Moving Innovation in Education Forward
Source: Medium
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan presents an initiative to foster innovation in the educational system.
Opinion
Nature Studies: Is it possible to put a price on nature? And if we can, should we?
Source: Independent
Environmental columnist Michael McCarthy expresses his uncertainty about a question posed at a high-profile debate.
A Better Way to Talk About Faith
Source: The New York Times
Religious traditions that bring some people together may drive a wedge between others. An organization called Interfaith Youth Core is working to bring together people of all faiths and none to focus on their shared tenets instead of their differences.
What Is Fashion?
Source: PBS News Hour
Why do we wear what we wear? How is fashion a way of making your voice heard? This article on fashion provides insights into these questions.
Mark Twain’s Eternal Chatter
Source: The New Yorker
Author Ben Tarnoff analyzes the celebrity of Mark Twain and critiques the writer’s autobiography, which was published in several volumes starting in 2010.
A Wild, ‘Burning’ Journey Back To Old Mexico
Source: NPR
Author Oscar Casares reviews the work of Juan Rulfo, who covered themes of violence and how it affected the behaviors of individuals in his writing. An excerpt from Rulfo’s The Burning Plain and Other Stories is included.
Order vs. Disorder
Source: The New York Times
The world may seem chaotic today, in part due to the failure of the Arab Spring to live up to its great promise. Pulitzer-winning writer Thomas Friedman notes that one cause of this disorder may be inequality of freedom: Many of those who have won freedom from oppression have yet to gain freedom to conduct their lives as they wish.
Why it’s time for South Africa to take down its walls
Source: Quartz
In recent decades, South Africans who can afford it have erected ever more daunting walls around their homes to keep out crime. One South African writer argues that only removing or lowering the walls will improve the situation.
As pope evokes nation of immigrants, a report shows it’s not reflected in Congress
Source: The Washington Post
A study by the Pew Research Center shows a lack of Congressional representatives who are immigrants, and some think that an increase in that number would lead to a better understanding of complex immigration issues.
Technobiophilia: Can we get all the nature we need in digital form?
Source: Aeon
Digital expert Sue Thomas explains that humans have a genetic attraction to the natural world, but argues that digital representations of nature may satisfy our needs.