Soft Despotism, Democracy's Drift by Paul Rahe is an important new book for students of history and anyone interested in the direction of modern democratic societies. Here's the part 2 (of many) of my summary and review of the book...

Regarding the tendencies of commercial republics - commerce looks ahead, valuing customers and markets for future transactions over physical possessions on hand.  Commerce is more about 'getting ahead' than about enjoying what you have already earned.  Potential vast wealth is more valuable than present sufficient wealth....

Soft Despotism, Democracy's Drift by Paul Rahe is an important new book for students of history and anyone interested in the direction of modern democratic societies. It would make a fine political theory text for any homeschooler or autodidact. Certainly reading the book along with the original works it surveys would be far more beneficial than any political science class taught by modern politically-correct faculty. Here's Part 1 of a multi-part review...

This review is an excellent perspective on the pantheism rampant in movies and culture, versus the true meaning of nature and life God reveals in the scriptures

In his early years, pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) recorded a list of 70 personal resolutions which guided him throughout his life. These are available for display on your website or blog with this widget. Simply select and copy the code shown and add it to your site's html.

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Display some of Jesus Christ's sayings from the Bible on your blog or website. Simply select and copy the code shown. Now edit your site's html and 'paste' the selected code where you want the widget to appear. Save your html and reload your site's page to see the widget.

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I was recently asked to recommend good courses or books to study world history from a Christian and biblical perspective. What I've read/studied and can recommend without reservation are...

"Your home-education, nice clothes, and manners cannot save you". Paul Washer reminds everyone of what is ultimate at the Sufficiency of Scripture Conference.

InaShoe.com is giving away audio cd's from the conference.

ISI's annual National Founding Fathers Essay Contest for high school students. Students are invited to compete for scholarships prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000 and for a library of ISI titles. Essayists will consider the life and character of the Quaker general, Nathanael Greene. A free copy of Rise and Fight Again:... The Life of Nathanael Greene will be sent to every entrant along with a free subscription to ISI’s journal of scholarship and opinion, The Intercollegiate Review. Contest Details

I read every issue of the Intercollegiate Review from cover to cover - sign up here for a FREE subscription. Golden opportunity, please consider it. Can't go wrong with "free".

I haven't read Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality yet, but just saw this review article at ISI. The review is compelling - here are a few excerpts:

Our educational romantics assume that everyone is equally teachable, that every child would succeed at equal, developmentally correct speed, if only there were more money, better teachers, a more demanding curriculum, and the like. But Murray objects, and persuasively so, pithily citing the requisite scientific studies to prove it.

The opening proposition of this part of the argument is that “too many people are going to college,” and about this, Murray has two overarching and interrelated themes. First, most people don’t have to spend four years at a college to acquire the abilities that would prepare them for a job or profession. The run-of-the-mill B.A., moreover, is becoming a less precise and hence less useful signal to employers. But Murray’s more fundamental concern is that the vast numbers of students attending college who are not capable of doing real college work have diluted and distorted what should be a college’s true work, which is providing a truly higher education for those who can benefit from it.

Murray says, college today is not at all what it’s cracked up to be. In particular, it is overrated as a place to grow up. He describes what many of us know. Most students are able to get by with a light workload, Fridays and Saturdays are not taken seriously, faculty are often too accommodating to students, and grade inflation has undermined the transcript. Character is not only left undeveloped but is in fact positively harmed both by the campus social culture and by the naive relativism and non-judgmentalism of the intellectual atmosphere.

Note the solution is, not-surprisingly, a balance of academics, love, and wisdom in a family setting. Exactly the homeschooling paradigm, which Murray even mentions directly.

So how are these changes to occur?... Neither the educational bureaucrats in charge of K-12 education nor the major stakeholders in higher education can be counted on. In both areas, he seems to rely on a return to an educational realism rooted in love—a love of mothers and fathers for their children on the one hand and a love of virtue and wisdom by larger souls on the other— to, little by little, take responsibility for education out of the hyper-democratically beaten path. For example, he counts on the expanding homeschooling movement to evolve into a universe of alternative schools.

So keep it up Mom and Dad - you're doing great work!

See more comments on Real Education at Amazon.com.