This article explores a perplexing line from Rousseau's Emile: his suggestion that the "most important rule" for the educator is "not to gain time but to lose it." An analysis of what Rousseau meant by this line, the article argues, shows that Rousseau provides the philosophical groundwork for a radical critique of the…

Woe unto the administrator who ventures forth into the homework wars. Scale it back, and parents will be at your door complaining about a lack of academic rigor. Dial it up, and you will get an earful from other parents about interference with after-school activities and family time. If you are looking to bolster your particular position with…

Why school? The 48th Annual PDK Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools included questions about the purpose of schooling, standards, homework, school funding, and parents' relationships with their schools. The 2016 poll, which was conducted by Langer Research Associates, was based on a telephone poll of 1,221 adults during April…

The increasing prominence of standardized testing to assess student learning motivated the current investigation. We propose that standardized achievement test scores assess competencies determined more by intelligence than by self-control, whereas report card grades assess competencies determined more by self-control than by intelligence. In…