For kids in the Brunswick School Department and in the greater Brunswick community, having a place to go outside of school where they can have fun, feel safe and, most importantly, feel seen can make the difference between being happy and healthy or not. Whether it’s after school or during the summer, the Brunswick Area […]
Forecaster Opinion
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Through My Lens: ESL classes should include lessons in sarcasm
Even though I am slowly improving, I often have trouble understanding sarcasm, both in face-to-face conversations and in emailing in the English language. In a 1971 study, Albert Mehrabian found that when people are trying to communicate feelings or attitudes, the message conveyed by words is only 7% of the total message, while the tone […]
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Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Don’t let Valentine’s Day make you feel awful this year
Here we are at the start February, which means that the most dreaded of all annual celebrations is right around the corner: Valentine’s Day. This is a holiday which markets itself as being all about love, but in reality seems like it is just lying in wait to make you feel awful, no matter what […]
Posted inCoastal Journal, Forecaster Opinion
Forum: Farewell to the Topsham Dome. The grand dame served us well.
They say as you get older, you start to lose friends, you lose routines, you lose voices. Last week, I lost a dear friend and her voice. The Topsham Dome collapsed last Thursday night, sometime in the dark January wintry snow/rain. Global warming and new winters of ice age cold were unkind to her and […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Glorious snow days give us much-needed break
Oh the sweet, sweet bliss of a snow day. School children and teachers across the state had their eyes trained on the sky and their hopes pinned on the forecast, waiting until that most magical of announcements came through: no school due to snow. And on a Friday, no less. By the time you read […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, The Forecaster
Life Unwound: Some memories are worth carrying with us
Do you have memories of childhood that still resonate today? I mean sweet ones. I know others surface, of course, but for now, I am wondering about how the good stuff of the past can inform our days today. Maybe they can brighten them or give us a hint how to live into our future. […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, The Forecaster
Through My Lens: Doctors need to understand immigrants’ traditional healing practices
Doctors and nurses across Maine not only need interpreters, but they also need to be informed of the traditional systems of healing to create a more inclusive and culturally sensitive health care system. For three years I worked as a certified interpreter in the Maine health care system and I have observed a disconnect between […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion, The Forecaster
Portland Superintendent’s Notebook: My tenure more than payroll issues
After nearly seven years of writing here, this is my last column. When I became superintendent of the Portland Public Schools in 2016, I considered the role the capstone of my career. Now I have stepped down, with my last day in the office Jan. 13. I am very proud to have had this opportunity […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: You can’t fix the world, but every act of love counts
My old horse, Little Henry, has had a fall. I don’t want to alarm you – he’s going to be OK, but for a while there, things looked pretty bleak. Henry is a funny old thing. Born and bred down in Florida to be a racehorse, his bloodlines are pretty impressive – he traces back […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion, Northern Forecaster
RSU 5 Superintendent’s Notebook: Why attendance matters, now more than ever
“School attendance is a powerful predictor of student outcomes. In fact, irregular attendance can be a better predictor of whether students will drop out of school before graduation than test scores.” […]