Published in the November 7, 2014 Noozhawk. The New York Times reports that the Taliban are once more on the rise in northern Afghanistan — in fact, all over the country. Districts that had once been free of them are now falling under their control. Opium poppy cultivation is at an all-time high, another sign […]

Published in the October 24, 2014 Noozhawk. More than 2,000 years ago, in The Art of Rhetoric, Aristotle outlined “The Rhetorical Triangle”— Ethos, Pathos and Logos. These were, he said, the best methods to persuade an audience: Through the credibility of the speaker or writer (Ethos), by an appeal to the emotions (Pathos) or by […]

Published in the October 23, 2014 Santa Maria Times. I have written about the importance of writing and how local students are often lacking in writing skills. Numerous studies have been done, much time and effort spent trying to determine how students can improve in this subject, which is so critical to their future success. […]

Published in the October 10, 2014 Noozhawk. For many of the nation’s part-time or adjunct instructors teaching in higher education, receiving word that they will be evaluated by their students is cause for anxiety, sleepless nights, even panic. For adjunct faculty who are hired semester to semester, student evaluations are often the key component in […]

Published in the September 26, 2014 Noozhawk. “Isn’t it funny,” the student’s essay began, “how life itself is not just a fight for survival, but more a fight for mastery? Some people are satisfied with just survival, but others …” I had assigned my freshman composition class at Allan Hancock College the task of writing […]