Job Training Versus Character Education

Modern higher education has become proficient at convincing the American public that to earn a good living, one must hold a college/university degree. While some jobs/careers do require specialized training, the scheme of requiring a degree in most cases, is more a function of credentialism and jumping through hoops than actual...

A Renaissance in Social Leadership

I actually wrote and posted this article in 2009, but I felt that it was a good time to take another look.   In Lee Iacocca’s book Where Have All the Leaders Gone?, he strikes a poignant cord—with all of these problems we are facing, where is the outrage? And now that he...

Controversial Article: Read At Your Own Risk

This is an article worth reading. It is a liberal critic by a normally liberal news outlet. It is the kind of scrutiny that all potential presidents should be subjected to (before the election) and it addresses the issue of racism. I Too Have Become Disillusioned —by Matt Patterson (Columnist, Washington Post, New...

The Right Idea At The Right Time

The right idea (no matter how small) at the right time (no matter how difficult)—is still the right idea at the right time. The “right idea” of Monticello College has something in common with many long-standing institutions of higher education such as Yale, Harvard, William and Mary, Hillsdale, Brigham Young University,...

Response to an Email

Below is an actual email that I received last week.  After I responded, I thought it would be worthwhile to share the email and the response. Begin forwarded message: From: Devirl Barfuss Date: September 29, 2012 8:12:30 AM MDT To: info@monticellocollege.org Subject: Re: Why Liberal Arts and Why Monticello College? Doctor Brooks, I have followed you since Cedar City and point students your...

Monticello College 2012 Retreat A Huge Success

"STEPH'S PINE" ONE OF SEVERAL OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS ON OUR 43 ACRE CAMPUS  Sorry, I got lost in the "overtime vortex," and suddenly realized that my last blog was June 20th. Wow, the last thing I remember was making my last road trip of the spring and shifting my mind to the Monticello...

Labor, Pietas, and Fatum

The great Roman Poet Virgil summarized the virtues of the Roman Republic in three words: Labor Pietas Fatum These three words played a vital role in shaping Colonial America and in essence led the American culture up until the Civil War. When Virgil wrote of the Romans in the Aeneid these three words were used...

Why Colleges Don’t Teach the Federalist Papers

The May 7th, 2012 issue of the Wall Street Journal printed an article entitled: WHY COLLEGES DON'T TEACH THE FEDERALIST PAPERS by Peter Berkowitz At America's top schools, graduates leave without reading our most basic writings on the purpose of constitutional self-government. Berkowitz begins his article: It would be difficult to overstate the significance of...

To My Valued Employees

Although you may have seen this before,  I am posting this letter as a reminder to us all to value the producers.  This is borrowed from Chris Martenson.com. [Ed. note:  This letter was originally circulated on the internet in an anonymous form, and only later began to be attributed to a...