Joanne Jacobs
Once, girls were excited to grow up
Once upon a time, the teenage girls in Judy Blume's stories were "excited to grow up," writes Kat Rosenfield on The Free Press. Starting...
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Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 22
- 2 min
Politicizing humanities leaves grads still seeking deep, impractical learning
Colleges have politicized the humanities, leaving graduates feeling cheated of a liberal arts education.
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 10
- 2 min
Why is 'Gender Queer' in the middle-school library?
Parents don't want drag queens or books that feature sex toys in school libraries.
Joanne Jacobs
- Apr 7
- 1 min
Magic worlds
The Rabbit Hole, a children's literature museum in Kansas City, sounds like a wonderful place. Children can explore "scenes from beloved...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 31
- 2 min
Mamma mia! Is raising kids too hard?
I was born at the peak of the baby boom, the second of four children. (Today is my birthday.) Most of us weren't planned, but we were...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 29
- 3 min
A 'Colorblind America' sees race, but tries to treat people the same
"Anti-racism" is a kind of "neo-racism," argues Coleman Hughes in his new book, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 20
- 2 min
Lowering expectations doesn't lead to 'equity'
It's easier to get A's and harder to get an education, writes Fordham's Michael Petrilli. Expectations started falling and grades...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 16
- 2 min
Teach the children: 'Is the Soviet Union a country?'
Teaching is "oppressive." Teachers should "guide" students to discover things on their own, based on their interests, but shouldn't...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 25
- 2 min
'I want the library to be there for everyody, not just people who share my voting record'
When a patron donated a book questioning "the transgender craze" to the Blue Hill Public Library, librarian Rich Boulet decided "it...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 23
- 2 min
Odysseus so white
English teachers at Oakland's College Preparatory School, one of the most expensive private schools in California, have "let go" of...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 23
- 1 min
Poet X replaces Romeo: Why high school students can't read
Adam Kotsko, who teaches humanities at a small liberal arts college, finds that even his best students are unprepared to read and...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 19
- 2 min
Why Joe College can't read
College students have trouble reading anything long or complex, complains Adam Kotsko, in Slate. He's taught humanities classes in small...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 19
- 1 min
Teach old, 'problematic' books
Teach old books, argues Daniel Buck, author of author of What Is Wrong with Our Schools?, on Fordham's Flypaper blog. Yes the language...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 18
- 2 min
Empty shelves: School culls old books, can't afford new books
A Maryland elementary school's library has colorful posters urging kids to read -- but not many books on the shelves, writes Theresa...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 18
- 2 min
Muslim parents win right to reject LGBT books for their children
Muslim children won't be required to read LGBT books in elementary schools in St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis, reports Mairead...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 7
- 2 min
Teaching Ta-Nehisi Coates
Mary Wood is teaching Ta-Nehisi Coates' memoir, Between the World and Me, in her AP English Language and Composition class in Chapin,...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 4
- 2 min
College is now a 'what to think' place, not 'how to think' for yourself
"Professors here teach how to think, not "what to think," college tour guides claim. Don't believe them, writes Caitlin Flanagan in The...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 26
- 2 min
The shelves tilt left: School libraries have no McWhorter, but lots of Kendi
For all the talk about school libraries under pressure to "ban books," the real issue is lack of balance, argues James Fishback in The...
Joanne Jacobs
- Dec 15, 2023
- 1 min
It matters how kids read: On-screen reading doesn't build comprehension
It doesn't matter what kids read as long as they're reading, people often say. Maybe so. But for "developing readers," leisure reading...
Joanne Jacobs
- Nov 6, 2023
- 2 min
To kill 'To Kill a Mockingbird'
Ninth-graders aren't reading To Kill a Mockingbird this year in Mukilteo, Washington, an affluent, mostly white town north of Seattle. ...
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