Education reform starts with teacher quality, pay
When I read articles on education, I am baffled by the lack of meaningful ideas about the direction it should take. The only plans seem to revolve around curtailing collective bargaining rights, evaluating teachers, tenure reform and Mitt Romney going so far as to say class size doesn't matter. The only way we are going to make gains in education is if the quality of teachers goes up, and in our capitalist society, that means paying teachers more. More »
in the Mix
The film "Beasts of the Southern Wild"-- winner of the Camera D'Or for Best First Film at the Cannes Film Festival and Grand Jury Prize Winner at this year's Sundance Film Festival -- is about a 6-year-old girl name Hushpuppy who lives with her father, Wink, in the "Bathtub," a southern Delta community at the edge of the world in Louisiana. When Wink contracts a mysterious illness, nature flies out of whack: Temperatures rise and the ice caps melt, unleashing an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs. More »
Black theater talent wins multiple awards
Porgy sings "I Got Plenty O Nuttin'" in the famous Gershwin opera, but black talent won plenty at this year's recent local theater and Tony Awards. "Porgy and Bess" won both a Norton Best Musical and a Broadway Best Revival of a Musical award. Audra McDonald, electrifying as Bess, was cited as best actress in a musical by the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE). More »
