Is nothing private anymore? This week I learned about a new neighbor’s move to Maine, a fellow dog walker’s medical diagnosis (in gruesome detail) and from our local supermarket’s aisle 8, a suspected office affair. Did I sit down for a good chinwag with any of the bearers of this news? No, but I did […]
As we celebrate our nation’s independence with hamburgers on the grill, a rousing rendition of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and the requisite fireworks to round out the day, it’s a good time to ponder what the founding fathers would make of our educational approach today. A free public education is an American tenet going back to […]
In 2010, then-Mayor Cory Booker brought Gov. Chris Christie on board to bring cutting-edge educational reform to Newark, New Jersey’s miserably failing schools through philanthropic donations, which bypass the need for public review of spending. Although admitting he didn’t know much about education reform, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stuck his big toe into the philanthropy […]
‘Tis the season of sports trophies as the end of the school year approaches. When our kids were younger, you could hardly place a book on a shelf with the number of trophies they had. That must mean they were incredible athletes who played on a lot of championship teams, right? Uh, no, but they […]
As we celebrate Father’s Day, I reflect that I am incredibly blessed to have a father who didn’t just talk about responsibility, he modeled it. He provided for his family, he made us accountable for our actions, he helped with homework, he was involved in our church and community and he provided the best gift […]
Graduation season is in full swing. I’m pretty sure none of the rousing college commencement speeches will be exhorting students to go forth and be average. The grads will be launched into the workforce where they will be bell-curved, compared, measured, scored, evaluated, and sometimes graded as average. But we need many average or ordinary […]
Wow, thank goodness they have cable television at the White House. Otherwise the president would be completely in the dark about what’s happening in our country. White House spokesman Jay Carney wants us to believe that Obama learned about his Veteran’s Affairs secret off-the-books waiting lists scandal the way the rest of us did — […]
Much has been written about a political mailer from the left-wing Maine People’s Alliance that included material offensive to Rep. Dale Crafts, R-Lisbon, who has been in a wheelchair since a motorcycle accident some years ago. Mike Tipping, communications director for the liberal advocacy group, has apologized and explained the incident, but the Maine People’s […]
In a recent column I addressed some of the reasons for the gender wage gap, including the “mommy track,” prioritized commitments and poor negotiating skills. Now there’s evidence that shows women are much less self-assured than men, leading to a so-called “confidence gap.” Most women can relate to this. On a recent flight, I couldn’t […]
As we hurtle toward the November elections, every candidate wants to engage women voters. It has nothing to do with popularity (although who doesn’t love that?) but “there are more women than men overall, more women registered to vote, and a higher female turnout rate,” Dianne Bystrom, director of Iowa State University’s Carrie Chapman Catt […]
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