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Flypaper

Praise for practicing what you preach

Michael J. Petrilli
4.21.2008

Kudos to Bill Nye the Science Guy--perhaps the nation's best-known and most effective science teacher--for putting his green lessons into action. According to yesterday's New York Times Magazine, he lives in a "retrofitted, eco-friendly, 1,300-square-foot, 1939 stucco home in Los Angeles." (And, of course, he drives a Prius and rides his bike a lot.)

This isn't a comment on the politics of environmentalism--though Fordham will be celebrating Earth Day tomorrow--but on teachers being good role models. Because it's great when history teachers love to visit historical sites; when English teachers devour the latest National Book Award winners; when drivers ed teachers don't drink and drive; when civic teachers... vote. You get the idea. Let's face it: there's almost nothing more discouraging than a gym teacher with a beer gut. So to Bill Nye, we say: this Bud's for you.

Tags: English

President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Michael J. PetrilliĀ is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, executive editor of Education Next, editor in chief of the Education Gadfly Weekly, host of the…

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