Posted Tue, Feb 14, 7:10 a.m.

Obviously, part of the problem is a State Legislator who says "We have no analytic ability..." http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/01/average_techie_in_greater_seat.php Interesting article in the Atlantic as well, dated February 9th. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/02/the-jobs-university-how-to-turn-our-schools-into-engines-of-innovation/252893/ Western Washington University is still in the top 100 public universities in the country for being a good value. How valuable the ...

Posted Thu, Nov 17, 10:14 a.m.

The President of this State Bank said his bank is the depository for all state taxes and fees and that that would be the hardest thing to wrestle away from the private sector. Bidding for public funds. http://motherjones.com/mojo/2009/03/how-nation%E2%80%99s-only-state-owned-bank-became-envy-wall-street

Posted Sun, Oct 16, 8:13 p.m.

Cross Cut should find someone to write about soccer who knows and likes the sport. If I were a professional sports writer, trying to cover a sport I didn't understand or respect, I might have taken in the Town Hall lecture Tuesday night with Simon Kuper, Arlo White, and Sigi ...

Posted Tue, Aug 9, 1 p.m.

@Jackwhelan, I failed to mention that not too many years ago, that principal was a special education teacher and reading specialist who did not believe in testing, any kind of testing. Could it be that the problem with reform and its debate is the participants' inability to evolve or question ...

Posted Tue, Aug 9, 10:24 a.m.

You say that kids aren't test scores, but aren't test scores the reason the No Child Left Behind is so maligned? I don't share the pervasive sentiment that the NCLB Act was such a colossal failure. It was intended to address the opportunity gap for students in low income schools ...

Posted Thu, May 12, 3:25 p.m.

Whoa..I meant complements. Obviously not a journalism major. "...one of several small majors he hopes to eliminate." I don't know if President Shepard wants to cut or eliminate anything, but I was under the impression he was brought here to make some difficult decisions.

Posted Thu, May 12, 10:47 a.m.

I remember President Shepard telling lawmakers in Olympia when you have to cut an existing program, it takes 10 to 15 years to build it back up when the funding returns. I think he will move cautiously. There was a piece in the Nation yesterday, Faulty Towers, that compliments this ...

Posted Fri, May 6, 11:15 a.m.

There's that pesky "fix" word again. I can't help thinking about Presidents Reagan, Clinton, and Ford when I read this piece. All were children of an alcoholic and abusive parent. Is it possible that one good parent makes the difference or that if the one good parent has a support ...

Posted Thu, Apr 21, 6:38 a.m.

Interesting. I am one commenter who used the word "fix" and regretted it after posting, although it wasn't in regards to the public school system, but what comes before. In those crucial first 5 years. I stand by my sentiments about the life-changing importance of early childhood learning and nurturing, ...

Posted Tue, Apr 12, 5:53 p.m.

sarah90, again, I am not blaming anyone. I am simply stating reality. I expect the parents to parent, and the fact of the matter is, they don't all know how to or have the support they need to do it successfully. You can expect great things out of the students, ...

Posted Sun, Apr 10, 5:36 p.m.

I'm not blaming the parents, sarah9, or assigning them the task of teaching their children to read. I was told by one educator that a child, surrounded by books and language and support, will teach themselves to read by age 8. My point is your parents made sure you went ...

Posted Thu, Apr 7, 9:34 a.m.

It is the parents and Geoffrey Canada knows that and is addressing it. HCZ includes parenting classes and counseling. In my opinion, the most important part of the work he's doing and the least reported on. I remember one interview with Mr. Canada, in particular, where he was describing the ...

Posted Sat, Mar 26, 3:57 p.m.

Margolies, thank you for salvaging that nonsensical article with your post.

Posted Mon, Jan 31, 9:59 a.m.

Thank you for this story. I was at the Bellingham Bay Marathon last year and walked past a young man near the Farmer's Market Depot who had obviously just finished the half-marathon. He was talking excitedly on his cellphone, in an exercise-induced euphoria or having an epiphany. He said "I ...

Posted Fri, Nov 19, 10:38 p.m.

star80: And that is the most comprehensive comment I've ever read regarding this issue. Thank you.

Posted Tue, Oct 19, 11:56 a.m.

I question the National Institutes of Mental Health's assessment that thirteen percent of children ages 8 to 15 have a psychiatric disorder. I think the author should have questioned those figures as well. I thank her for bringing awareness to the issue of mental illness, but certainly these figures are ...

Posted Mon, Oct 4, 11:04 a.m.

I should have said a cautionary tale for politicians who have the convictions and nerve to push reform, not politicians who lack it. Politicians who lack it should be fine. Adrian Fenty said around the day of his defeat that he was finished being a public servant, he has been ...

Posted Sat, Oct 2, 11:12 a.m.

Another superman is Adrian Fenty. He probably sacrificed his bid for re-election as Mayor of DC, in part, because of his appointment of Michelle Rhee as Schools Chancellor and their public school overhaul. A cautionary tale for politicians who lack, oh, what's the word? Convictions, nerve, verve?

Posted Wed, Sep 8, 11:36 a.m.

Anyone interested in some related reading, there is an article in Mother Jones entitled 'Confessions of a DC Teacher', dated September 6th, 2010.

Posted Mon, Aug 30, 11:09 p.m.

This group says this, that group says that. The League, the Union, the Association. Meh. The individual stakeholder no longer has a voice and those with the means to do so, leave the system.

Posted Wed, Aug 4, 8:46 a.m.

I've weighed in on this topic before on this site, so I won't again. I just wanted to relay a story about a woman from the LWV in Kitsap County who recently started posting on the Kitsap Sun blog. She pretends to be so highly principled that she doesn't respond ...

Posted Sat, Jul 3, 8:31 a.m.

What compels sportswriters, or writers in general, to publicly display their lack of understanding and passion for soccer during the World Cup? "I believe now would be the time to publicly proclaim my preference for the brute American sports and also take the time to criticize a game of finesse ...

Posted Sat, May 29, 5 p.m.

I don't like getting flamed, not because I think flamers should be silenced, but because I tend to respond in like. That said, I don't think anyone should be compelled to use their real name and/or censor their words. Let's hope the ranters and flamers who don't add to the ...

Posted Fri, May 28, 9:18 a.m.

Funny, there is a piece this morning in Alternet about living in a screen world and psychotherapy.

Posted Thu, May 27, 9:11 a.m.

Rhino said it very well. Sometimes with anonymity the focus is on the content and you see some of the best discussions. I think the comment history works against the discussion, as well. I am an open-minded person and still learning. I'm hesitant to think aloud if someone can and ...

Posted Thu, May 27, 8:38 a.m.

I've noticed something about the better online sites. Commenters simply add their opinion to the previous ones. It has a layering effect. There doesn't seem to be the need to challenge the previous poster's specifics, even when the new post is a contradiction. I think the WWU's Journal of Educational ...

Posted Mon, Mar 15, 11:37 a.m.

I learned from following the saga of the Island Girl that 1/3 of the parents in Seattle send their children to private school. That might be part of the reason for both the situation and the lack of reporting and consequent outrage.

Posted Thu, Feb 4, 8:20 a.m.

I think the problem is a person sacrifices those qualities that define leadership for the good of the group. It's the downside of solidarity.

Posted Tue, Jan 12, 9:37 a.m.

I agree, it wasn't much of a prediction. Ms. Palin certainly has more allure than Mike Huckabee, who has been at Fox since 2008. Maybe it's a good thing. Aside from the Republican rhetoric, she might learn something. I do think the left writers give her power. No offense, D. ...

Posted Mon, Dec 14, 1:50 p.m.

Well, as hard as this must be on you and your family, your daughter will get an education in a state that boasts, arguably, the best public schools and university system in the country. Take the time to look up Minnesota's tax structure in the Taxation & Economic Policy table ...

Posted Tue, Nov 3, 5:50 a.m.

Mr. Miller: Where to start. I have to say this is the best piece about the Sounders that you have written, but still, it falls short. I realize you are a writer first and a soccer fan second, but you owe it to your readers and to the Sounders to ...

Posted Wed, Sep 30, 10:53 a.m.

In the early '90's there was a 10-day to 2 week period during May and September when you could drive a private vehicle to Wonder Lake. I suppose that window is closed now.

Posted Thu, Sep 24, 10:40 a.m.

I guess I have to ask. Is the Editor's pick award based on a well-crafted argument or is it because the Editor agrees with the basic premise of the post? Or both?

Posted Wed, Sep 23, 8:27 a.m.

What is this article about? An odyssey? Does the author consider Sarah Palin her comrade or is she making fun of her religion? Is this yet another catty article about Sarah Palin by a female reporter? If so, yawn...

Posted Mon, Sep 21, 7:31 a.m.

#7 Vera Katz

Posted Tue, Aug 25, 12:12 p.m.

I believe Fredy Montero received 1 caution card during the Revolution match, his one game suspension resulted from caution card accumulation. Anyone besides me think the taunting and baiting by the Revolution GK is worthy of a caution card?

Posted Tue, Jul 7, 7:45 p.m.

State U.... Elitist?

Posted Wed, Jun 24, 6:05 a.m.

Some us Moms used to have a joke that wasn't really a joke. The time to worry about their SAT scores is when they're in kindergarten. I'm sorry you didn't mention Geoffrey Canada in your piece. His success story in Harlem is something that should be studied, emulated, celebrated. He ...

Posted Wed, Jun 3, 9:27 a.m.

Where would you put the ruling class?

Posted Fri, May 1, 8:33 a.m.

I just wanted to include, since you mentioned the kids, that Mayor Bozeman is the past director of the King County Boys and Girls Club.

Posted Thu, Apr 16, 7:57 a.m.

Kitsap Sun, Watching our Waterways, Christopher Dunagan, has a post on the Frontline film, Poisoned Waters, airing Tuesday, April 22nd, regarding pollution in Puget Sound and Chesapeake Bay.

Posted Mon, Mar 16, 7:54 p.m.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Professor Webb was not an athletic kid.