Oh my God I’m ten years too old to be on MTV’s The Real World!
From yesterday’s Portland Press Herald: “‘Real World’ looks to Portland for new cast.”
Don’t worry, I don’t want to be on the show, and I haven’t watched it in the better part of a decade … but still …
I’m still mulling over Susan Jacoby’s Op-Ed from yesterday’s New York Times: “One Classroom, From Sea to Shining Sea.”
Jacoby’s The Age of American Unreason is a brilliant book, but I’m very wary of her plans for a national school curriculum.
Oddly, this week actually I went to my first school board meeting in 16 years – have I mentioned here that Lake Region was branded as one of the ‘lowest-achieving’ in Maine?
I’m against removing the principal (and possibly half the staff) in that case.
I find issue with several parts of the process in that case – testing with the SAT (only reading and math), trending over only three years, the legality of charter schools in Maine … it’s a mess.
But more importantly, I think the teachers should teach what they want. Local issues, local heroes, local science – in eighth grade we made maple syrup (40 gallons of sap to one gallon of syrup) partly because there were maple trees on the Middle School property, and partly the teacher (who happened to be my father) knew that it was a fun learning activity.
Oh, wait, no – it was hands-on, designed for multiple intelligences to promote life-long learning.
(That’s the correct jargon, right?)
Either way, now, 20 years later, I’m still looking forward to Maine Maple Sunday in two weeks.
But then there’s the flip-side: the crap in Texas with the board of education changing history, literally re-writing the books.
In that case I’m all for federal standards.
See my quandary?
BREAKING NEWS: Reporter / blogger Justin Ellis just announced he is leaving the Portland Press Herald as of March 31: “Early retirement comes to the NXT Desk.”
Ou friendship with Ellis started two and a half years ago when he wrote about our Dubai adventure in the paper (see Portland Press Herald). Fortunately for us it continued in person once we were back stateside.
It’s a shame that the Press Herald is losing the one writer who connects with, as he says, “the young people” – covering their culture, technology and local music. In this day and age the mainstream newspapers need all of the readers they can get, and, as the cliche says, “children are the future.” To lose that voice is unfortunate. It seems that papers need more writers who can bridge the gap between young and old, reporter and blogger, hip and stoic.
I really wanted to link to his November 6, 2008 article “An aspiration no longer out of reach” about the election of President Obama, but it’s archived now and behind the paywall. If you feel like coughing up the two bucks it’s a fantastic read.
Anyway, I’ll miss Ellis’ contributions to the Press Herald, but wish him luck on the next chapter.
An hour ago WCSH reported Civic Center approves new deal with Pirates!
UPDATE: Apparently this was a done deal early enough for Steve Solloway to write about it in today’s Portland Press Herald? See: “Building a future for a building.”
Check out this Portland Press Herald article about the B&M Baked Bean factory right around the corner from our place: “Reporter spills the beans about factory where nothing is half-baked.”
Nice to see something still being produced in Maine.
I love mocking Portland “International” Jetport. But it’s friendly mocking.
“Ribbing”, if you will.
I was, however, concerned back in November when it was announced they were losing flights to Halifax, Nova Scotia – the only international route at the jetport (see “International” No More).
But then last month Air Canada stepped in and announced it’d soon start a twice-daily Toronto to Portland route (see International Again!).
Well now it looks like we’ll have service to Nova Scotia again – at least, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays: “Jetport restoring air service to Yarmouth, N.S.”
The “International” name lives on!
Apparently this warm spell in mid-February isn’t just confusing people, it’s also confusing maple trees; sap is running about a week and a half early.
Check out this article from the Portland Press Herald: “Boiling it up a-sap.”
Josh finally lives in Maine again
after four years at Boston University, a stint in Southern California with
Walt Disney Feature Animation,
and two years in Dubai, UAE,
where he created and wrote
Newlywed in Dubai.
