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MY RECENT POSTS
- We've Come a Long Way, Baby
(First Post)
August 09, 2011 11:30PM - How To Raise National Merit
Scholars
April 28, 2011 08:48PM - Will Virginia Stay in the
Union?
April 12, 2011 09:42PM - Winter Interest
February 22, 2011 01:26AM - How We Learn
September 02, 2010 11:54AM
MY RECENT COMMENTS
- “"I didn't really want to
kill myself. I wanted the pain
to
stop."
It's
j…”
November 17, 2011 06:00PM - “I can't take my eyes off
that boy in the tie, from his
gaze.
Who knows, looking
a…”
October 31, 2011 01:57PM - “This is great! You sound
very resourceful, and I'm glad
older
people can learn
na…”
October 27, 2011 08:22PM - “PS (I know what you mean
about the compliments making
you
nervous. But here's
the…”
October 27, 2011 03:46PM - “I want you back, Bryan
Harrison. You're
something
special.”
October 27, 2011 03:39PM
Lainey's Links
What Boys Do
Mess with carts
Navigate terrain with sticks
Catch hail with frisbees
Contemplate the universe
Play in the snow
… Confused by the News? Crisis Basics
I used to feel really well informed. Sure, I always knew it was a function of time--that I had more than most--but I secretly hoped that others never caught on to that simple truth. So when I could detail the politics of the moment or delve into the history… Read full post »
Lincoln and Leprechauns
I didn’t know how to pronounce the word “Deringer,” and that intrigued the first-grade boys surrounding me; they were used to teachers knowing everything. We discussed the possibilities—soft or hard g, whether… Read full post »
Science is Not a Religion.
Political and religious ideologues like to say that science is just another kind of religion. Here’s why they’re wrong, why science is not anyone’s religion.
As a teacher, I’ve marveled at the near impossibility of reconciling the competing philosophies of critical th… Read full post »
Darrel and James
I left the mall’s food court feeling sick. It wasn’t the food; it was the conversation: Over sandwiches and diet Coke, my friend had just told me about her experience at her son’s 4th grade lunch table the previous day, and together we despaired.
Dawn had heard… Read full post »
I don't notice the competing paper banners until the day is over and I'm exhausted and demoralized. YOU are RESPONSIBLE for your own ACTIONS! goes one, with the lower case letters cursive and blue, the capitals a screaming orange print. And the other, in what the kids call “bubble letters,&rdqu/… Read full post »
Most people overestimate the role that merit plays in their lives, and by “most people,” I mean the vast majority who has seen some measure of conventional success.[1] By corollary, people underestimate chance, evolution, history, government, and culture as factors that influence th/… Read full post »
Daytime and evening phone banks are qualitatively different. On Tuesday mornings I wax philosophical with Strongsville’s universe of undecided voters about the local homeless man who registered 79 times at the behest of ACORN (I assure them that not only was the man not going to vote 79 times,… Read full post »
My childhood friend Janice used to call her brother a slug, and I always took it to mean he was lazy. Now I’m wondering if there wasn’t a hint of the repugnant intended as well. I/
It may not play well here on Open Salon, but I thought I saw a real debate tonight. As the two candidates sparred over tax plans, the economy, and foreign policy, they went back and forth, clarifying issues and positions in a way that
… Read full post »NO MORE WAR! Phil Donahue Comes to Town
As Ike gasped his last breath into Northeast Ohio, I found myself driving along Interstate 71 toward downtown Cleveland, heart seizing each time my van acquiesced to the 70 mph winds. I parked on a street littered with uprooted giants—maples, oaks, and chestnuts—and hur
… Read full post »The Chess Set
I spent some time last fall on the internet looking for a nice chess set. Okay, because I’m a maximizer,* I spent a lot of time looking for the perfect chess set. Each kid was going to get one big present for Christmas—the oldest,/… Read full post »
Undecided in Ohio
“Hi. Is Mr./Mrs. ________ available? My name is __(Lainey) , and I’m a volunteer with Barack Obama’s Campaign for Change here in Strongsville. How are you today?”
So started my debut volunteer effort for Barack Obama two
… Read full post »
“‘Bye baby,” a mischievous Emmett “Bobo” Till tossed out to the pretty white woman as he left her family’s small-time grocery store—and then, full of the bravado a fourteen-year-old knows when surrounded by a dozen friends egging him
Sulaco
Heather Gilligan
Just Thinking...
Ann Gelder
Jan Sand
Caroline Hagood
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