All opinions expressed in Paul's blogs are solely his own. They do not represent the opinions of his employers and/or associates.

"Bad and Better"

/
"Bad and Better"

To borrow a quote from a 2016 op-ed by Dennis Prager, “I cannot imagine any thinking person who does not believe the world is getting worse.”…I suspect the quote above resonates with you, at least on some level. I mean to suggest that an anxiety disorder is similar to that Prager quote, but often on a smaller scale. I by no means have an antidote for this problem, but I feel there are two important steps we can take: having (and spreading) more accurate information about the world and being more open with our own struggles, so those facing the same challenges won’t feel so alone or defective. 

Read More

A Defense of Public Schools

/
A Defense of Public Schools

I strongly believe we should focus our investment, financially and otherwise, on supporting and reforming traditional public schools when needed. DeVos, if confirmed, threatens the survival of traditional public schools, but she is far from the only threat. A national obsession with charter schools, while not always misguided, is a more immediate and long-lived challenge. Both issues must be confronted in the defense of public schools.

Read More

Waking Up in Donald Trump's America

/
Waking Up in Donald Trump's America

Trump’s election shifts more responsibility onto each of us to build the sort of social discourse that will likely be challenged in the years to come....We must hold ourselves and others to a higher standard in our social discourse. We must strive to have even greater empathy, including for those we resent. We have a more exigent obligation to promote and enact social justice....Our future as a sane and functional society may well depend on our ability to enact decency in the face of dissolution.

Read More

Strange New Worlds

/
Strange New Worlds

It is troubling to think that students don’t see their skills as transferable from one class to another, but how often do we give students reason to believe otherwise? Our education system long ago drew borders between the disciplines....Students cross a literal, physical threshold as they move between classes. That threshold tells them that when they enter their math class, it is now time for math, and it is no longer time for English. It makes sense, then, that they would dump their English literacy skills at the door.

Read More

Out of this World

/
Out of this World

Science fiction is one of the best tools we have for empowering our students' identities and freeing their imaginations, while also encouraging critical thought with logical rationalization....There are plenty of obstacles in our way, but we have the power to ensure that we are not one of them. We can be allies in empowering students' imaginations in the sciences and the arts, whether they have down to earth dreams or ones that carry them out of this world.

Read More

"I Could Be Magical"

/
"I Could Be Magical"

"Thinking that I could be magical in some way helped, too. You know, magic is where you make the impossible possible. I think a lot of people in lower income families and in poverty don’t have that as a view; they don’t get to see that any other way. These things that are impossible can’t be possible. I guess it’s just a different way of looking at life."

Read More