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17 Dec

Lainie Levin's avatarSoapbox: The Way I see Things

It’s 11:22. So far this weekend I’ve easily spent five hours on school stuff – by the standard of most weekends, a light load.

Perhaps I have a light load, but a heavy heart.

Lunchtime on Friday was when I heard about Sandy Hook. We teachers talked about the events at the table and taught our afternoon classes, still somewhat numb. We walked all of the students outside at the end of the day. I know it choked me up to see all of the parents hugging their children extra tight.

All weekend, I’ve been trying to comprehend it. I can’t. I can’t imagine the terror of those ten minutes. I can’t fully understand the turmoil those families are enduring. I cannot fathom how the Sandy Hook School community could possibly get through its first day back when it is time. I can’t understand any of it.

Well, let me…

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Posted by on December 17, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

14 Dec

children under attack in China and the US on the same day

Lloyd Lofthouse's avatariLook China

This morning, two news reports grabbed my attention. One was from China and the other took place in the US. Both were similar and elementary-age children were the targets.

From China, the BBC News reported, “A man with a knife has wounded 22 children – at least two of them seriously – and an adult at a primary school in central China. The attack happened at the gate of a school in Chenpeng village in Henan province. … Security at China’s schools has been increased in recent years following a spate of similar knife attacks in which nearly 20 children have been killed.”

So far, in China’s most recent grade school assault, no one has been reported dead but in the US, in a similar incident, the death toll was shocking.

Fox News reported, “At least 26 dead in shooting at Connecticut elementary school. … Authorities say at…

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Posted by on December 14, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

13 Dec

Raising children is a challenge of balance. Get them ready for the challenges that may come while showing them what life has to offer. There is no guarantee that life will always be easy and it is a parent’s responsibility to raise children ready for the challenges.

The Cultural Columnist's avatarThe Cultural Columnist

imagesCAW1Q7TC

Three years ago I had been working at a kid’s summer camp as a camp counselor in Parsippany, New Jersey. I was having a bad day.

My boss called me over to his “bench” and asked me what was wrong.

I answered I was sorry for crying but I was having a bad day.

He insisted for me to tell him what was bothering me, in sort of an annoyed tone that indicated he probably didn’t take me seriously.

I didn’t want to tell him for any particular reason except I didn’t like him, and didn’t trust him with my personal problems.

That was confirmed when he said what could possibly be bothering a teenager. He added that I wasn’t a married man with two children and two jobs.

So I told him. My house had gone into foreclosure because my parents were struggling with the mortgage payments. I had…

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Posted by on December 13, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

11 Dec

We are all different. Sometimes those differences become challenges.

samanthahines's avatarGold Can Stay

I’m fairly certain that my words here will add nothing new to the conversation and intelligent commentary that already exists on the topic of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  But as is so often the case, I am compelled to write if for no other reason than to help me process complex emotions and burgeoning insights.

So, if you will indulge me, I will begin . . .

That Edgar is an active child is not news of the day.  That he engages with his world in a way that is different from the way I do, the way his brothers do, perhaps the way you do is not a revelation.  That he is intelligent and creative and funny and sweet is an understatement.

Throughout his young life, Edgar has had his share of redirecting, of reprimands.  His behavior has attracted attention—and not always in a way that was in…

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Posted by on December 11, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

07 Dec

Isham Cook says, “I am not about to leave my university teaching job simply because the experience is egregious at times, any more than the students are about to leave. You deal with it, learn from it, and that in itself is worthwhile.”

 
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Posted by on December 7, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

06 Dec

Are lost jobs in the United States really the fault of what American children dream they want to do to earn money when they are adults?

Lloyd Lofthouse's avatariLook China

It is a popular political pass time in America to bash China for stealing jobs from US workers.

However, Bree Fowler and Peter Svensson of the Associated Press reported, Apple to produce line of Macs in the US next year.

“Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook said in his interview with NBC that companies like Apple chose to produce their products in places like China, not because of the lower costs associated with it, but because the manufacturing skills required just aren’t present in the U.S. anymore.

“He added that the consumer electronics world has never really had a big production presence in the U.S. As a result, it’s really more about starting production in the U.S. than bringing it back.”

Reading that AP piece reminded me of an in-service I attended in the early 1990s when I was still teaching. We were told that America’s children, supported by their parents…

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Posted by on December 6, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

22 Nov

B's Dad's avatarLife with an Autistic Son

This post is now available in the ‘Life with an Autistic Son’ ebook available to download from Amazon.

LWAAS 3d book cover

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Posted by on November 22, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

05 Nov

Discover the brothers behind the planned destruction of America’s public schools.

Lloyd Lofthouse's avatarLloyd's Anything Blog

If you doubt the cause of global warming, believe the public schools are failing, or label people as liberals because they do not support all far-right conservative Tea Party candidates and issues, then you may be a patsy of the billionaire Koch brothers.

The definition of “patsy”:

1. A person who is easily cheated, victimized, etc.

2. A person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of

3. A person who is tricked or swindled.

Before the 2012 Presidential election, I had never heard of the Koch brothers. A few months ago, as the election heated up, I started to learn who these billionaire brothers were and how dangerous they were to freedom and the quality of life as it exists in America today.

I think that most of the votes that will be cast for Mitt Romney will reveal how many easy to fool patsies there are in…

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Posted by on November 5, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

01 Nov

Another dedicated educator/teacher is forced out due to politics from the top down. When will America wake up and give teachers the power they need to decide how to run the schools?

dianeravitch's avatarDiane Ravitch's blog

A letter from a disgusted teacher:

I QUIT

Kris L. Nielsen
Monroe, NC 28110

Union County Public Schools
Human Resources Department
400 North Church Street
Monroe, NC 28112

October 25, 2012

To All it May Concern:

I’m doing something I thought I would never do—something that will make me a statistic and a caricature of the times. Some will support me, some will shake their heads and smirk condescendingly—and others will try to convince me that I’m part of the problem. Perhaps they’re right, but I don’t think so. All I know is that I’ve hit a wall, and in order to preserve my sanity, my family, and the forward movement of our lives, I have no other choice.

Before I go too much into my choice, I must say that I have the advantages and disadvantages of differentiated experience under my belt. I have seen the other side, where…

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Posted by on November 1, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

31 Oct

Lloyd Lofthouse's avatarLloyd's Anything Blog

While I enjoy seeing kids and adults in cute Halloween costumes, I abhor the TREAT factor of Halloween. As an ignorant child, teen and then younger adult, I went trick or treating, wore costumes and went to Halloween Parties. As a teacher and an adult, I was Richard Nixon more than once on Halloween, and one time in the late 1970s I was Aunt Jemima with black face paint—that would probably be politically incorrect today but there were no complaints in the 70s.

However, the last time we gave out treats, they were small boxes of sweet, organic raisins. Then a few weeks later, a neighbor accused me of being cheap because we did not hand out treats drenched with processed sugar. I’m talking about those bulk bags full of miniature Snickers, Twix, M&M’s, Juicy Fruits, Tootsie Rolls, Oh Henry!, Butterfinger, Starbursts, Hershey’s, Reese’s, Skittles, Kit Kat, Milky Way…

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Posted by on October 31, 2012 in Uncategorized

 
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