Parents push for foreign language in elementary schools
Written by Jake Kara
Monday, 17 January 2011 15:00
School officials tout the district as a deciding factor for home buyers, but for some parents who "shopped around," the district might fall short of expectations.
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For Karen Christiansen, a Darien mother leading the charge to get foreign language incorporated into the elementary curriculum for four years, being bilingual is a must in today's global economy.
"I've had every job I've had because I speak Italian," Christiansen, who taught at an international school in Italy and worked as director of international divisions for Tommy Hilfiger, Liz Claiborne and Donna Karan, said.
She taught first grade at an international school in Italy, where she said on average her students spoke three languages.
When she moved to Darien four years ago, her kids were in pre-school and she was surprised to find Holmes School, where her daughter was soon to enroll, didn't have a foreign language program.
She and a few other Darien parents set to work, talking to officials and other parents trying to get a program added three years ago.
When elementary foreign language education came up at a school board meeting and one board member questioned whether there was enough support for such a program in town, Christiansen said she knew otherwise.
"I know from working in town for years on this that there is a strong interest," she said.
She helped to start a petition and within two weeks had about 35 volunteers mobilized, collecting more than 1,700 signatures in favor a foreign language program.
"Everywhere I was, the clipboard was," she said. "I loved that document," she said of the battle-torn, rain-smudged pages she carried around collecting signatures. The group collected 1,700 names. "I felt the board got the message at that point."
Most people Christiansen met assumed Darien had foreign language, she said.
Of the 500 or so names Christiansen collected, she said she only a handful of parents gave reasons against signing the petition.
"A couple said it was the budget," she said. Others said they were already working on foreign language studies with their kids outside of school — like Christiansen. Her husband and children speak fluent Danish and she practices Italian with them.
The elementary schools started hosting a foreign language program before and after school, but it's paid for by participants, $180 per semester and not a school program.
Schools Superintendent Dr. Stephen Falcone, whose children go to school in New Canaan, which has elementary foreign language education, has been receptive, Christiansen said. In November, he presented a plan to the Board of Education to change elementary schedules to a six-day rotation. He even included it in his first budget proposal, presented Tuesday.
Whether the program, which calls for five new teachers at $306,645 will survive this budget season is yet to be seen, but Christiansen hopes it does because, she said with a laugh, "I can't do this another year."
More info: DarienLanguage.Wordpress.com
jkara@darientimes.com
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Bully Shazam
There really is magic out there, team on those cold prairie nights. All the farming communities out in the midwest are holding anti-bullying initiatives, many of which are being covered in the media every single day now. I loved the fact that Chris Johnson got his message across using actual magic tricks! Its such a wonderful idea, and I'm super juiced to share this article on my blog. It really hilighted how massively lucky kids really are to live in Wisconsin. (Unfortunate that its not a larger geography so that even more people would get to dwell there. :) We need the Abracadabra-Make-Your-Own-Racine gold dust, please. Or wuz that Madison? Or even .... Woodstock.) There are, of course, many other communities working on new anti-bullying initiatives across North America and Australia and New Zealand, too.
I really think though that working these messages into something fun and interactive is faily sweet for young children. I'm reminded of the Afghan children's circus that was teaching Afghan kids hygiene. It was super exciting to see things like humungous children's toothbrushes and see all of the shy kids giggle in surprise. Plus, some of the kids actually became performers! Now there's a dream come true.
I really think though that working these messages into something fun and interactive is faily sweet for young children. I'm reminded of the Afghan children's circus that was teaching Afghan kids hygiene. It was super exciting to see things like humungous children's toothbrushes and see all of the shy kids giggle in surprise. Plus, some of the kids actually became performers! Now there's a dream come true.
Skatengruven
I sort of hesitated to throw down this link into the blog but finally did so because its not new news. I've heard about Skateistan episodically since Oliver Percovich first started it a couple years ago. Its just that now there's a film- Skateistan: four wheels and a board, that is premiering in January at the Santa Barbara Film festival. If I hear more about where to score a copy, I'll let people know- I feel like a lot of skateboarding aficianados would likely be interested in seeing it, especially if they work with youth in skate parks. Ollie down, crew.
Vacillations and Vaccinations
Heavens, it looks like the world is fair exploding with strange news. Our estimable population of Afghanistan, having barely gotten off its knees in modern times, is now being pulled around by its ears in ever more absurdities.
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi has pledged a hundred million dollars to vaccinate Afghan children. It would be great if there was actually some cash to BUILD something in Afghanistan- Abu Dhabi, is after all, a nation rich in oil and much other material wealth, and all these years people have languished herding goats. People can be forgiven for not actually having thought very much about this region of the world before- its buried in the mountains, covered with snow and ethereal cold, and just generally benighted when it comes to outside access. One positive thing about a war fought by forty-two countries on its terrain is that there could quite possibly be a global reawakening as to this region of the world, the beauty of its people, and its potential. Its overrun by foreign armies and mercenaries, and if anyone is learning about its culture, it is them- and yet many of the soldiers are actually not being listened to when they themselves speak out about civilian casualities and torture within the nation, carried out by their confreres and quite often their masters. Its a sad time to be soldiering in Afghanistan, and its time the world helped them out by giving rise to the voices of those that desperately want to see a sea change in a policies that they have had to give their lifeblood for. It shouldn't be difficult to do- does the world really want to hear the trivial gossip that dominates the news stream today? As one Maritime writer put it- all such and such newspaper reports is that one old woman put a shawl on her head and crossed the road to talk to another old woman. Not to disparage the elderly, or movie stars, but there are REAL stories in Afghanistan. There are men, women and children, who are actually a lot like us. A lot of them are dying, or have died. There are people, who in the words of one traveller have "rights that are a bit of a joke". There is a perserverance that is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. And there is sadness, too, that life has handed them a future that they have had virtually no input in shaping, a destiny that was not theirs to command. And there are some wonderful people who are helping. There are foreign aid workers, there is a foreign press corps, and there are people from all over the world that are regarding this particular region of the world with shock and horror.
Things are not always going to be this bad in Afghanistan, of course. But they never should have gotten this way in the first place. And as we focus on how terrible the Afghans are, how "other" they are, how they don't deserve to be heard or to survive, remember this: it could easily have been you. And then do what I do- go out and be a voice that demands that people around you share their good fortune.
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi has pledged a hundred million dollars to vaccinate Afghan children. It would be great if there was actually some cash to BUILD something in Afghanistan- Abu Dhabi, is after all, a nation rich in oil and much other material wealth, and all these years people have languished herding goats. People can be forgiven for not actually having thought very much about this region of the world before- its buried in the mountains, covered with snow and ethereal cold, and just generally benighted when it comes to outside access. One positive thing about a war fought by forty-two countries on its terrain is that there could quite possibly be a global reawakening as to this region of the world, the beauty of its people, and its potential. Its overrun by foreign armies and mercenaries, and if anyone is learning about its culture, it is them- and yet many of the soldiers are actually not being listened to when they themselves speak out about civilian casualities and torture within the nation, carried out by their confreres and quite often their masters. Its a sad time to be soldiering in Afghanistan, and its time the world helped them out by giving rise to the voices of those that desperately want to see a sea change in a policies that they have had to give their lifeblood for. It shouldn't be difficult to do- does the world really want to hear the trivial gossip that dominates the news stream today? As one Maritime writer put it- all such and such newspaper reports is that one old woman put a shawl on her head and crossed the road to talk to another old woman. Not to disparage the elderly, or movie stars, but there are REAL stories in Afghanistan. There are men, women and children, who are actually a lot like us. A lot of them are dying, or have died. There are people, who in the words of one traveller have "rights that are a bit of a joke". There is a perserverance that is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. And there is sadness, too, that life has handed them a future that they have had virtually no input in shaping, a destiny that was not theirs to command. And there are some wonderful people who are helping. There are foreign aid workers, there is a foreign press corps, and there are people from all over the world that are regarding this particular region of the world with shock and horror.
Things are not always going to be this bad in Afghanistan, of course. But they never should have gotten this way in the first place. And as we focus on how terrible the Afghans are, how "other" they are, how they don't deserve to be heard or to survive, remember this: it could easily have been you. And then do what I do- go out and be a voice that demands that people around you share their good fortune.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Afghan war continues. Luckily, there is support for withdrawal in Europe- the Dutch are pulling out this year. America, however, needs a nudge. I think we'll see people start to try- this war is totally unjust and beyond horrific. Hang in there, Affy- the momentum is gathering to end this terrible tragedy. This article, by the way, was published today.
KABUL (Reuters) – Twenty Afghan civilians, including 13 children, were killed by a roadside bomb in southeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, a senior official said, in the country's deadliest insurgent attack in nearly six months.
Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst level since the overthrow of the Taliban by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001 with record casualties on all sides of the conflict and a raging insurgency that has shown little sign of abating.
Ordinary Afghans have taken the brunt of the fighting as they become increasingly caught up in the crossfire.
Brigadier General Josef Blotz, senior spokesman for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, said 13 children and six women were among the dead in Wednesday's attack in Khoshamand district of Paktika, a volatile province south of Kabul, that borders Pakistan.
"It is another spike in this brutal Taliban arsenal and tactics and techniques. It is unjustifiable, it is brutal," Blotz said in an interview with Reuters.
Earlier reports from Afghan officials said 13 civilians had been killed as they traveled in a motorized rickshaw to the district center for medical treatment. Casualty tolls from such attacks can often increase hours after the incident.
The bombing was the bloodiest insurgent attack since July 28 when at least 25 civilians were killed after their bus was hit by a roadside bomb in western Afghanistan.
Complete coverage of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding on Yahoo! News
In the first six months of last year, the deaths of children rose by more than half from the same period of 2009, according to the United Nations. Deaths of women also increased.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack calling it "inhumane and un-Islamic."
Roadside bombs are by far the deadliest weapon deployed by insurgents and are responsible for most of the casualties among international, Afghan troops as well as civilians.
Ordinary Afghans, however, have been hit the hardest. The United Nations said 2,412 civilians were killed and 3,803 others wounded in the first ten months of last year, a 20 percent increase compared to 2009.
Dozens of civilians have been killed this month alone.
Earlier this month, a suicide bomber killed 17 people, including 16 civilians, inside a public bathhouse in southern Kandahar province.
The increased violence around the country has helped to dispel expectations of a winter lull in fighting and military commanders acknowledge militant attacks are up on a year ago.
In Gormach district in northern Faryab province, 12insurgents were killed and another six wounded when the homemade bomb they were making, exploded inside a compound overnight, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
Four Afghan policemen on patrol were killed when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in southern Zabul province on Tuesday, said Abdul Razziq a senior police official.
(Additional reporting by Elyas Wahdat in KHOST and Deborah Lutterbeck in WASHINGTON)
(Writing by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Jonathon Burch and Sanjeev Miglani)
KABUL (Reuters) – Twenty Afghan civilians, including 13 children, were killed by a roadside bomb in southeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, a senior official said, in the country's deadliest insurgent attack in nearly six months.
Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst level since the overthrow of the Taliban by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001 with record casualties on all sides of the conflict and a raging insurgency that has shown little sign of abating.
Ordinary Afghans have taken the brunt of the fighting as they become increasingly caught up in the crossfire.
Brigadier General Josef Blotz, senior spokesman for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, said 13 children and six women were among the dead in Wednesday's attack in Khoshamand district of Paktika, a volatile province south of Kabul, that borders Pakistan.
"It is another spike in this brutal Taliban arsenal and tactics and techniques. It is unjustifiable, it is brutal," Blotz said in an interview with Reuters.
Earlier reports from Afghan officials said 13 civilians had been killed as they traveled in a motorized rickshaw to the district center for medical treatment. Casualty tolls from such attacks can often increase hours after the incident.
The bombing was the bloodiest insurgent attack since July 28 when at least 25 civilians were killed after their bus was hit by a roadside bomb in western Afghanistan.
Complete coverage of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding on Yahoo! News
In the first six months of last year, the deaths of children rose by more than half from the same period of 2009, according to the United Nations. Deaths of women also increased.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack calling it "inhumane and un-Islamic."
Roadside bombs are by far the deadliest weapon deployed by insurgents and are responsible for most of the casualties among international, Afghan troops as well as civilians.
Ordinary Afghans, however, have been hit the hardest. The United Nations said 2,412 civilians were killed and 3,803 others wounded in the first ten months of last year, a 20 percent increase compared to 2009.
Dozens of civilians have been killed this month alone.
Earlier this month, a suicide bomber killed 17 people, including 16 civilians, inside a public bathhouse in southern Kandahar province.
The increased violence around the country has helped to dispel expectations of a winter lull in fighting and military commanders acknowledge militant attacks are up on a year ago.
In Gormach district in northern Faryab province, 12insurgents were killed and another six wounded when the homemade bomb they were making, exploded inside a compound overnight, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
Four Afghan policemen on patrol were killed when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in southern Zabul province on Tuesday, said Abdul Razziq a senior police official.
(Additional reporting by Elyas Wahdat in KHOST and Deborah Lutterbeck in WASHINGTON)
(Writing by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Jonathon Burch and Sanjeev Miglani)
This article appeared in Agence France Press today. France has a large number of people that are against the war, according to recent polls. Hopefully, the countries of Europe can come together and enact some pressure to remove troops from this part of the world.
U.S. may stay in Afghanistan after 2014, Biden says
By Katherine Haddon, Agence France-Presse January 12, 2011
The United States is not in Afghanistan to "govern," but will offer support beyond a 2014 security handover if Afghans wanted, visiting U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden told President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday.
Speaking after talks with the president in Kabul, Biden said: "We're not leaving if you (Afghans) don't want us to leave."
However, he also emphasized that the planned handover of responsibility for security from international troops to Afghan forces in four years, agreed at a NATO summit in November, was on track.
"It's not our intention to govern or to nation-build. As President Karzai often points out, this is the responsibility of the Afghan people," Biden told reporters at a news conference.
"We stand ready to help you in that effort and we'll continue to stand ready to help you in that effort after 2014."
A senior White House official said Biden was not announcing a change in policy.
"The vice-president was simply restating for the public what he had said to the president (Karzai), which was that the United States wants an enduring partnership with Afghanistan," the official said.
There are about 97,000 United States troops serving in Afghanistan as part of an international force of some 140,000. Limited, conditions-based withdrawals are due to start in July ahead of the scheduled 2014 transition.
Biden said Afghanistan was in a "new phase" and insisted that Taliban momentum had been "largely arrested" in key areas such as the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. His comments came despite several recent attacks in the south, seen as the focus of the war, including a suicide bombing at a bath house in Kandahar province last week which killed 17 people.
A U.S. official travelling with Biden said the vice-president's trip came at a "pivot point" for the U.S. in Afghanistan, adding it would allow Biden to review progress toward handing responsibility for security to Afghan forces.
Biden's trip comes four days after the U.S. announced it was sending an extra 1,400 Marines to southern Afghanistan, seen as the heart of the Taliban insurgency, in a bid to preempt an expected spring offensive in April or May.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/stay+Afghanistan+after+2014+Biden+says/4095916/story.html#ixzz1BYUqTLJg
U.S. may stay in Afghanistan after 2014, Biden says
By Katherine Haddon, Agence France-Presse January 12, 2011
The United States is not in Afghanistan to "govern," but will offer support beyond a 2014 security handover if Afghans wanted, visiting U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden told President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday.
Speaking after talks with the president in Kabul, Biden said: "We're not leaving if you (Afghans) don't want us to leave."
However, he also emphasized that the planned handover of responsibility for security from international troops to Afghan forces in four years, agreed at a NATO summit in November, was on track.
"It's not our intention to govern or to nation-build. As President Karzai often points out, this is the responsibility of the Afghan people," Biden told reporters at a news conference.
"We stand ready to help you in that effort and we'll continue to stand ready to help you in that effort after 2014."
A senior White House official said Biden was not announcing a change in policy.
"The vice-president was simply restating for the public what he had said to the president (Karzai), which was that the United States wants an enduring partnership with Afghanistan," the official said.
There are about 97,000 United States troops serving in Afghanistan as part of an international force of some 140,000. Limited, conditions-based withdrawals are due to start in July ahead of the scheduled 2014 transition.
Biden said Afghanistan was in a "new phase" and insisted that Taliban momentum had been "largely arrested" in key areas such as the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. His comments came despite several recent attacks in the south, seen as the focus of the war, including a suicide bombing at a bath house in Kandahar province last week which killed 17 people.
A U.S. official travelling with Biden said the vice-president's trip came at a "pivot point" for the U.S. in Afghanistan, adding it would allow Biden to review progress toward handing responsibility for security to Afghan forces.
Biden's trip comes four days after the U.S. announced it was sending an extra 1,400 Marines to southern Afghanistan, seen as the heart of the Taliban insurgency, in a bid to preempt an expected spring offensive in April or May.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/stay+Afghanistan+after+2014+Biden+says/4095916/story.html#ixzz1BYUqTLJg
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