Author: Paul Bianco

2,733 words

Part 4

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

The landmark legislation Plessy vs Furguson (1896) (more…)

Part 3 (Read Part 1 here. Read Part 2 here.)

As a nation it is imperative that we meet present and future challenges in a competitive global environment. I’m not holding my breath. Chinese kids are learning trigonometry and how to assemble and disassemble a Type-191 assault rifle blindfolded while American kids are taught that racism is why we suck as a country and you can identify as a fruit salad (and we won’t tell your parents). (more…)

1,170 words

Part 2 (Read Part 1 here)

I refused to be intimidated as a middle aged white teacher. On one occasion between classes, because it was simply more convenient, I used a student restroom. Upon exiting, a fellow teacher told me, “Man, don’t ever do that again! You lookin’ to die?” (more…)

1,352 words

Part 1

It has been said, “Teaching is the greatest act of optimism”, and it is. I just retired from education after thirty-plus years as a high school teacher. (more…)

1,352 words

I wanted to like it. Going in I told myself, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Give it a chance.” But nothing could prepare me for this big-buck adulteration.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Road House is similar in name only to Patrick Swayze’s Road House from 1989. It takes some of the latter’s key lines, themes, and characters only to rework them badly and bury them in a bucket of banality. (more…)