Author Archives: Thomas_Easterling

Taking Away Your (Library) Card

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

The City of  Columbus and Lowdnes County have been engaged in an open war for about a year. They’ve squabbled over the language of the restaurant tax, which resulted in significant reduction in the amount of money allocated to the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Education | 7 Comments

Numbers Game

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

Of the eight million student athletes who play high school sports, about 480,000 will compete in college–a whopping six percent. An even tinier portion of those student athletes will compete in a sport professionally. Parents go nuts at youth sporting … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Sports | 18 Comments

Institutions and Success

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

Stirring the Pot Towards the end of Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance writes that “We can build policies based on a better understanding of what stands in the way of kids like me. The most important lesson of my life is not … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 14 Comments

Honey and Vinegar

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

A dozen years ago, I signed my oldest child up for rec soccer. I also volunteered to coach, and I was stunned to find out that the league required no training for referees, and that it required teams to have … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Pop Culture | 25 Comments

Welcome to the blog

Posted on August 8, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

(Now here are the rules) Welcome to the 2018-19 edition of the blog. Before we get started in earnest, let’s go over the ground rules. Students may earn up to one-third of the total number of quiz points per quarter … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Leave a comment

Eternal Optimism

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

My friends Deb and Jim Fallows have a new book coming out tomorrow: Our Towns: A 100,000 Mile Journey into the Heart of America looks at cities around the country that have rebounded after devastating plant closings and the like. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National Politics, Pop Culture | 6 Comments

And now for something completely different. . .

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

A student request: I was wondering if you could make a blog post about how Kanye West lost all of his followers (around 9.2 million) in a matter of minutes due to the fact he posted a picture in a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Pop Culture | 19 Comments

Nanny State (University)?

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

From the headlines of today’s Clarion-Ledger: Ole Miss is being sued for suspending a male student for having sex while under the influence of alcohol. His partner was not suspended. One could argue that universities have a vested interest in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Gender Issues | 31 Comments

Weather Wimps and the ACT

Posted on April 14, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

Some people take to standardized tests like ducks take to water. They view such tests as a high-stakes form of entertainment, or as a validation of years’ worth of academic preparation. I was one of those people. My oldest son … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 21 Comments

On Gerrymandering

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

I live in Mississippi House District 37, which stretches from the eastern border of Lowndes County, through a corridor in West Point so narrow that my son could throw a baseball from one side to the next, and on into … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Race in Mississippi | 12 Comments