Not For Profit

Martha Nussbaum makes an assertion in her new book that not all educators believe. Her premise is that liberal arts are necessary for a strong democracy, but the shift in the educational paradigm over the past fifteen years or so is toward outcomes that can be measured on multiple choice tests. This is antithetical to the notions espoused in liberal arts classes that counter the student should construct meaning from a variety of sources, presented with the idea that while bias is always inherent, prejudice is to be avoided.
As professor of Ethics at the University of Chicago, Nussbaum no doubt knows first hand the dilemma many students face in classes where the quest is for the right answer rather than for a strong argument. This dichotomy has long vexed educators and students alike, as we play at school, when what is valuable is shunted into a corner because it cannot be quantified.
Building her own argument on the work of Bronson Alcott, Rabindranath Tagore, and others, Nussbaum believes this marginalization of the arts is indeed a "silent crisis." Her remedy? A renewed investment in the arts and in the Socratic Method, which provides a student centered approach to education that is in keeping with the educational theorists she champions, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Johann Pestalozzi.
Nussbaum goes to great lengths to state that math and science are valuable commodities in the marketplace of education, but argues more vehemently that democracy, with its insistence on providing advantage for all, can only be bolstered with a vigorous infusion of art, music, theatre, history, and literature.

Shadow of the Wolf Tree

Joe Heywood has a good thing going, and in his new installment, Shadow of the Wolf Tree he keeps it going.
Conservation officer Grady Service and his military buddy Tree are after a bit of r and r on the banks of a remote upper peninsula river when their tranquility is blasted by the work of what appear to be militant eco-warriors. With the discovery of two long dead bodies, the brutal murder of an out state fisherman, and the prospect of a long forgotten gold mine, Shadow of the Wolf Tree quickly catapults Service back to the front lines of environmental law and order.
After recently losing the woman he loved, Maridly Nantz, the aging woods cop now finds himself pursued by his new partner, Tuesday Friday, a new mother and a state trooper. When he figures he has the expectations worked out, he finds his perspective turned sideways, providing for some tension that is neither professional nor imagined.
Tramping through the north woods once again, Grady Service makes his way along the trail of loose ends, piecing together the clues of more than one eco-mystery.
Along for the ride are a host of regular Heywood characters, including the lovable but despicable Limpy Allerdyce, perhaps the Yoop's most notorious game violator. Back too are many of Service's allies, including Captain Lorne O'Driscoll and Simon Del Olmo.
Before its conclusion, Shadow of the Wolf Tree finds Service in typical Heywood form, angling through a messy swamp of convoluted clues, intent on once again restoring order.