What is Education For? – To Kill a Mockingbird and Medieval Literature

Guest Post by Eric Weiskott. Weiskott teaches medieval English poetry at Boston College; he’s working on a book about the division of the past into medieval and modern periods. Last month Biloxi School District administrators pulled Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird from the junior high curriculum. “There is some language in the book that makes … Continue ReadingWhat is Education For? – To Kill a Mockingbird and Medieval Literature

Red States and Disability

My latest in The Nation: Mostly buried beneath early November’s onslaught of news, stories from Oklahoma, Iowa, and Maine reveal the ways that state governments, through both apparent incompetence and maliciousness, are failing disabled residents and their families. In the first two examples, disability programs are being cut as a result of self-imposed budget crises. … Continue ReadingRed States and Disability