Barth Keck
ctnewsjunkie
United States
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Past articles by Barth:
OP-ED | As TikTok Gains Notoriety, Proposed Legislation in Connecticut Gains Importance
Opinion writer Barth Keck tells us that seemingly overnight, Americans have directed a laser focus on TikTok, the social media platform with more than 1 billion users worldwide. It’s almost as if China, home to TikTok’s parent company, has sent some kind of airborne device to attract our immediate attention, not unlike those banners pulled by airplanes at the beach. → Read More
OP-ED | Is Connecticut ‘Woke’? It Depends on Your Definition
Opinion writer Barth Keck says the owner of the Coventry breakfast restaurant didn't realize she was stoking the fires of the culture war last month when she opened her new establishment: Woke Breakfast & Coffee. → Read More
OP-ED | Schools Should Press the ‘Pause Button’ on ChatGPT
Opinion writer Barth Keck says CNET's announcement last week that it would suspend its use of artificial intelligence to write news stories - because of “substantial” errors - is a good example of the digital era's shortcomings. Artificial intelligence is only as good as the data upon which it is built. → Read More
OP-ED | It’s Time to Make Media-Literacy Education Mandatory
Opinion writer Barth Keck wishes us all a Happy News Literacy Week! Originated four years ago by the News Literacy Project, this annual observation “underscores the vital role of news literacy in a democracy and provides audiences with the knowledge, tools, and abilities to become more news-literate.” → Read More
OP-ED | What the World Needs Now Is 'Mudita' – My Word of the Year for 2023
Opinion writer Bark Keck is unimpressed with the 2022 Word of the Year winners from the world's major dictionaries. "Goblin mode"? Come on. → Read More
OP-ED | The Teacher Shortage Is Very Real and Very Troubling
Barth Keck says it took his first nine years teaching and a master’s degree to equal the paycheck he received (not adjusted for inflation) in his final year in public relations. → Read More
OP-ED | Will the 2022 Election Bring Common Sense Back to the GOP?
Not too long after the Republican party fell under the influence of Donald Trump, I’ve been hearing a voice in my head. It sounds a lot like Joseph Welch, the lawyer who confronted anti-communist Joseph McCarthy during the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954: “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” → Read More
OP-ED | Will the GOP’s National Campaign Strategies Help Their Connecticut Candidates?
Before the 2018 gubernatorial race in Connecticut, I wondered about the “Trump Effect” and whether the then-sitting president might influence the election here. I concluded that while Trump’s sway over Republicans could be a factor, it was minor. This quote from Mark Boughton summed it up: “At the end of the day this election is about Connecticut. It’s not about the national conversation that’s… → Read More
OP-ED | What Do the NAEP Scores Really Tell Us?
The release of the nation’s NAEP scores last week can tell us several things about the current state of learning in America’s public schools. But unlike politicos and pundits who are using those scores for alarmist social-media fodder, I’d suggest we take a breath and adopt a more reasoned reaction. NAEP – the National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly called “the Nation’s Report… → Read More
OP-ED | Political Fearmongers: We’ve Seen This Movie Before
The rhetoric during this election season has been emotional, to say the least. Take this excerpt from a Hartford Courant op-ed by Leora Levy, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Connecticut: → Read More
OP-ED | The Martha's Vineyard Saga–A Case Study in Social-Media Misinformation
While TikTok, a treasure trove of misinformation, might be the “new Google” for teenagers, Facebook remains the adults’ go-to source for factual inaccuracies and outright lies – especially when it comes to politics. → Read More
OP-ED | Lamont and Stefanowski Must Address the Real Education Issues
In Guilford, a group of parents recently sued the local school district over alleged improprieties resulting from the alleged teaching of Critical Race Theory. In Greenwich, Project Veritas recently posted a video of a school administrator making prejudicial comments about Roman Catholics that allegedly proves schools indoctrinate students with progressive ideology. Based on the widespread press… → Read More
OP-ED | Social Media Has Displaced Meaningful Discourse
Americans have never been particularly adept at discussing public policy, but whatever skill they possessed has been wiped clean by social media. The disintegration of public discourse has been happening for a while. Long gone, for instance, are the days of open-air debates where political candidates would exchange ideas for hours. The U.S. senatorial debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen… → Read More
OP-ED | How Will the Culture Wars Affect the New School Year?
The new school year is upon us, and it looks like the first “regular” one in a while. Controversies surrounding COVID vaccines and “unmasking our kids” could be in the past. (I emphasize “could be.”) Even so, the issues bound to affect public schools this year are anything but regular, thanks to the culture wars raging nationwide. How might these issues affect the upcoming school year in… → Read More
OP-ED | How Will the Culture Wars Affect the New School Year?
The new school year is upon us, and it looks like the first “regular” one in a while. Controversies surrounding COVID vaccines and “unmasking our kids” could be in the past. (I emphasize “could be.”) Even so, the issues bound to affect public schools this year are anything but regular, thanks to the culture wars raging nationwide. How might these issues affect the upcoming school year in… → Read More
OP-ED | What I Learned On Summer Vacation ... 'Baltimore Style'
A recent jaunt to Baltimore with my son to watch the Orioles play the hated New York Yankees was as thought-provoking as it was enjoyable. Here are several takeaways from that trip. → Read More
OP-ED | The New Political Catchphrase: 'Parents' Rights'
As we approach the Connecticut primaries on Aug. 9, the political rhetoric is heating up. In addition to the abundant TV ads, I've noticed some increasingly popular language that has been thrown around by many Republican candidates discussing education: parents' rights, parental choice, or some variation thereof. → Read More
OP-ED | Supreme Court Paving the Way for Return of 'Intelligent Design'
Intelligent Design. Surely you remember that concept making news years ago, the one claiming "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." Well, Intelligent Design is about to make a comeback. Mark my words. The year was 2005. The board of Dover Area (Pa.) schools required teachers to read… → Read More
OP-ED | What Happens When Local Journalism Disappears?
I was surprised and a bit saddened by an email I received a few weeks ago from Kathy Brown, the senior editor of a local news outlet. It began this way: “You are receiving this because in the past you have sent in an article or press release to HK-Now.com/Haddam Killingworth News. Tomorrow I am retiring from the newspaper business.” → Read More
OP-ED | Teachers Need This Summer Break More Than Ever
Barth Keck: I’m glad the school year is coming to end once again. But this year it’s different. I’m more than glad; I’m relieved. I haven’t needed a summer break so much since I was a newbie in the classroom. → Read More