By Tom Ryan, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel
Actually, I haven’t written the script yet, but who else other than Robin has the range to play the legendary Soupy? If you’re old enough to remember Soupy Sales…40/50-somethings…maybe your Mom didn’t let you see him…he was…different.
By Tom Ryan, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel
This morning, I listened to Dr. John Covington and his Executive Cabinet (listed here) as they shared their perspectives and answered questions from the Kansas City Star’s Editorial Board. Covington and his team view education as a business.
By Tom Ryan, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel
Oprah and the Obamas need to fly home to Chicago to conduct some serious mediation. The (un)timely press about recent violence in Chicago probably lost the Olympic bid. It’s an awkward reality, isn’t it?
By Tom Ryan, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel
Mackenzie Phillips, famous in family name and “One Day At a Time”, launched her new book on the Oprah Show on Wednesday and appears again today. Her revelation was heavy and her book sales will redeem her debts, but hopefully not motivate a relapse with drugs.
By Zack Magnuson, Special to The Kansas City Star
As far back as I can remember, summer has always been a time to lounge back and do as little as possible before school comes back and replaces sleeping in with early morning band rehearsals.
By Tom Ryan, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel
It’s been where summer occurred. That room, actually the room and area outside. Board games, boredom complaints, quiet morning teas and coffee with the spur of the moment banana breads made from the nasty brown one in the big fruit bowl centerpiece catch all spot for keys and coupons.
By Danette Gamble, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory panelist
Phillip Garrido. Monster. Demon. Fiend. Pedophile. If you have a thesaurus you can find many names for Garrido.
How could the neighbors not know a child had been raped for 18 years and given birth to two children by her rapist? Why was this convicted pedophile out on the streets?
George Harris, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel
Eunice Kennedy Shriver has died. You probably know that she began the Special Olympics, the athletic competition program for people with disabilities. And of course she was inspired by her sister, who was developmentally disabled.
By Miriam Pepper
Kansas City Star Editorial Page Editor
Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion, gives Kansas a welcome national reputation boost.
Instead of garnering headlines for evolution flaps, a 13-year-old shows America an awe-inspiring talent in spelling
expertise.
By Matthew Schofield, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided we need to give Janet Jackson's Super Bowl breast flash another look.
Technically, the court was staying in line with it's recent decision upholding the FCC rule that allows fines on broadcasters for even single swear words on live television.
But, really?
By Larry Marsh, Kansas City Star Midwest Voices columnist
If the SAT scores of our children are lower than ours were, how can we explain IQ scores rising at 3 points per decade? This Flynn Effect is well-known but not easily explained. Your kids may think they're smarter than you are. Are they right?
By Susan Miller, Special to The Kansas City Star
Rose Brooks Center has provided shelter and services to victims of domestic violence for the past 30 years. As the current CEO, I feel compelled to write this letter to provide insight on the alarming impact the economic stress is having on the women and children we serve.
By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Give Exxon a break. Unlike Wall Street's greedy barons, Exxon actually earned its record $45 billion profit from 2008.
Millions of American motorists might disagree, given their anger at record-high gasoline prices last summer.
By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist
More details are emerging of the sad life of Adam Herrman, who disappeared 10 years ago at age 11.
A brother of Adam's adoptive mother now says he witnessed many acts of physical and emotional abuse in the years that Adam lived with Valerie and Doug Herrman.
Speaking of loopy college presidents (see item below), even younger kids will like this college prof.
By Dwight Heath, Professor of Anthropology at Brown University
As we muddle through the dog days of summer, government data tell us that more young people try alcohol for the first time during these months than at any other time of the year. Uncle Sam has been vigilant about trying to keep alcohol out of reach for young, inquisitive hands.
Why Children Must Be a Priority in the 2008 Presidential Campaign,” is the meant-to-engage you title of a new study from the nonpartisan Every Child Matters Education Fund (ECMEF).
This isn't terrorism, but the facts in the report are horrifying: France has a child poverty rate of 7 percent versus the U.S. rate of 22 percent, which is three times higher. The best U.S. state, Maryland, with a poverty rate of 11 percent, is more than half again higher than France. Mississippi has the highest poverty rate for a U.S. state -- 35 percent – a whopping five times higher than France. For separate charts on child well-being comparing the top/bottom U.S. states to France and other G8 nations, please go to http://www.everychildmatters.org/National/Resources/Homeland-Insecurity-Report.html on the Web.
By Christian Dashiell, Midwest Voices panelist 2008
I wonder how long it took the fertility god Osiris to get used to the reality that his fruitfulness was a matter of community discourse. I assume he came to be at peace with the situation, as his prowess wound up being cause for worship.
The people at Harvesters, Kansas City’s food bank, have an appropriate reminder at this time of year:
“Hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation.”
In the summer, low-income children are more likely to be without meals. During the school year, more than 100,000 children in 13 counties are enrolled in free or reduced-price school meals.
By Laura Scott, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
When children’s advocates approached Rep. Ryan Silvey early in Missouri’s legislative session, they had found the right lawmaker to make a difference for kids. Silvey, a Kansas City Republican, was part of the majority party that controls the legislative process. And, he was willing to help.
One of the exciting things about the 50 “Teach for America” recruits coming to the Kansas City School District this year is that they come so highly qualified.
The new teachers, all recent college graduates, were selected from a national applicant pool of 25,000.
By Laura Scott, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
It’s a sad reflection of poverty that many low-income children go without meals, at least part of the month. Yet, the number of overweight children has risen dramatically since 1980.
Denise Tiller, Midwest Voices 2008
I was disturbed to read a report in the Star that half of kindergarten children in Kansas are not prepared for school. Readiness includes being able to follow instructions, recognize some letters, colors, and understand counting. They also need to know what a book is.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has a well-reasoned plan to help at-risk Kansas children get a good start in school — and life.
She proposes a block-grant system to get low-income children into Head Start and Early Head Start and other early education programs.
Denise Tiller, Midwest Voices 2008
This morning's Today Show had an amazing clip. Missouri is one of a very few states that allow children to cage fight: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23842058#23842058
A new study published recently about the sexual habits of teenagers should serve as a wake-up call for adults who cling to unrealistic notions about chastity among young people.
“We have historically seen lots and lots of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) among teens in Kansas City,” said Daryl Lynch, a doctor with the Teen Clinic at Children’s Mercy Hospital. “It’s a very sexually active, sexually promiscuous crowd that doesn’t practice safe sex.”
Should educators be subject to obscenity prosecutions? Add your comments here.
I have to confess our youngest is turning 16 this month and we're going to get her learner's permit over spring break. We didn't realize until recently that we were part of a national trend.
Actually, it's her second permit. She's the only one of five sisters who bothered to read the drivers manual at 14 and take the test. However, at 14, she just wasn't ready to be behind the wheel. Driving is too important, I'm not going to force anyone to do.
I hope she's ready this time. We'd like her to be able to drive to school.
So why is there a national trend toward driving later? Is it a result of helicopter parenting? Or is it just that teaching a kid to drive is so hard? I've done my share of that and have the silver hair to prove it.
A three judge panel in a California Second District appeals court ruled parent run homeschooling unconstitutional if the parent does not have teaching credentials. Thousands of families in California home school their children, and they could be prosecuted if this ruling stands. Parents all over California are protesting this ruling and it's gotten the attention of many groups including the Home School Legal Defense Association and Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Even Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken out against this ruling.
Though homeschooling has grown in popularity over the last 10 years, parents who choose to educate their children outside public or private schools must prepared to defend their choice at any time. None of the home school advocate groups expected this ruling to come at this time. Watch as large numbers of people rally together to get this ruling over turned.
I've had good response to last week's column calling for people with some civic and community clout to begin keeping tabs on the Kansas City School Board, so they'll be in position to recommend a change in the board structure.
Civic leaders, childrens' advocates, district employees, parents, civil rights leaders and at least three members of the current board all think change is needed.
The question is: Who is going to lead? Mayor Funkhouser keeps talking about an "education summit," but nothing is on the drawing board. Business types bemoan the district's image and academic deficiencies, but they don't seem to want to wade into the combat arena. Church and civil rights leaders say they want change, but aren't sure what it should be.
My heart goes out to the family of Dakota DeRemus. And for the friends of the boy accused of taunting and beating him to death, here's a news flash--"good" kids don't do things like that. Nor do "good" kids watch it happen, record it on cell phones, and then run like cowards without calling 911 to leave the boy to die alone.
Good kids may make mistakes, but bullying isn't an accident, it's a series of deliberate acts intended to cause emotional and/or physical pain. There's nothing "good" or funny about it.
When our youngest was in kindergarten, she and her little friends were terrorized on the school bus by a fourth grade boy. The school's response was mediation where my five year old had to confront a tormentor twice her age. She was a wreck and it made matters worse. A few days later, she pleaded with me, in tears, to let her stay home from school. I was spitting nails. Instead of suspending the boy or kicking him off the bus, they hired a guard to ride shotgun to protect the smaller children.
