In light of the coming Congressional debate over the No Child Left Behind Act, improving teacher effectiveness is a topic that must be addressed. Instead of reprimanding teachers and schools for not performing up to standards on high-stakes tests, we should give teachers an opportunity to self-reflect and grow in a safe and encouraging environment. … Read more
A South African rhinoceros, once dead, can travel thousands of miles. Under some circumstances, its horn can trek to places as far away as Vietnam and China. Once there, it transforms into a product for spiritual medicine or a sign of wealth and class. Meanwhile, the rest of its body stays rotting in the grass, … Read more
Editor’s Note: Several weeks ago the HPR received a series of letters from one of our former staff writers, who currently works as a journalist in Washington, D.C. She has recently been following a prominent politician and has transcribed the following narrative without him knowing. Apparently, he began to watch House of Cards, and … Read more
A guitar warbles. Helicopter blades thud like a gentle heartbeat. Jim Morrison melodically murmurs, “This is the end,” as trees burst into hypnotic napalm flames. For many people, this opening montage of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, is one of the most searing images of the Vietnam War. The emotional heft of The Doors’ lyrics—irrevocably … Read more
Hitler titled his autobiography Mein Kampf for a reason. In one word, he could crystallize his hate-filled ideological ramblings into a single, identifiable, and compelling concept: battle. Yet phrasing a political philosophy with the rhetoric of battle is not limited to the likes of Hitler. Politicians then and now, respected and unknown, American and foreign, have … Read more
Earlier this month, The New York Times published a critical piece about red carpet ceremonies. The article called out the sexism of judging women based on their looks rather than their accomplishments, the offensiveness of putting stars on parade, and the banality of asking questions like “Who are you wearing?” It cited E!’s Mani Cam—a … Read more
A throat clears, a voice murmurs. The hurried words beat against my eardrum in staccato indignation, toppling, as notes often do, into and through each other. I fear that I’ve misheard. “Can you repeat that?” I ask into my cell phone. William Deresiewicz replies, “Homi Bhabha is a malevolent buffoon.” Bhabha, director of Harvard’s Mahindra … Read more
Traditionally, school districts carefully and conscientiously compile reading lists from the “Western canon,” whose most ubiquitous works include the Odyssey and the plays of William Shakespeare. The existence of such a canon allows students across all of America to share a common literary heritage; most incoming freshmen at any university could bond over the experience … Read more
Growing up near Bowl Canyon on the Navajo Nation Reservation, Damon Clark ‘17 would play cowboys and Indians. “When I was a kid, I wanted to be the cowboy, because the cowboy kills the Indian,” he says. “You know who wins, and you know who loses.” The cowboy-Indian divide is not so black and white … Read more
Jon Stewart was born in New York City and raised in suburban New Jersey. I was born in New York City and raised in suburban New Jersey. Maybe that’s why I have forgiven Stewart’s The Daily Show over the years for its many jabs at the Garden State (and for the record, there is fresh … Read more