ESP Biography

"Education reform" has been a popular public policy issue for most of the 21s century. The result is that our public school system, long an institutional backbone of our country, is being privatized and de-regulated, and standardized tests are playing an increasingly strong role in the lives of teachers and students. Since the stakes are so high, and the debate around these reform initiatives are so contentious, it is worth asking: who benefits from the school reform movement, and who pays?

This class draws from educational sociological and Marxist economic thought to provide an interesting critique of the development, organization, and intent of public education in America. This lesson is mainly grounded in the ideas of Samuel Bowels and Herbert Gintis. Optimally there will be some time at the end of the lesson for you to offer your thoughts.

There are few events in the Middle Ages that are as dramatic as the Wars of Scottish Independence. That's why Mel Gibson made an extremely historically inaccurate movie about them. Come learn the real history behind William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, King Edward, and the bloody 13th - 14th century struggle for Scottish freedom from the English throne.