Thought for the Day
It's easy to forget to thank these special people in our lives. I'm making a conscious effort to improve in that regard. The older I get, the more I appreciate how difficult it is to be more than is expected of you. Words of appreciation help. A lot. …
Your Village
In organizing children’s events this summer, I’ve talked to several science museum directors and staff, mostly about how to ensure that people actually attend the events. It’s not a matter of young people wanting to be there. It’s a matter of their parents getting them there. Turns out it’s one of the biggest challenges for education directors across the country…
The Danville Science Center - A Unique Experience for Kids of All Ages
I spent last Saturday bonding with young people, pre-school through high-school, via my hands-on children's book readings at the Danville Science Center (DSC). While driving to Virginia from my home in Durham, NC, I worried that my kids, who accompanied me, would get bored in one place all day and would consequently interfere with my program and my sanity. Boy, was I wrong!
Middle- and High-School Strings Students Amaze at Animazement in Raleigh, NC, this Weekend
Yesterday, the Duke University String School's Youth Symphony Orchestra yesterday performed an Anime Symphony (entitled Space Brothers) at the 2016 Animazement Convention in Raleigh, NC. The symphony was written, designed and conducted by renowned Japanese movie composer and record producer Toshiyuki Watanabe, who flew in from Japan just for the event…
An ‘A’ for Jordan
… On Friday, Jan. 29, Jordan High School teachers, students and their community partners were awarded an N.C. Beautiful Windows of Opportunity grant for a project that incorporates …
Durham's Bionomic Education and Training Center program and the Future of our Youth
In April, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency calculated that fifty-five percent of monitored waterways in the United States are impaired by pollution, meaning they are too polluted for healthy recreation, public drinking water and subsistence fishing. Twenty-five percent of the nation’s beaches are under advisories or closed at least once per year due to water pollution.
Goodbye Amazon, Hello Ninth Street
… Last year I hoped Americans would boycott the holiday materialism that feeds the corporate monster and its wealthy share-holders. In retrospect, I couldn’t even do this myself..…
Awards, Icing on the Environmental Cake
… Every year, the SWCD’s poster, essay, public speaking, and slide-show contests are open to all 3rd through 6th grade students. Each first place student wins $50, and their teachers win $30; second place students win $25.…
Neighborhood Revitalization: Be a Part of It
… Bill Anderson—passionate friend, neighborhood activist and watchman extraordinaire— recently became a realtor primarily to revitalize Durham neighborhoods House by House, Block by Block (as espoused in Alexander von Hoffman`s book)…
Come learn Thursday what ‘Lights On Afterschool’ is all about
… Lights On Afterschool is a nationwide project of the Afterschool Alliance (afterschoolalliance.org/index.cfm), which is dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to affordable and quality after-school programs. It’s a great way for families, companies, volunteers, anyone to learn about …
Cuts We’d Like to See
…This month’s Interneighborhood Council (INC) listserv is buzzing with discussion of Durham’s city budget. North Carolina's state government faces a budget deficit of more than 20% of the total 2009-10 budget, so it is no surprise that the city of Durham is looking toward drastic cuts as well.…
Streamlining Must Not Prohibit Input From Residents
… If streamlining is needed, then it should be on the part of developers not citizens. Right now, when development meets citizen opposition to rezoning and comprehensive plan amendments, they may actually request deferrals, presumably in the hopes of wearing citizens down …
Neighborhood Advocate Needed
I agree whole-heartedly with the Durham People's Alliance's request of City Council to hire a neighborhood advocate…
County OK another step in the wrong direction
…I was deeply discouraged by the Durham Board of County Commissioners' Feb. 25 approval of Epcon's comprehensive plan amendment for the West Side of Farrington Road, which permits a residential density increase from four single-family homes per acre (RS-20) to as many as eight units per acre (PDR 4.5) in an area where rural farmland now exists…
No to Barnes and Noble
… I am disturbed by the ambiguity surrounding Duke's plans for Central Campus and the possibility that a Barnes and Noble store may be moving in, with the assistance of President Broadhead and Duke University at large.…
Welcome to my blog ...
... where you'll find articles pertaining to education and written for parents, caretakers, & teachers (traditional & home-school) regarding practical hands-on books, curricula, events, & opportunities. Other articles concern parenting, marriage, writing, & life in general, as well as local (Durham/Raleigh/Chapel-Hill), regional (Southeastern United States), and national issues and concerns.