I wrote recently about the declining population and labor shortage in Maine’s towns. In recent years, Maine has not seen a significant influx of refugees through traditional resettlement methods due to the Muslim ban and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite President Biden’s promise to resettle 125,000 refugees in the United States in fiscal […]
Forecaster opinion
Posted inForecaster Opinion, The Forecaster
Portland Superintendents’ Notebook: STEM learning rigorous and engaging at all levels
Our achievement goal in the Portland Promise, the Portland Public Schools’ strategic plan, commits us to preparing and empowering our students for a productive postsecondary path to college and career. The compelling STEM curriculum in our schools serves as a great example of how our achievement goal is realized in the classroom. Over the past […]
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Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: Are you breathing deeply or just enough?
Do you wonder if what keeps you busy distracts you from what really matters? As in, “what I want is this, so I’ll do that to see if it helps.” Sometimes I think rearranging things I can control on the outside will shift my inside world. Let’s say I want to be a better writer […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion, Northern Forecaster
RSU 5 Superintendent’s Notebook: The struggle is real for student mental health
In October of 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics collaborated with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association and declared “a national emergency in children’s mental health,” and urged policymakers to take action. AAP President Lee Savio Beers stated, “Young people have endured so much throughout this pandemic and […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Dr. Shah delivered good science with great humor
I admit it. I have been living in denial. But as we all know, avoiding a thing doesn’t actually make it go away. Whether I choose to accept it or not, Dr. Nirav Shah is leaving us for the Emerald City – Washington, D.C. When Shah joined the Maine Center for Disease Control as director […]
Posted inCoastal Journal, Forecaster Opinion
Brunswick Superintendent’s Notebook: Brunswick Teen Center a municipal resource, community treasure
For kids in the Brunswick School Department and in the greater Brunswick community, having a place to go outside of school where they can have fun, feel safe and, most importantly, feel seen can make the difference between being happy and healthy or not. Whether it’s after school or during the summer, the Brunswick Area […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Through My Lens: ESL classes should include lessons in sarcasm
Even though I am slowly improving, I often have trouble understanding sarcasm, both in face-to-face conversations and in emailing in the English language. In a 1971 study, Albert Mehrabian found that when people are trying to communicate feelings or attitudes, the message conveyed by words is only 7% of the total message, while the tone […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Don’t let Valentine’s Day make you feel awful this year
Here we are at the start February, which means that the most dreaded of all annual celebrations is right around the corner: Valentine’s Day. This is a holiday which markets itself as being all about love, but in reality seems like it is just lying in wait to make you feel awful, no matter what […]
Posted inCoastal Journal, Forecaster Opinion
Forum: Farewell to the Topsham Dome. The grand dame served us well.
They say as you get older, you start to lose friends, you lose routines, you lose voices. Last week, I lost a dear friend and her voice. The Topsham Dome collapsed last Thursday night, sometime in the dark January wintry snow/rain. Global warming and new winters of ice age cold were unkind to her and […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Glorious snow days give us much-needed break
Oh the sweet, sweet bliss of a snow day. School children and teachers across the state had their eyes trained on the sky and their hopes pinned on the forecast, waiting until that most magical of announcements came through: no school due to snow. And on a Friday, no less. By the time you read […]