by Jeff Maisey | Oct 20, 2026 | News, News & Views, Robotham
By Tom Robotham Recently in a public speaking course that I teach, a student delivered a talk titled, “How to Have a Great College Experience.” Among her tips: “Never go to class.” “Nothing ever happens in classrooms,” she said, “and the actual work is all online...
by Jeff Maisey | Sep 26, 2026 | News, News & Views, Robotham
By Tom Robotham As a young man, I was strongly drawn to the idea of socialism. My initial spark of interest came from my paternal grandfather, who, from the age of 15, worked in granite quarries, first in England, then in Wisconsin and finally in New Hampshire. He...
by Jeff Maisey | Aug 20, 2026 | News, News & Views, Robotham
By Tom Robotham In early June, as my 70th birthday approached, I purchased a new piano. When it was delivered a day later, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. To understand what it meant to me, you need to know some personal history. When I was growing up, my...
by Jeff Maisey | Jul 24, 2026 | News, News & Views, Robotham
By Tom Robotham I’ve never cared much for the Fourth of July. As a child, I associated it with the incessant noise of illegal fireworks and kids I knew who’d been maimed by them: a boy who was missing three fingers because an M-80 had blown up in his hand and a girl...
by Jeff Maisey | Jun 14, 2026 | News, News & Views, Robotham
By Tom Robotham Recently I began reading The Anxious Generation, by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt—a book that explores the dramatic rise in mental illness among teens, beginning around 2010. He makes a compelling case that the chief cause is the proliferation of...
by Jeff Maisey | May 22, 2026 | News, News & Views, Robotham
By Tom Robotham Now that another academic year has come and gone, I find myself reflecting on the future of American higher education. The challenges facing colleges and universities, after all, are formidable, and there’s every indication that they will grow more...
