Education

My mother died and then she disappeared. The last time I saw her was when she was lying on the kitchen floor. I thought she fainted because the oven door was open and the room was very hot.

National treasures shouldn’t be thought of as just buildings and natural wonders, but should also include people, in particular, children.

It’s time to take a careful look at the whole process of annual school rankings. Reporting rankings based on data that doesn’t consider the makeup of the student base or prior results doesn’t tell the correct or full story.

Any holistic examination of education has to consider the local funding component. Poorer areas simply cannot provide the same opportunity as richer areas. Aggregating all school taxes at the state level presents an interesting alternative.

Growing up in New York City presented many challenges but one of them was not dealing with snakes. I fear snakes. The very word snake elicits a creepy, tingling sensation around my ankles. But what benign synonym do I substitute for snake?

Teachers the world over are generous with their encouragement and criticism of their students, all for their development and success. Let’s extend our generosity back to those teachers and express our appreciation and respect for what they have accomplished.

I'm remembering a visit a few months ago to Washington, where I strolled with tourists along the National Mall and past the museums and monuments so many of us came to see.

Trying to improve something as large as education funding means all ideas need to be on the table, including some that at first blush appear to have challenges. Taking an approach of how school district consolidation could work is a good start.