vampoet started a new discussion called depression in life.
4 days ago
Teens Get Depression; Men Get Depression The other night I was watching a very interesting documentary on PBS called Men Get Depression. The UM Depression Center was featured. Some takeaway points: --Depression often first manifests for 15-25 year olds. --Depression is a biological illness, just like diabetes or cancer. --Depression in men and boys often shows up as anger and irritability. ...

vampoet started a new discussion called Willow Run Update & Can Consolidation Happen? in life.
4 days ago
According to Dan DuChene of the Ypsilanti Citizen, tonight's emergency meeting of the Willow Run School Board was cancelled--primarily because the notice requirements for an "emergency meeting" are stricter than for a "special meeting." The other news is that the precipitating problem is that the Willow Run Superintendent, Doris Hope-Jackson, has been absent a lot. A new meeting will be poste...

vampoet started a new discussion called Racial Discrimination and Tracking in life.
4 days ago
There was an interesting story on NPR the other day on how tracking plays out in one middle class community. My friend in Pittsburgh described to me his daughter's high school. It's an "urban" school, and it has metal detectors and the kinds of rules you primarily find in large urban schools. However, the neighborhood they live in is a middle class neighborhood, and in an effort to keep th...

vampoet started a new discussion called Autism: News and Notes in life.
4 days ago
That was the beginning of a conversation I had with my son a couple of years ago. Thanks to the openness of a couple of families who had had children in his class, he seemed to have a moderately good grasp (for an elementary school student) of what autism is, and what Down Syndrome is. Anger management? That was different entirely (and it was probably more disruptive to the class too). I...

vampoet started a new discussion called Our Best and Brightest: What Has Your Counselor Done For You Lately? in life.
4 days ago
Now that I have a child who is actually in the "looking and applying to college stage," I finally understand why the application process strikes fear and awe into peoples' hearts and minds. I understand why my co-worker's son, who was initially interested in a small liberal arts college in Michigan where he could play his sport of choice, but whose mom was born in another country and confu...

vampoet started a new discussion called october 1 updates in life.
4 days ago
October 1 Updates There's still doom and gloom on the state budget front. The one slight ray of sunshine is that the cuts in the education budget are a big part of what are holding things up. So keep calling your legislators (and actually, I think the ones who represent the majority of Washtenaw County have been pretty good in safeguarding kids, but they can stand to hear from you--I'm not sur...

vampoet started a new discussion called What Makes A Meeting Open? in life.
4 days ago
There is a terrific column by Dave Askins at the Ann Arbor Chronicle about the Open Meetings Act. The article is framed around the City of Ann Arbor email scandal, but the questions that are raised apply to lots of other governmental bodies, including school boards around this county. I have not (yet:) done any research around how our local school boards meet, or don't meet, the requirements ...

vampoet started a new discussion called school lunch in life.
4 days ago
School Lunch In case you missed it, there was an interesting interview with a school "lunch lady" (Jean Ronnei, Director of Nutrition and Commercial Services for Saint Paul Public Schools) on The Splendid Table this week, titled "Lunch Ladies and School Lunch Programs." It turns out, they have about $1/meal to spend on food--which is about the same as the budget of a person on food stamps. ...

vampoet started a new discussion called Do Kids Count? in life.
4 days ago
It looks like today--Wednesday, September 30th--is the date where we find out whether kids count, and how much they count for. Yes, today is Count Day, the day on which 75% of per-pupil funding allocation decisions are based. (There is also a count day halfway through the school year.) Tomorrow is also the last day before the end of the fiscal year for the state of Michigan, and as of m...

vampoet commented in a discussion called Bragging in life.
4 days ago
Thank you both. I am not the only one using this account. It is our hobby in our family. I will see who is the fella copy pasting. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.