by John Zurn | Oct 20, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author Over the past few weeks, I’ve argued that schools need a second report card—one that measures character with the same seriousness we measure academics. We already devote enormous amounts of time deciding whether a student has...
by John Zurn | Oct 13, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author From the day Eric entered school, his teachers knew they had an exceptionally bright student. His report cards were a steady stream of A’s, his assignments were completed ahead of schedule, and tests seemed more like formalities...
by John Zurn | Oct 6, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author My friend Mark is one of the smartest people I have ever known, which would have come as a complete surprise to many of his teachers. Growing up in the 1980s, long before schools routinely identified dyslexia or understood...
by John Zurn | Sep 29, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author John Adams and Thomas Jefferson disagreed about almost everything—politics, government, power, and probably where to put the furniture if they ever had to share an office. Yet on one important issue, they were remarkably aligned:...
by John Zurn | Sep 22, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author One of the most important responsibilities of parenting is deciding who gets to influence your children. If you do not actively fill that role, someone else will gladly volunteer. In previous generations, parents competed with...
by John Zurn | Sep 15, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author Suzanne joined TikTok at the age of nine, following several of her friends into the digital wilderness. Since her parents had no idea she was using social media, hiding her online life required about as much effort as hiding...
by John Zurn | Sep 8, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author Thomas Jefferson once wrote that “talent and virtue, needed in a free society, should be educated regardless of wealth, birth or other accidental condition.” It was a remarkable vision, and in many ways, American education has...
by John Zurn | Sep 1, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author Few political rivalries in American history can match the ongoing disagreement between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Adams believed a strong federal government was essential to hold the young nation together. Jefferson believed that...
by John Zurn | Aug 25, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author JOHN ZURN, Educational Author Before we hand out diplomas for surviving algebra, we might want to ask a more important question: Can this student actually succeed in life? Three weeks ago, I wrote about Rodrigo, a student who struggled...
by John Zurn | Aug 18, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author Blanche was one of those students who seemed to have “potential” written on her forehead in permanent ink. Teachers saw the intelligence, but they also saw something else: a remarkable ability to give up just when things became...
by John Zurn | Aug 11, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author For more than forty years, I had the privilege of working with students who occupied every square inch of the educational spectrum. Some could solve algebra problems before breakfast. Others considered finding the right classroom a...
by John Zurn | Aug 4, 2026 | Blog
JOHN ZURN, Educational Author Rodrigo was the student every teacher remembers—and not always because they want to. During my two years teaching at an American school in Europe, Rodrigo seemed powered by a small nuclear reactor hidden somewhere inside his body....
