Posts Tagged ‘education’
Education of a Warrior
The Wakefield Warrior debate of the last several months has certainly been educational, which is only fitting since it involves a school logo. I, personally, have learned a great many things, the latest as recently as yesterday. After finishing my annual boiled dinner, I decided to relax with a pint of Guinness and watch last […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: boiled dinner, cancel culture, civil rights, culture, education, Facebook, forum, Guinness, Humor, Indian, Irish, learning, letter, logo, mailbox, Mark Sardella, mascots, Native American, Opinion, panel discussion, Politics, schools, scoreboard, signs, St Patrick's Day, survey, teaching, teenagers, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield Warriors, youth
Offensive strategy
If nothing else, the current debate over the Wakefield Warrior logo has been educational. I’m not talking about learning the unique history of the logo. It’s been well-established that a local Native American family and the four-star general for whom we named the Galvin Middle School played key roles in the history of the Warrior […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Family, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 5 Comments
Tags: ancestry, athletes, children, education, Galvin Middle School, game plan, heritage, History, Indian, jocks, John R. Galvin, logo, Mark Sardella, Native American, Opinion, Politics, Richard Bayrd, school, strategy, students, tactics, U.S. Census, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, warrior, Youth Council
Civics lesson
A certain kind of bias has long been suspected in public education but has always been vigorously denied. So, I commend Wakefield School Committee member Greg Liakos for his honesty and forthrightness this week in loudly and proudly confirming what many have long believed.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: bias, civic education, civics, civil discourse, classroom, demagogues, democracy, Donald Trump, education, Greg Liakos, learning, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, parents, Politics, President Trump, School Committee, schools, students, teachers, teaching, voters, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools
The cost of learning
If there is one group of individuals about whom a discouraging word must never be uttered, it’s public school teachers. Wakefield teachers have been without a contract since last summer, which you’ve probably heard as their supporters have been using social media and other means to spread the word.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: budget, class size, contract, DPW, education, Galvin Middle School, Greenwood School, Humor, Mark Sardella, negotiations, Norma Rae, Opinion, police, Politics, Public Safety Building, salary, School Committee, School Department, schools, students, taxpayers, teachers, Town Meeting, union, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Education Association, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Walton School, WEA
After the Big Bump
When the Wakefield School Department came out this week and requested a 4.84 percent increase in its FY 2018 budget, they turned a few people into prophets. In 2015, Annual Town Meeting approved a “one-time” 11.4 percent increase in the School Department budget. The Big Bump was supposed to “right size” the School Department by […]
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Tags: budget, drama, education, funding, Galvin Middle School, marching band, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, music, Opinion, Politics, School Committee, schools, students sports, theater, Town Meeting, user fees, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools
Fine print
Lately, I don’t feel like my week is complete until I’ve been lectured by a millennial about one thing or another. Usually it’s about the evil of plastic bags or how many genders there are or how the Founding Fathers all smoked hemp, dude. The usual venue for these sermons is social media, where I’m […]
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Tags: Baby Boomers, citizenship, civics, education, Facebook, First Amendment, Founding Fathers, Freedom of the Press, Great Depression, Greatest Generation, hippies, Invasion of Normandy, Mark Sardella, media, millenials, mosquito, News, newspapers, Olympics, peace movement, Politics, press, schools, social media, Stephen Colbert, Twitter, Wakefield Daily Item, Zika
Prohibitionist’s Journal
by Mark Sardella If you still buy into the myth that potheads are mellow, live and let live types, try suggesting that weed might not be the next penicillin. To paraphrase an old saying, hell hath no fury like a stoner scorned. Oppose legalization of marijuana and, if you’re lucky, the worst they’ll call you […]
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Tags: alcohol, cannabis, children, cigarettes, Colorado, drugs, education, legalization, marijuana, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, OD, overdode, pot, prohibition, prohibitionist, stoner, substance abuse, tobacco, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, weed
Commencement Address
Greetings parents, guardians, students, faculty and other stakeholders. On behalf of this professional learning community and its educators, it is a pleasure to welcome you to today’s commencement exercises. I am pleased that you were able to leverage your resources in such a way as to join us today. Our strategic plan for this afternoon […]
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Tags: commencement address, diploma, education, educator, eduspeak, faculty, graduate, graduation speech, jargon, learning, lingo, Mark Sardella, pedagogy, school, schools, student, teacher, Wakefield Daily Item
Just Say ‘No’ on May 27
Vote NO on Wakefield, MA school budget In next Tuesday’s referendum election on the $27.4 million School Department budget, the only vote that make sense is a “No” vote. This conclusion has nothing to do with the value of education, the needs of the Wakefield School Department or the sincerity of the School Committee. It […]
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Tags: budget, Daily Item, education, election, municipal budget, override, overrides, Prop 2 1/2, Proposition 2 1/2, referendum, school budget, school budgets, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield Massachusetts. Wakefield MA, Wakefield School Committee, Wakefield School Department, Wakefield Schools
