My late friend's recollections of student decline

Sunday, May 31, 2026

View in browser
Several months ago my old lunch companion, Professor Roger Garrison, passed away: Roger was emeritus at Auburn and made important contributions to the Austrian School of economics. He also left us with this story, which says something about where things are:

I used to show up on the first day of class and find a room full of students whose heads were filled with common economic fallacies, and I would have to refute them.

Nowadays they haven't even heard of the fallacies, so now I have to teach them the fallacies and then refute them.

And that reminded me of the seven years I myself spent in front of a classroom.

Students had to take the courses I taught (not necessarily with me, but they had to take the courses themselves), which were American history and Western civilization surveys. So I used to tell them: as long as you're stuck in here, you may as well learn something.

They liked me because I was entertaining and interesting, and not that much older than they were (I was 27 with a fresh Ph.D. when I started). They also liked that I taught them material they would not have encountered anywhere else -- I used to like telling them from time to time that if they were sitting in a Harvard classroom they would never hear a word of what I was about to teach them.

I wrote a lot of reference letters, some of them for students transferring to another school. One such student, who went on to enroll at a school in the State University of New York system, wrote to thank me: I'm the only one in my class who knows anything, he said.

I was very happy that despite not being a pushover in the grade department, I got excellent ratings from students, and a bunch of them even kept in touch with me over the years (I still hear from one from time to time, even though I left academia 20 years ago).

Obviously we need a more efficient system than you have to have Woods as your professor if you're going to learn history, or be prepared to fight logical fallacies, etc. I had a couple of hundred students per semester. Not enough to change the world.

So let's let the burgeoning Tuttle Twins book series -- some are for young children and some for teens -- teach the truth.

American history, logical fallacies, great entrepreneurs, the world's worst ideas, and a dozen of the classic works of our tradition translated for a young audience -- this is only the tip of the iceberg.

The 68% Memorial Day discount expires tonight, so make sure the kiddos don't spend the entire summer glued to a screen:
 
Tom Woods
 






This email was sent to dianaaudrey@gmail.com
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Tom Woods · PO Box 701447 · Saint Cloud, FL 34770 · USA

posted by Diana Audrey at 9:01 AM 0 comments

LIMITED TIME SAVINGS of up to $900 off your next bold vacay

Brag-worthy getaways, wallet-friendly savings💸
Browser View
 PLAN A CRUISE    ROYAL CARIBBEAN LOGO    CRUISE DEALS 
Cyber sale
score a short GETAWAY
WONDER
QUANTUM
UTOPIA
RADIANCE
JW
MARINER
GET OFF 100
HERO OF THE SEAS
LEGEND
STAR
ICON
NAVIGATOR
OASIS
ENCHANTEMENT
EXPLORER
LIBERTY
VOYAGER
ANTHEM
OVATION
RESIDENT RATE banner
SHOP_NOW_FOOTER_CTA
TERMS & CONDITIONS

Hero of the SeasSM reflects current design concepts and may include artistic renderings and/or images of other class ships.

Legend of the SeasSM reflects current design concepts and may include artistic renderings and/or images of other class ships.

Star of the SeasSM reflects current design concepts and may include artistic renderings and/or images of other class ships. All ship features, experiences and itineraries are subject to change without notice.

*Price is per person, in USD, cruise only, applies to select sailings, interior stateroom, based on double-occupancy, and reflects any promotional savings.

BOGO60 applies to new, individual, and named group bookings at prevailing rates made 5/5/26 –6/1/26 on sailings departing on or after 5/6/26 and provides 60% off the cruise fare of the second guest booked in the same stateroom as the first, full fare paying guest. Savings applied to cruise fare at checkout. Kids Sail Free applies to new, individual, and named group bookings at prevailing rates made 5/5/26 – 6/1/26 on select sailings 3 nights and longer departing on or after 5/6/26 and provides $0 cruise fare for additional guests 12 years old and younger as of departure date, booked in the same stateroom as the first full fare paying and second guests. Taxes, fees, and port expenses are additional and apply to all guests. Additional restrictions apply, for a full list of excluded sailings please visit www.RoyalCaribbean.com . Free 3rd & 4th Guests applies to new, individual, and named group bookings at prevailing rates made 5/5/26 – 6/1/26, on select sailings departing between 5/6/26 – 8/20/27 and provides $0 cruise fare on third and fourth guests. Taxes, fees and port expenses are additional and apply to all guests. Shorts & California Kicker applies to new, individual, and named group bookings at prevailing rates made 5/26/26 –6/11/26, on short sailings departing on or after 5/28/26 -12/31/26 and on California sailings departing on or after 5/29/2026 - 12/29/2026 provides up to $50 in instant savings, varying by stateroom category booked and sailing length. Beat the Clock applies to new, individual, and named group bookings at prevailing rates made on 5/29/26 – 6/1/26 sailings departing on or after 5/30/26 and provides an up to $900 instant savings per stateroom varying by stateroom category booked and sailing length. Instant savings amount shown in USD will be converted to currency used for cruise purchases applied as instant rebate to the cruise fare at checkout reflected as “Dollars Off” or “Savings”. Offer open to residents of US, Canada, Puerto Rico and select countries in the Caribbean. Changes to the booking may result in the removal of the offer. Prices and offers are subject to availability and change without notice, capacity controlled, and may be withdrawn at any time. Refer to www.RoyalCaribbean.com for complete terms and conditions. Royal Caribbean International reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions and to change or update fares, fees, and surcharges at any time without prior notice.

Wonder of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Hero of the Seas, Legend of the Seas, Star of the Seas, Icon of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, and Serenade of the Seas are trademarks of Royal Caribbean.

posted by Diana Audrey at 8:58 AM 0 comments