Posted By: Francis Koster Published: March 20, 2023
ONE IN FIVE AMERICANS WORK AT OR ATTEND K-12 SCHOOLS “According to estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, half of these adults and children spend their school days breathing air polluted with toxic chemicals, mold, viruses, bacteria, asbestos, pesticides, smog and particulates from vehicle pollution, and more.” According to the National Education Association, this is around … OUR STATE LEGISLATURE IS GUILTY OF CHILD NEGLECT Read More »
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: February 21, 2023
One of my strongest happy childhood memories was made when my dad took us kids fishing. As you see in the photo below, My brother and I caught a bunch of fish. Dad taught us to clean the scales off of them so the fish could be fried. As I handed my mom the results of my … OUR STATE LEGISLATURE IS GUILTY OF CHILD NEGLECT Read More »
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: February 11, 2023
Our world is changing. As the pace of change gets faster, the personal and national stress level rises. Covid + egg prices + climate change + school issues + China sending a balloon across America + Ukraine war + ‘work from home’ + inflation = a lot of anxiety and fear. Some people attempt to control their … OUR STATE LEGISLATURE IS GUILTY OF CHILD NEGLECT Read More »
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: January 22, 2023
One in six dollars owed to the IRS are not being paid.[1] An astonishing number of wealthy Americans do not pay the taxes they owe. What is also astonishing is that some members of Congress appear to have that as a goal. You will see their efforts play out over the next few weeks in the very … OUR STATE LEGISLATURE IS GUILTY OF CHILD NEGLECT Read More »
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: January 17, 2023
I am the oldest of six kids. When I was growing up in Lakewood, Ohio, our (large) extended family would gather to share Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, reconnect with uncles, aunts, and cousins, and drive my mom nuts with the bedlam created by a dozen or so primary school aged kids racing our small house around … OUR STATE LEGISLATURE IS GUILTY OF CHILD NEGLECT Read More »
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: January 10, 2023
On one of the most significant public policy issues of our time, the major split in our society is not between political parties – it is between the young and the old, regardless of political party affiliation. The issue they disagree on influenced by their age is Climate Change. Recent surveys show twice as many young adults aged 25 – … OUR STATE LEGISLATURE IS GUILTY OF CHILD NEGLECT Read More »
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: January 1, 2023
Several badly designed teacher’s pay proposals now before the N.C. Legislature claim they will pay teachers more if they do their jobs well. They will not. The proposed new laws would have educators’ pay raised only if their student’s learning improves year-after-year on state-wide tests. This is profoundly unfair to teachers in older school buildings. … OUR STATE LEGISLATURE IS GUILTY OF CHILD NEGLECT Read More »
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: December 28, 2022
Students change classrooms at Mariam Boyd Elementary in Warrenton on Dec. 7, 2021. The school opened in 1957 and needs renovation. In 2019, the Warren County school board closed another elementary school due to concerns the aging heating system could fail. The writer heads a nonprofit called the Pollution Detectives, which lends electronic equipment to … OUR STATE LEGISLATURE IS GUILTY OF CHILD NEGLECT Read More »
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: September 23, 2021
Sometimes I will be in some large gathering of thousands of people, and the speaker will ask all veterans to rise and be recognized for their patriotic service. And then they say, “Let's applaud our Patriots.” The audience always applauds. When I stand, people will come up later and say, “I appreciate your service.” Since our nation’s founding 245 years ago, 646,500 members of our military have died defending America.[1] It sounds terrible, but so does the fact that over the past year 667,000 Americans have died from Covid.[2] The disease has killed one in 500 Americans[3] - more than all those who died defending American independence over 245 years - including both sides of the Civil War!
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: March 9, 2021
Schools are often the heart of communities. My own memories of primary school included time spent playing dodgeball on the playground, my excitement when I was asked to bring my favorite book to school and tell my classmates why I liked it, and too many times having to carry a note home to my parents about some action I did or did not do. (That never ended well.) Like some members of our community, some school buildings are getting old. Like some of us, their plumbing does not work as well as it once did, and friends and loved ones notice peeling paint, deteriorating roofs, and breathing issues (in the schools). North Carolina’s schools rank 37th of all 50 states in student learning.[1] Our disappointing ranking is driven in part by old and loved school buildings which do not breathe well.
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