Enjoy Ron Culberson's insights on a variety of topics
A few weeks before Christmas, my daughter Caitlin asked if I would go shopping with her. I must admit that I was a bit perplexed by this. First of all, my daughter is twenty-eight years old and is perfectly capable of going shopping on her own. Second, my wife usually goes shopping with my daughter. […]
Continue ReadingI recently read where a janitor at Columbia University spent 12 years taking classes and finally achieved his bachelor’s degree. Even though he has the degree, he has no plans to leave the $22/hour job as a janitor, however. I’m not sure what’s the greater accomplishment. The perseverance it takes to earn a degree at […]
Continue ReadingDr. Raymond Bice may have been the most popular professor in the history of the University of Virginia. Although, if Thomas Jefferson taught, in the early days, I’m sure he had a good story or two. But Dr. Bice, who taught the introductory psychology class, was the Lady Gaga of Pysch 101. I was a […]
Continue ReadingFresno County Schools Superintendent Larry Powell reduced his salary from $290,000 to $31,000 recently as a way to handle reduced resources. He said, “If we face mid-year budget cuts, I can have the money ready to go and it doesn’t affect our employees.” What a great role model. What would you do in a similar […]
Continue ReadingAs my daughter enters her third year at the University of Virginia and my son enters his senior year of high school, we are very aware of the quality of education. Next week I’ll speak to 1000 teachers about the difference between being serious and being good. Hopefully, I’ll challenge them to think about the […]
Continue ReadingFor the past eight years, one of my favorite speaking engagements is for the Loudoun County Public Schools New Teacher Orientation. The reason it’s such a treat for me is that they do a great job of making the new teachers feel welcome to the system. The day begins with a high school band and […]
Continue ReadingA 79 year-old great-grandmother, Tomasa Herrera, was helping her great-grandson with his homework but was struggling with some of the material (probably the same physics problems my son brought to me). Her great-grandson said, “You need to go back to school, Grandma.” Thankfully, she didn’t whack him up side the head or send him to […]
Continue ReadingA Washington Post article reported that 140 teachers and 38 principals were involved in an organized cheating scandal to help students, schools, and districts meet targets required by standardized testing. Here’s the full article: Atlanta Public Schools Embroiled in Cheating Scandal I may be missing something here but wouldn’t it be better to put the […]
Continue ReadingAt the risk of offending some of my two-wheeling friends, I’d like to address a recent report about a motorcyclist who was killed while riding without a helmet in a protest against mandatory helmet laws. The police reported that had this rider been wearing a helmet, he would have survived. My condolences go out to […]
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