This is a school. It has no secret powers over you ... or your child. A mother was threatened by school officials because she expressed her opinion on Facebook. She was "warned" that she might be banned from the campus ... and perhaps barred from school activities ... if she didn't smother her opinions. … Continue reading If Not You, Who? This Is A School, Not China
Category: Time
Can’t You See Me?
The long knives are out for teachers caught in this pathetic reform ... wedged in the middle of a mess they didn’t make. The sad and bitter tales … about kids in homework-agony and testing misery ... color lots of teachers unfairly. Tattooing them as grinding task-masters. Cold accomplices. Me-firsts. Bad guys. They're not. Not … Continue reading Can’t You See Me?
COMING HOME
“Once … while with friends … I was asked what was the most significant thing I'd ever done in my life. It was a quick answer. Right to the point … ‘Being a Marine and leading men in combat’ ..." Ten thousand six hundred nineteen miles is a long way. But it’s not so long … Continue reading COMING HOME
File Under…
AS IF YOU NEEDED TO BE REMINDED OF THE WORLD YOU LIVE IN … • FILE UNDER … “OF COURSE!” “Elementary School Drops Halloween Because It's 'Not Inclusive' ... Replaces It With 'Black & Orange Day” ........."The costume parade is out of our ordinary routine … and can be difficult for many students … the … Continue reading File Under…
Father and Son
“There shall always be love." That buzzed my ear one sticky, summer night … after my father ... the college professor ... got a little rickety with some other dads ... down on the beach. A little too wobbly … after over-sipping. He wasn’t much of a beach guy … or a water guy. He'd … Continue reading Father and Son
Maybe, Maybe Not Age
A recent Boston Magazine article belched … “In Praise of Mediocre Kids” … and asked … “Why can’t we just accept that?”… Which calls to mind two odd sorts … English humorist Maximillian Beerbohm … and English misuser Yogi Berra. Sir Beerbohm said … “Only mediocrity can be trusted to be always at its best.” … Continue reading Maybe, Maybe Not Age
Trying Times – Sunshine Patriot
“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” ~Thomas Paine~ This is America’s carnival moment. Its freak time. And the moment to … Continue reading Trying Times – Sunshine Patriot
The True Sword
I possessed the True Sword. In fact … I‘d made it myself. From exotic balsa wood. Imagined in my mind … designed by my brain … and brought to life by my own curiosity. That’s what a mind is for. I was nine. I had dreamed myself Caesar’s body-guard. The boy-wonder of the Praetorian Guard. The … Continue reading The True Sword
You. Did. Not. Matter. But … Now. You. Do.
For the last decade or so ... the message was extra-clear: You. Did. Not. Matter. It was the demand of the Liberal-Left that you … the middle class … apologize for any comfort you had brought to your own lives … because that effort did not include your lazy-ass neighbors. Liberals still insist they're right ... … Continue reading You. Did. Not. Matter. But … Now. You. Do.
Kiss The Fish
You gotta kiss the fish. That’s how summer starts. With a kiss. That was the ritual of the boy and his grandfather. And then it was on to ponds and lakes and streams. A few hours here ... and a few more there. Almost always spur of the moment, grab-the-poles, hit-the-road decisions. Wedged in between … Continue reading Kiss The Fish
Missives Worth Reading 