For some time now, Americans have watched one incident after another in which police-citizen interactions go bad. We’ve heard all sorts of proposals about how to improve this hard, ugly truth. No single change is likely to improve conditions enough to make people feel that we are making real progress, but a recent Bangor Daily … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—When Handcuffs Might Not Be Our Best First Move
TURNING POINTS—And Page Turners
I’ve never met Maine-based novelist Susan Conley, but I feel like I know Jill Archer, the protagonist of Conley’s Landslide. If you came across a character like Jill in one of those beachy reads that summer visitors inhale while ensconced on cozy B&B porches overlooking Penobscot Bay, chances are the reading would not rate up … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—And Page Turners
TURNING POINTS—Happy Groundhog Day, Happy Groundhog Day, Happy Groundhog Day!
Four years ago on the film’s 25th anniversary, Chicago Tribune writer Ted Slowik called Groundhog Day “the best movie ever made.” Strong praise for a Bill Murray comedy, even though it’s one of my favorite movies. https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/opinion/ct-sta-slowik-groundhog-day-st-0201-20170131-story.html February 2. You know the drill. Cut to Punxsutawney, PA, where, in delightfully unscientific fashion, top-hatted town officials … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Happy Groundhog Day, Happy Groundhog Day, Happy Groundhog Day!
TURNING POINTS—Pretty Rugged
According to the CDC, commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous ways to make a living. But certain people are drawn in a big way to this physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding work, like the hardy folk who fish for lobster off the coast of Maine. To identify lobstering simply their “job” misses the … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Pretty Rugged
TURNING POINTS—Hope, Hope, Hope
It’s a word that comes up in conversations around the end of the year holidays. Hope. The word has gotten used a lot this whole COVID year, as in HOPE FOR A VACCINE! Hope came up quite a bit in OPEN ADMISSIONS: WHAT TEACHING AT COMMUNITY COLLEGE TAUGHT ME ABOUT LEARNING, and it keeps showing … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Hope, Hope, Hope
TURNING POINTS—Turning Wooden Spoons
Holidays can end all at once, like the final jingle bell note on the radio’s last Christmas song at 11:59 PM on December 25. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, lingers on in most households. In fact, some would argue that the post-Thanksgiving uses of cooked turkey equal or top the big day’s feast. Before the … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Turning Wooden Spoons
TURNING POINTS—Even Big Mistakes Can Become Good Turning Points
In this time of national conflict and turmoil, it is worth reminding ourselves of the things that unite us. Some responses to big problems just make sense, regardless of one’s political perspective. Life is messy, and sometimes people make big mistakes—commit crimes and spend time in jail or prison. When that happens in a family, … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Even Big Mistakes Can Become Good Turning Points
TURNING POINTS—The Long And Winding Road To Maine
When Kathleen and I and our two dogs moved to Maine nine years ago, squeezed into our two-door Civic along with boxes and bags of personal belongings, we came in one fell swoop, hot on the taillights of the moving van that contained the rest of our worldly possessions. One day. But getting the idea … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—The Long And Winding Road To Maine
TURNING POINTS—On the Path to a COVID Vaccine and to a Career
The learning process implies change. Once we’ve learned something, we aren’t quite the same person anymore, whether we’ve learned how to solve an equation, play tennis, make a vinaigrette, change a flat tire, or speak a second language. A recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer tells the story of immigrant Yaya Dia, who now plays … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—On the Path to a COVID Vaccine and to a Career
TURNING POINTS—America’s Greatest Economic/Educational Counter to The COVID Recession Is Its Community Colleges
COVID-19 has changed the work and employment landscape in the US and elsewhere, but our network of community colleges may provide the resource we need to re-train displaced workers and to enable degree-seeking students a chance to take valuable steps toward their goal. Last week, reader Rich Conti steered the Turning Points conversation toward David … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—America’s Greatest Economic/Educational Counter to The COVID Recession Is Its Community Colleges
