top of page


Teaching kids the habits of anxious, depressed people isn't working well
Schools, colleges (and parents) are teaching kids the habits of anxious, depressed people.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 5, 20252 min read


Won't read, can't think
We "think and read less, and see and feel more."

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 28, 20252 min read


Colleges add football to boost male enrollment, school spirit
As enrollment falls, especially for male students, some colleges are adding football programs.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 20, 20251 min read


University will 'validate' students, lower academic standards
Professors will be asked to relax deadlines, attendance policies and grading standards to help low-income, minority and first-generation students at University of Nebraska Kearney.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 15, 20253 min read


Did college radicalize Tyler Robinson?
Something happened to Tyler Robinson, but it's probably not a semester of engineering classes.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 13, 20251 min read


Dropouts, renegades, mad scientists and billionaires
As Americans lose faith in the value of a college education, Silicon Valley is celebrating dropout entrepreneurs.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 12, 20253 min read


When speech is violence and violence is resistance ...
An increasing number of college students -- on the left and right -- think violence is justified to silence offensive ideas.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 11, 20252 min read


'The learning comes from wrestling'
Students who say "no" to AI are willing work harder to build writing and thinking skills -- and to maintain their self-respect and their "humanity."

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 4, 20252 min read


'You rebel against a world that tells you mediocrity is good enough'
"Freedom and excellence run on inequality," said President Carlos Carvalho in a convocation to mark the start of University of Austin's second year.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 2, 20252 min read


Dogs -- and decorators -- in the dorm
College students want all the comforts of home, including their pets, when they go to college.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 31, 20252 min read


College conformists: 88% of students say they fake progressive views to get along
Most college students pretend to agree with left-wing views to fit in on campus, concludes a new survey.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 14, 20252 min read


Why humanities don't get no respect -- except for philosophy
Humanities would get more respect -- and graduates would earn more -- if professors made classes harder.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 12, 20251 min read


Feds will fund job training for all, but will short-term programs pay off?
Federal Pell grants will find job credentials for low-income Americans, but many job programs have weak results.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 29, 20252 min read


Loving the liberal arts: Some students want more than a credential
Students want to read great books and talk about the meaning of life, but college administrators don't see the value, writes a philosophy professor.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 23, 20252 min read


Physics students learn more from the professor than from each other
Student-led discussions fail less-prepared physics students -- they need the professor -- but work for well-prepared students.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 22, 20252 min read


Indiana teens combine high school, apprenticeship -- but programs are “infinitesimally small”
"Earn and learn" programs for high school students are very small.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 19, 20252 min read


Civility and conformity
Professors teach conformity to progressive orthodoxy.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 18, 20252 min read


To get into elite colleges, agree to disagree (but avoid politics)
Diversity is out for college applicants. Civility is in.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 18, 20252 min read


Going fuzzy: NY drops exams for 'portrait of a graduate'
A fuzzy "portrait of a graduate" will replace New York's Regents exams.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 17, 20252 min read


If AI kills the market value of a degree, how many colleges will survive?
AI is destroying the value of a college degree -- everyone's cheating -- and taking entry-level jobs from new graduates.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 16, 20252 min read
bottom of page