About Our Inherent Worth

Mississippi Remembers Governor Waller

2011-12-03T05:36:00.000-08:00

As a new Mississippi resident, I am saddened to learn of the death of former Governor William Waller. He bravely worked for justice, particularly in the murder case of Medgar Evers. Later, as governor, he strove to modernize the state through empowerment and civic engagement.

On my elementary classroom bookshelf, I have a large video-literary tribute to Medgar Evers - lessons taught regularly to Mississippi school children. Our state is on the path to justice, thanks to the late Governor William Waller and so many other brave men and women who worked for justice when people were often afraid to do the right thing. Here is a short story of Governor Waller's life, which I hope will inspire you to read his memoir:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/us/politics/william-l-waller-ex-governor-of-mississippi-dies-at-85.html?ref=todayspaper

Thanks to P.J. Crowley for Speaking the Truth about the Abuse of Bradley Manning!

2011-03-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

PJ, Mike, Marie Joe Sestak

P.J. Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State and retired Air Force officer, resigned under pressure for speaking his conscience about the foolish and unnecessary mistreatment of US Army soldier Bradley Manning. Bradley Manning is being detained in solitary confinement for his role in the Wikileaks case. Manning has been subjected to abuses reminiscent of Abu Ghraib during his interrogation. You may already know that P.J. served the Clinton White House. Since President Obama was elected, he has done a superb job as spokesperson for the current Secretary of State.

Before I continue, let me offer my full disclosure: PJ is a friend of mine, who supported my campaign for state office back in 2006. P.J. and his wife stood by me when I testified as a Halliburton Whistleblower before the United States House Committee on Government Reform, and before the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee.

I have always admired P.J.’s dignity and restraint – his patience and elegant responses during press conferences and media events that might have caused Jesus himself to flip tables on those who choose to distort the truth for profit in the media.

If you know me, you know that I can become quite animated when addressing my passionate social justice concerns. Over the years, I’ve tried to learn from P.J.’s dealings with the press. His temperament has always been gentle, but extremely disciplined.

So, when I read P.J.'s comments about the U.S. military’s treatment of Bradley Manning, I can’t help but believe that his statements to bloggers were deliberate statements of conscience – what we expect of our finest military officers and government officials. But, for speaking truth to power, P.J. lost his platform.

I read that the Obama Administration has distanced itself from P.J.’s comments, which is regrettable. But, if we are concerned with the ongoing Abu Ghraib-ness of our government’s treatment of political and wartime prisoners, -- if we care about our image as a nation that adheres to the highest principles of military and civilian justice -- then, we need to stand behind P.J.

Right now, I have this to say to my friend: Thank you, P.J., for speaking your gentle truth in these very dangerous times.

But, it is not enough to thank P.J. for his service to truth. For the sake of our national integrity, we need to contact our senators and congresspersons to demand that our military interrogators abide by the Geneva Conventions and by the U.S. UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) in all dealings with prisoners under our control. Here’s our link: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

Pierre C. Shadeaux: Louisiana's Oracle of Spring

2011-02-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

No one seriously believes that a groundhog’s shadow can predict long winters or the imminent coming of spring. But, culturally, US news agencies have celebrated Pennsylvania’s Punxatawny Phil’s role as Spring’s Oracle as if the conditions in this one state could be generalized as valid for our whole country.

Down here in Cajun Country, native Lousianans reject the notion that a Pennsylvania ground hog could validly declare the coming of spring for our region. Indeed, Acadian farmers and other hurricane savvy Louisianans rely most heavily not on groundhogs, but rather, on expert meteorologists to provide precise daily wind and rainfall predictions in order to safely manage their crops and off-shore businesses.

Of course, Cajuns do playfully glean a touch of weather wisdom from the animal kingdom, but they reject the national cultural imposition of the ground hog as a mythic source of wisdom for their region. Instead, local Acadian communities have established their very own oracle to announce the coming of spring.

On February 2nd, Cajuns observed the behavior of Pierre C. Shadeaux (pronounced: Pierre C. Shadow) – a nutria who resides in his very own New Iberian castle. If Mr. Shadeaux fails to see his shadow on the 2nd, then winter will be prolonged for six more weeks. If he sees his shadow, then, Acadians hope to enjoy a long spring and short summer.

Yes, the foolishness of this game is obvious to every person who has ever spent a winter in this wonderful state. From one day to the next our temperatures rise to 70°, then plummet to the mid-thirties or mid-twenties, then rise to the 60s or 70s the very next day. But, this year on Feb. 2nd, we were absolutely exhausted from the extreme and inconstant weather, and so, we hoped Mr. Shadeaux would predict a solid transition to Spring. He did not fail to disappoint, even as we were sent home from school on Feb. 3rd, because of a “winter storm:” Here's the video: http://www.katc.com/videoplayer/?video_id=5980&categories=

Democracy in Egypt

2011-01-30T07:20:00.000-08:00

Once, while sitting on the deck of a Nile River cruise ship with an Egyptian couple back in the late 1970s, my understanding of America’s place in the world as the premier Western democracy was turned on its head. As we sipped tall icy drinks and toasted the stunning beauty of the setting sun, suddenly, our hostess turned to me with her most winsome smile, declaring, “Egypt is the FREEEST country in the world!”

I was a young adult, still enamored with the idea that America was de facto, the most free country in the world. But my friend sweetly shared the cultural basis of her very different belief: “Egypt is the FREEEST country in the world! Listen, In other Arab countries, you must wear the veil. Here, we choose."

She persuaded me then and there that Egypt was the "freeest" Middle Eastern democracy, but I still clung to my faith in the world supremacy of American democracy.

My friend persisted: "You have been a democracy for two hundred years, and you still have no equality for women! Here in Egypt, women have had constitutional equality for two hundred years! ”

Ouch! I was still stinging from the failed national campaign to add the Equal Rights Amendment to our U.S. Constitution back in the 70s, but my friend had not yet persuaded me that her motherland, Egypt, provided her a better democratic experience than my homeland provided me.

“Your businesses are coming here,” she continued, “Because it is easier to run a business here than in America. You have religious freedom, but we have it too! Here in Egypt, we have religious freedom! I am Christian. My daughter married an Israeli. My sister married a Muslim..." This point was difficult to refute. On the one hand, we had constituional religious freedom, but back in the 1970s Jewish and Catholic couples were still coming to Unitarian churches because their own synagogues, churches and families would not tolerate interfaith marriages.

My friend exuberantly persisted: "We speak five languages. We can be traditional, or we can be modern: scientists, physicians, politicians. Here in Egypt, you can do anything you set your mind to do. Anything! Egypt is the FREEEST country in the world!” In other words, women made their own choices.

There was nothing to debate here, so I accepted her feelings and asked for another iced drink.

I can still remember that day, more than 30 years ago, when I could celebrate my new friend’s joy that her country was providing human beings with some of the fruits of democracy: freedom of speech, the right to vote, to participate fully in the work force and in the process of governance.

I reveled with her that Egyptian businesses had the uncommon sense to adjust their work pace to the extreme climate and weather conditions of their hot summers. American businesses have yet to learn to adapt to the demands of climate and weather.

I still recall with joy, the moments in my home and in hers, when we celebrated new friendships between Israeli and Egyptian airline industry workers - all because Prime Minister Anwar El Sadat and Prime Minister Menachem Begin had the uncommon decency to choose the path of peace to strengthen their nations' identities as modern democracies.

Thirty years ago, democracy had the comforting feel of a tall, iced cooler, something you could continue to sip and savor long after the glistening sun disappeared each night. But over time, the freedom, the rights of the people were abused. Now that the Egyptian people are standing up for their rights, we don't think of democracy as the perfectly frosty drink for a blazing hot day. Our leaders too often call the democracy movement "destablizing." That is unfortunate, and I pray our leaders will rethink this matter.

After all these years, I admit I have not been paying attention to thousands of small indignities that have sparked Egyptian citizens to rise up and stand for full restoration of their constitutional freedoms. The current crisis caught me completely by surprise, but it has set me to reflecting and remembering and hoping that the Egyptian people will win the day.

I pray for all those who are participating in the pro-democracy demonstrations in Cairo and other parts of Egypt, that, as quickly and as peacefully as possible, they take back their government and restore their nation as a Middle Eastern model of tolerance, equality, and equal rights for all.

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

2011-01-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

Fifth Grade Mamou High Green Demon Band Members Hailey and Chloe created this poster to share their beliefs about human relations. They asked me if they could carry their poster in Mamou's Martin Luther King Day parade. Classmate Hannah joined them as we walked the parade route on Saturday. We were blessed with warm weather and wonderful plates of red beans, hot spicy sausage, and rice when we finished!

For the first time in our town's history, part of our Mamou High School Green Demon Marching Band led Mamou's annual Martin Luther King Parade on Saturday. I can remember the days in Louisiana when the Federal Government celebrated this holiday, but the state did not. So, school children did not always have the opportunity to reflect on the civil rights contributions made by Dr. King and by so many families in Louisiana who supported the Civil Rights movement.

How times have changed! Today, we do celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday as a state and federal holiday. Our children receive comprehensive instruction in social studies, science, language arts, mathematics, and of course, the fine arts -- even in our high-poverty communities.

Our state has aligned its curriculum and invested in textbooks that are very current, reflecting all of the important civic issues up to the 2004 election. Textbooks appeal to our diverse communities, and connect students with the story of Louisiana's great history. Our students are state-tested on their knowledge of US and Louisiana History, beginning in the fifth grade.

With such deliberate strategies to educate all of Louisiana's children, is it any wonder that my students would have such a grasp of the most critical need of our time: to learn how to get along "as brothers" ... and sisters?

I love teaching in public schools as part of my ministry, because I learn from my students every day. But this day had extra special lessons for me. To paraphrase the great Southern comic philosopher, Jeff Foxworthy, wouldn't it be nice if all the grownups in the world were as smart as, if not smarter than ... our fifth graders?

On the Tragedy Which Occurred at Congresswoman Gabbie Gifford's Public Event

2011-01-09T13:34:00.000-08:00

I was once told a story about Joseph Kennedy, Jr., son of the late Senator Bobby Kennedy, who was assassinated the evening he won the California presidential primary in 1968. As recounted to me back in the early 1970’s, Joseph was attending a Boston-area class on community organizing, facilitated by a prominent grassroots organizer.

With great enthusiasm, the instructor explained very popular "progressive" tactical steps for arousing anger in communities that were truly in need of organizing. This teacher described the process of choosing “targets,” that is, individuals who had decision-making power for this or that issue, and went on to explain the process of channeling the community’s anger into focused campaigns for positive change.

My friend told me that the younger Kennedy brought the classroom lecture to an abrupt halt with his serious, intense stare into the instructor’s eyes.

When asked if Mr. Kennedy cared to comment on the content of the lecture, the fledgling fatherless public figure was reported to have said: “Human beings must never be targets.”

To the best of my ability, I’ve carried that lesson with me into all of my community organizing endeavors, and I have tried with all my heart to abide by this lesson since this story was told to me by my friend.

But, times have changed drastically since those days when passionate idealists knocked on doors for clean water, affordable housing, and a fair and equitable health care system.

Political discourse in this nation has been rabid, destructive, and non-productive for a very long time. All in the dubious name of “free speech,” we have allowed our public commentators and aspirants to public office to demonize those who oppose them, and we have allowed individuals and groups to whip up an angry frenzy in communities plagued with mortgage foreclosures, job loss, pension loss, and general feelings of insecurity about our future as a free nation.

Politicians and community organizers continue to “target” those with whom they philosophically disagree in dangerous ways – and their rhetoric has become unreasonably aggressive and violently suggestive.

And now, We, the People, have again paid a terrible price for our passivity in the face of this aggressive rhetoric.

Today, we mourn the loss of a nine year old girl, Christina Taylor Green, a young girl born on September 11, 2001, who believed it her destiny to work democratically to improve the life of others.

We mourn the loss of Judge John M. Roll, a man who stopped by Congresswoman Gabby Giffords public event to extend the hand of friendship and hospitality.

We mourn the loss of all the citizens who were killed because they chose to attend Congresswoman Gabbie Gifford’s public event, during which she promised civil, polite discussion of the needs of her 8th Congressional District in Tucson Arizona.

We mourn the loss of those who were injured, who are fighting for their lives, including Congresswoman Gabbie Giffords -- who passionately, but collegially and respectfully represented the interests of her constituents.

We pray for the full and speedy recovery of all those who survived this senseless violence.

Most of all, we pray for our nation, that we may find our way back to the true spirit of democracy, where men and women, and children engage in political discourse with dignity, civility, passion, and full respect for every human being’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

DOW has its best close in four years!

2010-10-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

I don't understand why Wall Street is abandoning the Obama administration. The bailouts seem to have improved profitability... The Inquirer reports that the DOW had its best October in four years! Here's the story:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/homepage/20101030_Dow_has_its_best_October_in_4_yrs_.html

HB101 needs to be revisited!

2010-10-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, elections will be over in a few days. Legislators will return to work, if only for their lame duck sessions. Given the budget crisis in Pennsylvania, I understand Governor Rendell's decision to veto the open-ended unintended tax break to profit-making ventures that lease or lend space to charter schools in Pennsylvania. But, must the whole education budget be held hostage? There are wonderful provisions in HB101... I hope you will read this and contact your legislator to invite them to return to the drawing board to get these items passed:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfmsyear=2009&sind=0&body=H&type=B&BN=0101

Is it Safe to Elect Politicians Who Don't Believe in Good Government Regulations?

2010-07-26T04:59:00.000-07:00

A question we must ask ourselves every day since the BP Deepwater Oil Rig Disaster off the coast of Louisiana:

Should private industry be left alone to extract energy from our land and seas in the cheapest, dirtiest, riskiest, most life-threatening ways in order to save a few bucks here and there to maximize profits for investors?

The Philadelphia Inquirer just published an amazing series on the deliberate dismantling of the Environmental Protection Agency by the Bush Administration.

In good faith, they probably thought they would prove the economic superiority of deregulation by giving free rein to energy producers. Instead, we have a string of disasters and environmental catastrophes in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and the whole Gulf Coast.

Click here for very compelling reading - especially since we've had a string of accidents and contaminated water sources in Pennsylvania:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/special/36110664.html

Women of Faith Deserve Full Equality in Every Church!

2010-07-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

This morning, I was delighted to see the editorial on the Vatican's treatment of women who seek ordination in the Roman Catholic Church. I am amazed that American Catholic women are so tolerant of the Vatican's mistreatment of women. Catholic sisters raised generations of immigrants out of poverty by running schools, hospitals, universities - and their self-sacrifices were only matched by the sacrifices of military personnel.

One of my priest friends has often noted that the Vatican would only change its ways if Americans voted their conscience by withholding their dollars. Maybe now is the time to consider that strategy. Here's the article that made me proud to write for the Delaware County Daily Times:

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/07/21/opinion/doc4c465cbc85c19993955169.txt

Specter Should Decline $2 Million for Personal Library

2010-07-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

The Delaware County Daily Times printed my commentary on possible responses by Senator Arlen Specter to the ill-advised decision to allocate $2 million of state funds to his personal library at a time when state cutbacks are forcing libraries to close across the state. Click here to read my suggestions to the Senator: Senator Arlen Spector's Library Legacy

Maybe Senator Arlen Specter Could Convince his Campaign Donors....

2010-07-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

Open Secrets reports that Senator Arlen Specter raised $2.7 million from his top 101 corporate sponsors this year. Maybe he could invite his donors to fund the Arlen Specter Library and Professional Offices. I would hope that he will inspire his donors to prevent the closing of libraries in our low income communities, too. Here is a list of Specter's top corporate donors:
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=Career&cid=N00001604&type=I

Twelve Days To Get It Right!

2010-06-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

The Pennsylvania legislature has twelve days to pass an appropriate budget – one that respects revenue shortfalls of about two billion dollars.

It would be tempting to say that our national fiscal crisis is the cause of the Pennsylvania legislature’s last-minute approach to fiscal responsibility. But, Pennsylvania has not passed a budget on time for the past seven years. And, no one knows how to hold the legislature or the governor accountable for failing year after year in this fundamental legislative duty.

Activists who have been tracking the budgetary process tell me that fiscal conservatives are holding out to embarrass the governor – by failing to pass his budget on time for eight years in a row.

What folly! How can legislators who use “constituent services” as state-paid perpetual campaign operations possibly think they can embarrass a governor who takes limitless but perfectly legal campaign contributions from all sides of every legislative policy issue before him?

But, back to our main worry: given Pennsylvania’s history, sometime during the Fourth of July weekend, when voters and environmentalists are preoccupied with family gatherings, both the governor and legislators will pass another midnight oinker.

Remember the illegal pay raise of 2005? In 2005, elected officials voted for an illegal pay raise for themselves – in the middle of the night, during Independence Day celebrations. Never mind this august body already bought the love of state and municipal employees by voting outrageous pension increases for themselves and government workers (shadow campaign staff) in earlier years.

My fear: Instead of serious, deliberative across-the-board budget cuts and elimination of outdated state boards and agencies to close the $2 billion budget gap, they will yield to the temptation of liquid and black gold. The legislature and the governor will take the easy way out and close the budget gap by expanding gas and oil drilling. This would be a huge mistake – although in the short term, coal, gas and oil drilling will prove to be a cash cow for both local and state budgets.

I’ll cede one point to my friends who are part of the League of Conservation Voters: given the horrendous catastrophe along the Gulf Coast, that there is NO WAY the legislature or the governor could pass a bill that would expand drilling of the Marcellus Shale on a normal business day, when their words, their motives, their decisions could easily be scrutinized by voters and community leaders.

Of course, the legislature won’t dare to expand drilling in the Marcellus Shale while we are watching -- especially now that our eyes and ears are glued to media reports of the damage -- the evidence of recklessness by drilling operators and government inspectors who allowed the Gulf Coast catastrophe to happen.

But, studies have proven time and again that the Pennsylvania legislature is the least accountable state government in the United States. And, they make their most harmful decisions when they know Pennsylvanians aren’t watching.

If we stop watching, anything could happen.

So please, before you go on vacation, set your RSS news feeds to track the progress of the Pennsylvania budget process. Please be in touch with your state representative, your state senator, and the governor. And, tell all of these players you are taking your i-phones to the beach and to your mountain cottages.

Please ask the Governor, and all our elected officials to exercise a common sense budget: one that cuts across the board – including the salaries and perks of elected officials.

If voters don’t demand a fair, honest budget that reflects declining revenues, but still protects our forests, our water supplies, and our natural habitat, how can we expect our elected officials to do the right thing?

Marcellus Shale Drilling Accident Near Union Township Municipal Reservoir

2010-06-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

I chatted with an environmentalist who lives in the heart of Pennsylvania's new boom economy: the Marcellus Shale. She said that farmers are not running a farmer's market this year, because they make more money by leasing their land to gas drillers. Hotels are packed with out-of-state contractors who are drilling with little accountability or oversight. Will the BP disaster inspire Pennsylvania state senators to vote for HB 2235, a bill that will require strict oversight of drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale?
Maybe stories about gas drilling accidents that are polluting our local water supply make a difference. In Union Township, municipal reservoirs are in danger of contamination because of gas leaks such as the gas drilling accident that recently occurred in Clearfield County: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10164/1065304-455.stm

Marcellus Shale: Pennsylvania Must Prevent a Repeat of the BP Drilling Disaster

2010-06-04T04:32:00.000-07:00

In hard economic times, state legislatures are prone to take the path of least resistance. You can't raise taxes on people who lost their jobs. You can’t collect taxes from businesses that are going bankrupt. You can’t collect property taxes from homes that are in foreclosure.

Too often, rather than face necessary cuts to luxurious benefits and bureaucratic programs, we let our state legislatures give energy corporations unrestricted access to our natural resources in exchange for handsome revenue streams in the form of royalties and other taxes.

The Louisiana legislature did this - allowing unregulated offshore drilling in exchange for free-flowing revenues to pay for school reforms and community development. When the sweet crude behaved itself, the state treasury overflowed.

Sadly, as Gov. Bobby Jindal advocated -- these revenues would have paid for post-Katrina coastal restoration if the BP catastrophe had not occurred.

How do I know this? Shortly after Governor Jindal was elected in 2008, he spoke to community leaders on the West Bank and in Plaquemines Parish. In his talk, he argued passionately that part of the state’s oil tax revenues had to be “invested” in coastal restoration, because this was desperately needed to protect the way of life in the southern part of the state. He worked to convince the legislature to earmark oil and gas tax revenues for coastal restoration.

But now, because of the disaster, the coastal marshes can’t be restored. They are being destroyed by the very liquid gold that was supposed to bring Louisiana’s coastal communities to prosperous times. Louisiana's fishing, farming, energy, tourist and other industries are now threatened with extinction.

Tragically, in Pennsylvania, the governor and state legislators have not been able to sit down at the table to make prudent expenditure cuts to bring the state budget in alignment with declining tax revenues and a shrinking working population.

The governor and state senators are vulnerable to the same temptation that is destroying the Louisiana coast: they want to strike it rich by turning the Marcellus Shale over to unregulated drillers and frackers.

Sure, as long as there are no accidents, the state will be flush with cash. But, can we afford to repeat the BP catastrophe, and allow our beautiful forests, farming communities, rivers and habitat to be destroyed?

Fortunately, there is legislation on the table that will prevent reckless drilling in the Marcellus Shale. HB 2235, championed by Rep. Greg Vitale, requires that rigorous safety and environmental standards be enforced whenever explorations or drilling is conducted in the Marcellus Shale.

If you want to do something to save Pennsylvania from the fate of the Gulf Coast, then, you can contact Governor Ed Rendell and tell him to live up to the endorsement he has enjoyed from the League of Conservation Voters. He has to turn down the easy cash, and do everything in his power to preserve the forests and habitat that are part of the Marcellus Shale.

You can reach Governor Rendell’s office by following this link: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/contact/2998

Now is the critical time to tell Pennsylvania state senators that safety comes before profits and easy tax revenues. Every state senator in Pennsylvania needs to be told to vote for HB 2235. You can help with this by contacting your state senator through this link: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/email_list.cfm?body=S

My Birthday Wishes

2010-06-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

So yesterday, I celebrated my 56th birthday. My sister Lucille greeted me with “may all your wishes come true!”

Here’s my wish list:

1. That our elected representatives in Harrisburg and in Washington set aside their fears and put the needs of our people and our environment first. If they imagined their children, their grandchildren on the receiving end of tar balls, oil-slick bayous, contaminated fisheries, birdless wildlife preserves, and ruined coastal communities, I believe they would reject the path of expedient profits and unregulated extraction of our precious resources AND they would vote to protect our communities, our habitat and wildlife.

2. That we abandon the politics of extreme ideology – whether on the left or on the right – and center our efforts on pragmatic strategies to solve the gravest problems of our time. When I talk to people, I am amazed that so many folks think that our poisonous political culture makes it impossible for us to solve our human-created problems. As a child of the 60's, I was raised to believe in the power of the dream, the art of the possible, the vision of Camelot -- John F. Kennedy’s metaphor for inspirational governance that stressed:

-Service over personal gain,

-The common good over private privilege,

-Eradication of human poverty over the hording and financial chicanery that is devastating our economy,

-Physical fitness and wellness over self-indulgent lifestyles that contribute to our very expensive health care system.

3. That we relearn the arts of collegiality, cooperation, and compromise in our public dialogues. We don’t have time for all of the self-righteous posturing that passes as “political discourse” in the media. Between the suffering of our soldiers and the human communities who are still embroiled in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the devastation of the Gulf Coast wrought by the BP Deepwater Oil Rig Disaster, and the ongoing economic downturn that is hurting most states – we need leaders and media commentators who can model problem-solving, mutual respect, and compassion for all who have been hurt by these tragedies.

4. That we challenge our elected representatives and favorite media commentators to take a pledge to pull themselves out of the fray, to rise to the occasion and lead us out of these very dark times. We need leaders who can vision, strategize, and implement real human and technological fixes to the ecological and economic crises we created for ourselves.

5. That our national and local leaders model selflessness, generosity, and compassion for our young people today who want to serve, but who don’t want to get caught in the quaggy mire of sludge politics. Our young leaders have the same idealism, the same capacity for greatness and inventiveness that was galvanized by John F. Kennedy and other great leaders of the 20th Century. Will we encourage them to achieve their potential, or will we undermine the talents and imagination of those who could do so much to heal our world?

Haverford Class Sizes to Increase – Where are the Special Education Supports?

2010-05-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

In Thursday’s paper, Times correspondent Lois Puglionese reported that the Haverford School District may have to increase fifth grade class sizes “from 25.75 to 28.67 students” next year.

Never mind Haverford’s practice of enrolling fractional students.

But in this story, grandparents of students with learning exceptionalities left the impression that at the present time, Haverford fifth grade teachers do not have classroom aides to assist with their children’s special needs.

By the end of the day, online readers were asking why children with special learning needs are not placed in separate special education classrooms. Yet, no one asked why special education aides were not assigned to the fifth grade classrooms when students needed extra help.

To answer the first question, Federal law requires that children with exceptionalities be mainstreamed, to the extent that a child benefits from the broader inclusive classroom. The acronym for this requirement is FAPE: free and appropriate public education in a “least restrictive environment.”

FAPE takes some getting used to. Having cut my teachers teeth in two schools that mainstreamed all but the most behaviorally challenged children with autism, I can say that everyone benefits from inclusion – when it is implemented responsibly.

But, therein lies the rub. When children with special learning needs or emotional disturbances are mainstreamed, teachers need to have properly trained support staff right in the classroom or strategically available to provide coaching and tutoring as needed.

Too often, that support never makes it into the classroom.

I know there are thousands of parents out there struggling to obtain the right kind of support for their children. So, I ask these questions: Are the schools in your area providing enough classroom support to children with special needs? How do you track to make sure that our special education tax dollars are well spent?

Standing on the Side of Love: Immigrant Students

2010-05-27T02:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, UU minister Revs. Peter Friedrichs, Nate Walker, Ken Beldon, Kent Matthies and I marched for immigrant justice. Rev. Kent spoke eloquently about the waste of our tax dollars being spent on failed immigration policies. Rev. Nate blessed Danni West, a UU who will witness for justice this Saturday in Phoenix, Arizona.

I spoke with many young immigrants - all who have already received their BAs and advanced degrees from American institutions because their families immigrated to our country when they were young. All of them are struggling with the maze of inconsistent rules. This one can work. That one can't. This one can drive. That one can't. This one can stay because she's getting married. That one has to leave the country, because her parents do not have documents.

As a teacher and as a student, I have benefited from the presence of immigrants in my classes. And I have cringed when my classmates or my students have been treated unfairly because of their status.

In my first year of teaching, a 16 year-old Filipino exchange student asked me to coach her for state vocal competitions. She won first place all the way to the Missouri state championship.

In addition to my choir class and vocal coaching, she studied calculus, science, language arts, American History -- and she achieved by far the highest grade point average in the graduating class. But, as graduation approached, this 16-year old was denied valedictorian standing by the school board -"because she was not a resident in our town."

Which reminds me of growing up in North Philadelphia. Our neighborhood was filled with opera singers, scientists, doctors - many of whom were working mundane jobs because their credentials were not validated by authorities in Pennsylvania.

What a loss to the vitality of our economy back in the 1960's! What a loss to the future of Pennsylvania's economy that forty years later, we still educate and deport our talent!

If I Had a Bell: Immigration Justice

2010-05-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

If I had a bell, I'd ring it in the morning. All over this land. I'd ring it for justice, for freedom, for the love between my brothers and my sisters -- all over this land.

Unless you are exclusively Native American, somebody in your family immigrated to the United States. And if you know anything about your family’s history, you probably learned from one of your relatives that they came to this country to create a better life for their families.

Generations ago, my family came to America during the Irish Potato Famine – and settled in Pennsylvania’s coal mining regions. I was married to an immigrant for many years, and my siblings have had partners who were immigrants.

Unfortunately, in hard economic times, it is too easy for legislatures to avoid their fiscal job –managing scarce resources – by creating animosity towards the weakest members of society. In tomorrow’s blog, I will talk about two odious bills that were introduced to the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

But today, beginning at 11:30, immigrants, religious leaders, and concerned people will gather at Constitution Center in Philadelphia to stand up for fair and just immigration policies in the United States. Rev. Peter Friedrichs (UU Church of Delaware County) and I will be part of the group of religious leaders in attendance.

We will ring the bells, sing, pray, and walk for immigration justice.

Please join us! Click here for more details about our campaign for fair and just immigration policies in the United States of America:
http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=9de8df64587021c3db855bbfe&id=4ffe599e5d

Why Do We Bash Teachers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey?

2010-05-18T06:11:00.000-07:00

I’m sure we can all agree that American schools need to be modernized in order for the next generation of workers to compete in the global economy.
And by modernizing, I don’t mean holding class discussions on FaceBook, or twittering responses to pop quizzes.
No, what I’m talking about, is a reworking of our public school curriculum to teach our children, from their first days in preschool how to think mathematically, how to reason like a scientist or engineer, and how to create things that are beautiful, useful, and of lasting value to our communities.
Granted, in our wealthier school districts, this is probably happening already. But, we recently heard that the current economic crisis may cause school districts around the state to cut back programs that foster scientific and creative thinking. A school in Montgomery County, for example, is planning to close a planetarium that is housed in an elementary school.
But, in our large urban and inner ring school districts, teachers often don’t have the luxury of classroom science equipment, let alone a planetarium that costs $90,000 per year to operate. Too many teachers in our less-wealthy school districts are still hampered with out-of- date textbooks, dilapidated buildings inadequate classroom equipment, and too often, they are burdened with bloated administrations.
To make matters worse, they teach in communities where property tax burdens have become unaffordable.
All of our elected officials who are running for office at the state level are the ones who have the power to correct both the education policies and the funding streams that would make home ownership affordable, and make our public schools attractive to young families who want the very best schools for their children.
Our politicians and elected officials should focus on the power that they have to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in school budgets, and to develop and align state curricula that will prepare students for the world of work and higher education.
But instead, too many of our politicians just point fingers, laying blame elsewhere for their indecisiveness in Harrisburg.
Who is the easy target to blame? Why, teachers. Of course.
You’ve heard the accusations: Teachers only work ten months. They have extra vacation time for Christmas, spring break. They work bankers’ hours.
God save me, if I had never been a teacher, I might have used these false impressions to get elected myself when I ran for office back in 2006. But, I have been a teacher. And, I have always taught in high poverty schools -- in Philadelphia, in Missouri, in New Orleans and in rural Louisiana. So I know firsthand, that it is a myth that “teachers have summers off, and they keep bankers’ hours.”
As this blog unfolds, I hope to explore many best education practices and best governance practices that I have uncovered as I’ve traveled the world as a teacher, a military chaplain, and a U.S. military contractor.
For now, I share this one experience, from my three years of teaching in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Since 2008, in every teacher workroom, there is a sign stating the teacher’s bill of rights, as guaranteed by Governor Bobby Jindal and crafted into legislation by the Louisiana State Legislature.
Legislators in Louisiana recognize that teachers deserve respect and safety if they are to be successful educators.
The Teachers’ Bill of Rights has had the effect of improving the necessary relationship between students, parents and teachers. But, it also has improved the relationship between politicians and teachers. After all, politicians and teachers share the responsibility of educating the citizenry. A good working relationship is necessary for learning communities to flourish.
I don’t know if the politicians in Pennsylvania or New Jersey need to pass such a law requiring that teachers be treated respectfully.
But I do know from my own experience, that when teachers are valued as important contributors to the life of their community, that children, adolescents, and young adults become successful learners.
Isn’t that what the education debate should be all about?