Joe Average is a columnist for the Sentinel whom I again warn against speaking loosely about critically important topics. The dangers of pretending to speak truth to power worsen our political divide because education too often has stopped too soon.
The January 6 Insurrection was carried out by a wide a variety of well and less well -educated persons. Well-educated persons can too easily jump to shaky conclusions, and there were many on January 6. The less educated can cause even more harm. Life-long learning is an insurance that can protect our democracy. And it applies to all of us.
Here are six online sites offering education at no or little cost. All of us can find courses to enhance our understanding of the world. I’ve marked those addressing government history and a focus on the conflict between democracy and fascism with an asterisk.*
Coursera: The Grandparent of Cyber Education. Founded a decade ago at Stanford U., it offers courses for college degrees or certification. Draws on resources from various universities. Good for careers and graduate level learning.
MOOCS: The Ma and Pa of Massive Open Online Courses: Free global app to learn new skills, advance a career and provide college prep. Offers graduates training for the next step.
Edx.org: Strong on government courses. Many options:
Topics – Anthropology | Civil Liberties | Counterterrorism | Criminal Law | Democracy | Elections | Foreign Policy | Gender Equity | Gender Studies | Healthcare Administration | Housing | Human Rights | Immigration | Insurance | International Development | International Law | Justice | Law | Political Debate | Political Science | Public Policy | Refugee Law | Social Welfare | Sociology | Taxes | Women’s Rights*
Harvard X: A wide variety of courses that are free unless one needs a certificate. Harvard X is organized by the Business School.
Khan Academy: The Grandmother of online Education: A broad variety of courses in video form. Enhances unfinished learning. Especially good for college readiness.
Stanford.edu: Free courses on health, education, engineering, arts / humanities and the human brain.
Open Yale: Taught by Yale faculty. Offers free courses on a broad range of topics.
TED: The Grandfather of Woke Learning: Up-to-date site widely popular. Many topics and issues like climate, the brain, capitalism, government and education.
Joe, if you read this letter, maybe you could respond to it in your next letter.
Tom Klein
Bowling Green
