Columns

A change of mind about homeschooling?

I realize such headgear has fallen out of style in our self-esteem-obsessed culture, but maybe I should belatedly don a dunce cap. You see, one of my first columns (nearly 25 years ago) was a snarky dismissal of the nascent homeschooling movement.

Paying attention pays off

Declining attention spans have reached epidemic levels. That’s what Adam Brown, co-director of the Center for Attention, Learning and Memory at St. Bonaventure University in New York, tells Time. That’s certainly the case with me.

Beauty and health stirred visionary engineer

Civil engineer B. H. Payne was hired in 1851 to study the possibilities of building a railroad from New Orleans into south Louisiana. He had never crossed the Mississippi River until then, but fell in love with what he saw once he did.

‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ is particularly applicable to today

Over the weekend, I was looking for free movies to watch. Fortunately, some of the best films — black and white classics — show up on the budget channels. One of my favorite B movies, the original “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” was available on demand.

Auto insurance rates are a wreck

Headlines across Louisiana blared out in recent weeks that automobile insurance rates in the state will see a huge increase. State Farm, whose rate request was rubber stamped by the Department of Insurance, will increase its rates by an average of 17.3%.

Agreeing with Kamala Harris

It’s hard to believe I agree with Kamala Harris about something. Conservatives are often hesitant to criticize other conservatives. Florida issued its guidelines for teaching history last month, including a set of standards that covered the issue of slavery in grades 6 through 8.

Mississippi dwarfs Louisiana in educational reform

To get Louisiana off the bottom of the barrel when it comes to educational reform, nothing is more important than developing a preschool program that builds the foundation for young people to learn.

To aliens, human wisdom is unbelievable

Last week a whistleblower testified before Congress, alleging that federal officials have concealed evidence of unidentified flying objects from the public for decades.

Are you clinging to your landline phone?

If I could somehow call my father in the Great Beyond, I’d confess that I’m turning into him.

We’ve never seen a summer like this

On Aug. 2, 1924, during a sweltering heat wave, Father W. J. Teurlings, then pastor of St. John’s Cathedral in Lafayette, issued a statement to the newspapers: “At the Cathedral a special Novena will be held for rain. … In view of the urgency of the need a large attendance is anticipated.