The reason that I named my blog “Common Sense” is simple: I feel we have little of it in our current public discourse and policies. Too often we are trapped in an endless hell of odd academic theory, interest group navel gazing, and “cash for access” politics that leaves the average person wondering just who is running the asylum. If we have any hope of solving our nation’s problems, we need to be able to speak plainly and honestly (and use our common sense when doing so).

I believe that my own life and professional experience provides me with unique insights into many of the issues now facing our nation.

• My work in advertising in New York City gave me a peek behind the curtain of the media world and experience working with many different industries.
• My experience in healthcare provided a raw look at a huge and troubled chunk of our economy.
• My teaching experience has put me on the front lines of one of the most challenging problems facing our nation today: educating our children to succeed in a fast-paced and ever changing world.

Throw in a stint in journalism and time teaching abroad, and you end up with a personal perspective that is allergic to platitudinous pronouncements and well-intentioned nonsense.  I have two basic questions when it comes to any problem: Is the proposed solution measurably effective, and can we afford it?  I have no patience with jargon-heavy explanations, insiders who pretend to be unbiased, and politicians who love to cut ribbons on inherently unsustainable projects.  We are well past the point when we can any longer tolerate self-serving fools running our country even further into the ditch.

The blog postings are divided into two categories: “Common Sense about Education” and “Common Sense about Politics and Economics”.  Many will have been published elsewhere, and I will include that information on each one.

I post links to articles and commentaries elsewhere that I would like to share with my readers on my Twitter account, so please feel free to click the homepage link to follow me on Twitter.

In closing, I offer my favorite quote from the man whose work inspired the title of my blog, Thomas Paine:

“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”

AMW