A lot of the collective day-to-day chaos from COVID has (thankfully) simmered down since last school year. Vaccines are widely available, masks are plentiful (and optional), and trips to the grocery store no longer feel like a tactical operation. One thing that hasn’t changed much though, is the lack of substitute teachers. If a teacher […]
Forecaster opinion
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: Connection cultivates creativity – and community
I sit here rereading one of my favorite books about writing, creativity and life: Nancy Coleman’s “Wide Open Writing: Embrace Your Creative Genius.” I read it often because Nancy is my friend, my teacher, a confidante, a wise and kind woman deep of soul and heart. As in so many things we do, I read […]
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Posted inForecaster Opinion
Portland Superintendent’s Notebook: School board will be good fiscal stewards of school budget
I urge my fellow city residents to join me in voting yes on Question 5 to allow the Portland Board of Public Education to set the school budget before sending it directly to voters. Not only do our elected school board members best understand the needs of students and schools, they have proved themselves to […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Stargazing spiders can shift perspectives
A really good friend recently sent me the podcast “No Such Thing as a Fish,” accompanied by this message, “My new favorite thing is knowing some spiders can see stars!” It’s true. Some spiders can see stars. They can also see the moon and a few other amazing things. We have no way of knowing […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Through My Lens: Sweet nostalgia and fundamental changes
“It is a Nikah!” I heard someone say this during my visit to the local Somali halal market in Portland. The word “Nikah” hit me hard, as if I was back 10 years. The word is Arabic and means a “marriage contract” between two people. In Somalia, the word carries a lot more meaning and […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Brunswick Superintendent’s Notebook: Anonymous reporting system just a click away
The Brunswick School Department is committed to creating and sustaining a comprehensive, coordinated effort to improve the overall safety and well-being of our students, educators and administrators. Doing this effectively requires a proactive approach with programs that equip our students, parents, teachers, administrators, local law enforcement, and mental health and wellness professionals to take […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Cultural perspectives deepen our connections
Recently in our home we’ve had a lot of conversations about culture and our identity within it. As a nation, we seem to be neck deep in this question: Who are we really? Can we hold on to the truths we once deemed self-evident and do the hard work to bring those into being? Or […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: Presence can interrupt the negative narrative
As soon as one of my dear friends posts on Facebook about her “sad and complicated life,” I think, “She must be doing what she and I discuss a lot: telling herself stories.” How often do we do that? And how often are those stories negative about ourselves? About what we do wrong and how […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Sustainably Speaking: Oyster farming is farming for our future
Oyster farming appealed to me for many reasons, chief among them how inherently sustainable growing oysters for food is. Sea farming is often tucked under the larger “fisheries” umbrella because we go to work on the sea in boats and come back with food to sell. But there are big differences between the work of […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Through My Lens: Earning the right to vote makes us patriots
It is election season in our country and one critical message is needed in the information we provide to the newly naturalized community members as well as others who have become Americans through the naturalization process: We have earned the right to vote. We must vote as if we fought a war and won, that we […]