After reviewing the PBS Frontline documentary, A Class Divided, Professor Stephen Ambra led a class discussion on bigotry and intolerance. However, it was a conversation I had at the break with one of the students that led to a special written assignment. Sitting in the back of the room, clearly uncomfortable with the discussion, this student confided that the subject of...

One of the aspects that comes from walking into a class of total strangers for the first time is expectations. I expect that because most of them are young, that they have relatively normal lives absent any grave or impactful issues. I could not be more wrong. The level of candor reflected in most papers was not only unexpected but demonstrated a...

The New Hampshire Technical Institute is a small community college tucked into the historic town of Concord. NHTI is also the home of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center – a remarkable resource for both students and visitors. This is the third year I have had the opportunity to co-teachContemporary Ethical Issues with Professor Stephen Ambra. The intensive class runs seven hours a day for five...

First of all, Colman McCarthy is funny. Every time he gets on the phone with me, he always asks, “Hey Jim, how are those orange trees doing in your backyard?” Colman is a philosopher: “Warmaking doesn’t stop warmaking. If it did, our problems would have stopped millennia ago.” Colman is a passionate pacifist who believes in fighting fire with… water. “Since...

My opponent and I slowly walked to our lecterns. While I was confident of my argument, I was nervous for the simple reason that this was my first debate and I had absolutely no idea how my audience would react, much less what kinds of questions would come in the second part. The topic was “Television in the Classroom” and...

At one time or another, all of us have benefited from the inspiration of someone – a teacher, mentor – someone. John McCarthy, a friend and teacher based in Washington, D.C., inspires excellence in his students. “The Manny Burriss Story,” from May 2008, is but one example. USA TODAY – May 10, 2008 – Manny Burriss went 3-for-4 with a...

Some students today are getting so good at rationalizing it’s scary. “You could study for two hours and get an 80, or you could take a risk and get a 90.” “When it came to French class, where the teacher had literally taught me nothing all year, and during the final the students around me were openly discussing the answers,...

To begin with, I searched the internet with the question. The first link that showed up… no joke: “Honesty Is Still The Best Policy Free Essays 1-20 www.OpPapers.com/…/honesty-is-still-the-best-policy-page1.html 20+ items – Free Essays on Honesty Is Still The Best Policy for students.” Notice the lack of any pretense: “for students” While there are plenty of polls (and rationalizations) that examine the question,...

A Man for All Seasons was an Academy Award winning film about a principled man standing up against the king of England.A Man for All Semesters – a review of a book which has won no awards, but received plenty of attention – is about an unprincipled hack who writes papers for students too lazy, ignorant or both for money then brags...

While former Penn State assistant football Coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted last month of sexual assault against 10 young boys over approximately ten years, we have now learned that Penn State’s President Graham Spanier, Vice-President Gary Schultz, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Head Coach Joe Paterno all knew of Sandusky’s behavior and did nothing to stop it. In a scathing,...