Author's Note:  the following essay was written for submission to the thisibelieve.org archive.  This is the full version of the essay.  Submissions to the archive must be much more concise at about 500 words.

I believe in reality, but it seems silly to st… Read full post »

I was born and raised in the South, specifically that most southern of States, Mississippi, which means I grew up longing for Saturdays in the Fall when my Ole Miss Rebels took to the gridiron to battle the likes of Alabama, Auburn, and LSU.  The idea is bandied around… Read full post »

My profession, like the title of this blog, is that of compositionist, one who teaches and researches writing, so I was understandably excited to find Kim Brooks' “Death to High School English” as the lead story on Salon this morning. But that excitement wore off as soon as I got/… Read full post »

Danny Lampley, a North Mississippi attorney, caused a stir on October 7, 2010, when at the behest of judge Talmadge Littlejohn, he refused to recite the pledge of allegiance.  Littlejohn found Lampley in contempt of court and threw him in jail.  The story was picked up by the AP/… Read full post »

Accountability goes up.

Responsibility goes down.

If you want to understand why American schools are weak, you have to grasp the fundamental difference between the language we use and the language we should be using, between what we do, and what we should be doing. Accountability… Read full post »