I haven't abandoned the blog -- I don't think I could even if my husband was the only person reading it. BUT work has called again. Almost done. In the meantime, From TomDispatch, an excellent critical article on current US education which should be required reading. In a not dissimilar vein, I wrote this in response to Nicholas Kristoff's column today in which he again goes with a bunch of social science research to come to simplistic conclusions (David Brooks and Tom Friedman show the same proclivities):
Social science research provides descriptions of trends in groups, it doesn't necessarily apply to individuals. By testing hypotheses, other potentially significant variables are left out so one is tempted to come to unwarranted conclusions. Similarly, influences which don't fit a social science framework are not considered. The results often tend to overemphasize single- or clustered causality. This gets us seeing people only in primary colors and seeking single-solution approaches to complicated problems.
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The book I should be indexing instead of writing this has a bit on the development of the field of home economics in the US: The pseudo-scientification of mom.