidst all the noise online, effectively determining what is true or false requires conscious, deliberate, and thoughtful effort. These days anyone who adopts a belief or makes a claim based on information they have … Read more