Posts Tagged ‘teachers’
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
The spark of youth
Massachusetts state lawmakers are currently weighing a proposal that would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote. In other news this week, the latest viral trend among teenagers involves partially inserting an iPhone charger into a wall outlet and sliding a penny down the wall onto the exposed prongs, causing an explosion of sparks, electrical damage, […]
Filed under: History, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Ayyanna Pressley, ballot, children, elections, electrical outlet, fires, Harvard, iPhones, Jim Morrison, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, penny, plug, Politics, schools, science, Sen. Jason Lewis, smoking, teachers, teenagers, viral, votong, Wakefield Daily Item
Teachable moment
“Demands on classroom teachers are now laughable,” Wakefield Education Association president Will Karvouniaris told the meeting of the “Tri-Board” last week. If any members of the Town Council, the School Committee or Finance Committee were amused, they didn’t show it. The town’s three top boards were meeting in joint session at the Galvin Auditorium last […]
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Tags: budget, children, class size, Finance Committee, finances, fiscal, History, Humor, Mark Sardella, mythology, newspaper, Opinion, Politics, quid pro quo, School Committee, schools, teachers, Town Council, Tri-Board, union, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Education Association, Wakefield MA, WEA, William Karvouniaris
Just rewards
I’m a big believer in giving back. So, I would like to repay a debt that is long overdue. Social Justice Warriors (SJWs) have been giving me advice for longer than I can remember (and that’s a long time, as they often kindly remind me). Whether it comes in the form of writing tips or […]
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Tags: advice, censorship, Community, compost, folks, giving back, Humor, Mark Sardella, newspaper, Opinion, patriarchy, Politics, progress, protest, Resistance, safety pin, Same Cooke, SJW, Social Justice Warriors, sustainability, teachers, truth, virtue signaling, Wakefield Daily Item, WakefieldMA, writing
He, him, his
A fleeting moment of sanity gripped our state lawmakers last week. One state rep wanted to remove or change the “General Hooker Entrance” sign at the State House. The entrance is named for a Civil War hero, General Joseph Hooker. A statue of General Hooker astride a horse also stands near the doorway. Apparently, during […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Beacon Hill, biology, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, DOE, female, gender binary, Gender Inclusive, General Joseph Hooker, genes, high school, lawmakers, male, Mark Sardellagender, Massachusetts Legislature, men, preferred pronouns, public schools, Rep. Michelle Dubois, Second Amendment, sex, solons, State House, teachers, Wakefield Daily Item, women
Where’s the outrage?
One thing that there’s no shortage of on social media is outrage. Democrats are outraged about Trump. Republicans are outraged about Hillary (and Trump). And apparently everybody’s outraged about underground power lines. Whether on social media or real life, sometimes it seems that there isn’t enough outrage where it’s truly warranted. That’s why it was […]
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Tags: Board of Selectmen, Brian Falvey, Catherine Dhingra, drugs, Ed Dombroski, Facebook, Humor, legalization, marijuana, Mark Sardella, Opinion, outrage, parents, Politics, pot, power lines, social media, teachers, teens, Tony Longo, WAKE UP, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, weed, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, youth teenagers
How to Galvinize Wakefield
The campaign to sell the town of Wakefield a new Galvin Middle School is already gathering steam and is likely to continue unabated through the May Annual Town Meeting and beyond. It’s going to be a hard sell. With a $74,740,254, price tag, building a brand new, state-of-the-art middle school is going to require the […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: Annual Town Meeting, ballot, building, building project, buildings, campaign, classroom, classrooms, construction, Daily Item, debt exclusion, debt exclusions, election, Gallvin Middle School Wakefield MA, Galvin, Galvin Middle School, Galvin Middle School Wakefield, Galvin Middle School Wakefield Mass, Galvinization, Galvinize, Galvinize Wakefield, home, Massachusetts School Building Authority, MSBA, override, overrides, plan, plans, project, Proposition 2 1/2, referendum, renovate, renovation, school, school building, school building project, schools, site, student, students, teacher, teachers, town, Town Meeting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Old School
The town is preparing to accept bids from developers that will determine the future of the Franklin School, and if things go as expected, another of a generation of nine schools that the town built around the turn of the 20th century will enter a new phase in its long existence.
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Tags: Beatrice Moody, buildings, Daily Item, Dorothy Remick, Elizabeth Brawley, Elizabeth Strout, Franklin School, Greenwood, Greenwood School, Hamilton School, Hilda Hayden, Hurd School, James Bolton, Jim Bolton, John J. McCarthy Senior Center, Lincoln School, Montrose School, Nazareth Academy, schools, teacher, teachers, Thomas Allard, Tom Allard, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, Warren School, West Ward School, Woodville School
A recent incident at Wakefield High School in Massachusetts illustrates just how much our country has changed in just one generation – and not for the better. A few weeks ago, a substitute teacher at Wakefield High School, who is also the father of a soldier who gave his life in Iraq, reprimanded a student […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 23 Comments
Tags: America, American Flag, flag, Joe Bellavia, Joseph Bellavia, Old Glory, patriotism, Pledge of Allegiance, public schools, Russell Nelson, school, schools, Stars and Stripes, teacher, teachers, United States, United States of America, US, USA, veteran, veterans, Wakefield, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts