School Leader

Classical education, Montessori, and the tension between the "what" and "how" of learning

In recent years my philosophical thinking about education has focused far more on the how of learning than the what. That is, I've become much less concerned about curriculum and far more concerned about pedagogy as I've been convinced ...

No, CRT is not just having a conversation about racism

Last night I was a guest on KET's Kentucky Tonight program talking about critical race theory and its place in Kentucky schools. Fellow guests included Rep. Joe Fischer, who recently introduced legislation that would restrict teaching c...

Some final (for now), personal reflections about the Kentucky Board of Education

As an idealist and reformer, I'm never one to give up the fight for a good cause until I feel I've done everything in my power. For the last two months I've devoted a considerable amount of energy to resisting Gov. Andy Beshear's illegal...

The fight for school choice in Kentucky - an update

Education history was made in Kentucky earlier this year when the state legislature passed - over the expected veto of Gov. Andy Beshear - one of the nation's most expansive school choice laws. But now the education establishment, in a l...

Homeschooling surges in Kentucky

Homeschooling is exploding in popularity across the United States and here in Kentucky. COVID-related school closures, mask mandates, and concerns about what students are learning may all be contributing to the exodus of families from t...

Fund Students, Not Systems

Last Saturday I was greatly honored to be a guest speaker at the first statewide event sponsored by No Left Turn in Education - Kentucky. NLTE-KY is the state chapter of a national organization dedicated to fighting against leftist ind...

Where to Find My Essays, Op-Eds, Research, and Other Writing

I've created this page to catalog my publications, including peer-reviewed research, essays, opinion pieces, and other writing. Peer-Reviewed Research Arrowsmith, H. E., Houchens, G. W., Redifer, J. L., Crossbourne, T., Zhang, J., & ...

Unleashing Parent Power in Education

Last night I had the opportunity to give a virtual talk sponsored by the Kentucky chapter of Americans for Prosperity on the topic of "Unleashing Parent Power in Education." The talk itself isn't available to share, but I wanted to bri...