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The Citywide Parent Council meets tonight at the Wang Middle School, 365 W. Meadow Road, to learn strategies and tips for talking to your kids about sex. The meeting, which begins at 7 pm, will also include a discussion of the role of sex education in our schools. As part of that discussion, parents will have the opportunity to express their concerns and suggestions to school leaders who will be at the meeting. The district is currently in the process of revamping its middle-to-high school sex education program, aligning it with state standards, and developing an age-appropriate comprehensive model for Lowell schools.  Parent input is critical and timely because the new curriculum will most likely be implemented in the schools next fall.

Lisa Brown, a Lowell native who now lives in Pelham, will be on WCAP Radio this afternoon at 1:15 talking about her invention, Matchats. Brown’s idea was to create placements that featured questions and conversation-starters on various topics as a way to help parents and children keep talk flowing around the dinner table. See this recent Sun article or listen to WCAP for more details.

Congratulations to Jim Campanini, editor of The Sun, on his award for “best editorial on a local subject” from the New England Newspaper Association as printed in today’s paper (couldn’t find the paragraph noting the award on The Sun’s website for linking, sorry). Luckily for Campy, the judges didn’t check the facts because this editorial has the same errors and half-truths it did when it was first published in June 2008. The newspaper reprinted the editorial today, explaining it was “the first time The Sun has received this award” as the reason for the replay. For me, the editorial has always stood out, not only for its inaccuracies and blatant attack on me personally, but because it was the start of about eight weeks of coverage on the same topic.

 I’m not a lawyer and I’m certainly not an expert on Constitutional law, but it seems to me we’ve been limiting children’s civil rights (if you want to look at it that way) for years, and for their own good. Most kids I know would argue against anything that limits their freedom to do what they want. (Some youngsters—especially the two teens I live with—might also accuse us of being mean and unfair for doing so.) Be that as it may, it is appropriate to restrict children’s activities for safety reasons, and as a society we have been doing it for a long time. If the Supreme Judicial Court should rule against Lowell’s 11 p.m. curfew for youngsters under 17 years old, what next? Will it be unconstitutional to require children to wear helmets on bicycles and seat belts in cars? How about laws forbidding the sale of cigarettes and alcohol to minors? What about restrictions on attending R-rated movies? The fact that the SJC has chosen to review this law has made front-page news, both in today’s Sun and in yesterday’s Globe, but the concept that we might start down this slippery slope is frightening. Our young people should be safe at home in the late evening, whether they have a responsible adult demanding it or not. If they have good reasons why they are wandering the streets after 11, then the curfew gives police the authority to stop them and help sort it out. See LiL for additional thoughts and comments.

There has been quite a hullabaloo about my motion last Wednesday to review the policy regarding committee interaction with school staff. (For context, check LiL and a video of the meeting, yesterday’s Column, and an earlier article by Jenn Myers.) Whether I am “on a mission” as one colleague muses, I admit it freely: Yes! I am on a mission to improve our schools. I do that by getting information from all levels of the system, from pre-k to the high school, from administrators, parents, students, teachers, custodians, security officers, community partners—you name it; if they’re involved with our students, I want to learn their perspective and use it to improve our schools. I am always respectful, professional, and mindful of the boundaries. What’s not clear is the protocol, especially when my understanding turns out to be different from an administrator’s, and my colleagues have varying approaches. Access to good information is critical. It becomes even more serious when it is curtailed, as indicated by one administrator insisting all questions to his staff be made in his presence—regardless of chain-of-command approval in his absence or the nature of the questions. (In this case, the question was what the recycling club needed from the city, and the visit included, at the invitation of a teacher, watching a science experiment for five minutes.)

One colleague suggested that staff may feel “threatened” and not “want to speak” with us, and that may happen to certain members. In my experience, people welcome the opportunity to share their ideas and concerns when it is for informational purposes and is asked in a non-threatening way. Far more alarming, however, is the idea that staff may be discouraged, even forbidden, from sharing insights with us. That is not a model for good management, nor does it help move the schools forward. Fortunately, we’re not talking about a private business, we’re talking about our public schools, funded by taxpayers to educate our children under the leadership (and scrutiny) of an elected school committee. As the motion requests, we will clarify the policy so we may continue to be effective at improving our schools. For some questions that have helped me in the past, see: more »

Today’s Boston Globe has an interesting article by Philip Jenkins. In “Dark Passages,” Jenkins explores the concept of religious texts that promote violence, noting particular passages from the Koran that may inspire modern Islamic terrorists. He also states: “If Christians or Jews want to point to violent parts of the Koran and suggest that those elements taint the whole religion, they open themselves to the obvious question: what about their own faiths?” Jenkins goes on to claim that the Bible has far more vicious examples of violence (particularly the Old Testament) than the Koran. “Commands to kill, to commit ethnic cleansing, to institutionalize segregation, to hate and fear other races and religions…all are in the Bible, and occur with a far greater frequency than in the Koran,” claims Jenkins. The larger issue, of course, is the perspective and context given to these texts that determines their emphasis or if they are taught at all. In the end, social attitude influences the interpretation of religious texts, according to Jenkins, and this forms the foundation of a modern-day faith that depends entirely on the beholder.

I know: Almost doesn’t count except in horseshoes. Maybe it’s true, but I got a kick out of this article in yesterday’s Boston Globe, reporting that the Fisherman’s Memorial statue in Gloucester has been nominated to appear on the 2010 Bay State quarter. According to the article, the weathered-green copper statue received votes that accounted for “more than four times its closest competitor, Lowell National Historic Park.” The governor’s office submitted the fisherman statue as well as three alternatives to the Feds (not sure if Lowell was included as an alternative).  Ultimately, it may not matter because the U.S. Mint is the final decider. Still, you have to admit, second place is close. Imagine, Lowell National Park depicted on quarters…As my teenager noted, “That would have been sick!” (BTW, the first Massachusetts quarter of the new century, minted in 2000, depicted a Minuteman soldier from a statue in Concord and was designed by middle-school children.)

First off, I don’t think there has been a time in recent history when a governor has made so many visits to Lowell to talk to the people. (I don’t remember Mitt Romney ever doing it.) Today, I was proud to see Governor Patrick here again, surrounded by questioning citizens amid our beautiful, historic Pollard Memorial Library. He had an agenda of course: Patrick was here to pitch his plan to reform the state’s transportation system and raise the gas tax by 19 cents. I list reform first because the Governor was quite clear that he would not support raising revenues for transportation without reform—specifically: the pension system, which he called “too rich for the times;” the six individual agencies that must be integrated into one to coordinate planning and implementation of statewide transportation strategies; and the funds to take steps toward reversing decades of “neglect and shortsighted decisions” that have got us into this mess. 

As usual, I was struck by his sincerity, intelligence, and willingness to hear people out. And since it was Lowell, you can be sure there were many folks with opinions, ideas, and comments to share. (For a more thorough review, check LiL because Lynne was there with questions and a recording device, and I’m sure she’ll be posting too.) In answer to my question about why not do reform first, Patrick said reform is not enough to cover the debt as well as the needed repairs for roads and bridges. “Reform is first,” he said. “We have to do it. But we can’t do what we need to do with reform alone.” He also said that he was open to other ideas and varying combinations of his plan, adding he has “not dug in at 19 cents,” but that was the “most we could do within reason.” As tough as times are, I can’t help but feel hopeful with leadership that’s willing to take it to the people–that is one of the many blessings of a democratic government. Thank you Governor Patrick, and please visit Lowell again soon.

Tonight, the Lowell School Committee meets in Council Chambers, beginning at 7 pm and televised live on local cable station 10. In addition to a number of motions by committee members, the meeting’s agenda includes reports from the superintendent on teacher attendance, a new grant for high-risk students at the LHS Freshman Academy, an update on the UMass Lowell-Bartlett School collaboration, and graduation dates (June 3 for LHS, June 5 for Lowell Adult Education). Barring additional lost school days, the last day of school is Friday, June 19.

Tomorrow is Financial Aid Night from 6-7 p.m. at Wannalancit Mills, 600 Suffolk Street. Parents and students are invited to learn about options for paying for college and what tenth graders should be doing now to make sure they’re ready when they graduate. Sponsored by Gear-Up Lowell, the meeting is open to all and will be presented by a UMass Lowell financial aid officer and a LHS college and career counselor. Childcare is available. Contact Lauren Butler at 978-934-1987 for details.

This week begins the preliminary round of the annual Knowledge Bowl, the very cool competition that pits students from middle schools across the city against each other in a quiz-show-style academic contest. Due to Monday’s storm, last night was the opening challenge, with the Butler, Wang and Rogers Schools competing. (Wang took first place with 225 points.) Held at the Butler Middle School, 1140 Gorham Street, beginning at 6:30, the competition continues tonight with the Daley, Pyne and Robinson Schools competing, and on Thursday, March 5, with the Sullivan, Bartlett, and Stoklosa Schools. The next round is the week of March 9, with the finals on March 19.

As my own personal launch into Lowell Women’s Week, which begins today, the following are some of my favorite quotes from Susan B. Anthony. I have long admired Anthony for her courage and tenacity, her vision for women despite their long history of oppression, and her amazing skill with language and argument. She was a smart, eloquent, and gifted advocate for women’s rights. See what you think:

On change: “Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world’s estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences.”

On education: “If all the rich and all of the church people should send their children to the public schools they would feel bound to concentrate their money on improving these schools until they met the highest ideals.”

On educated women: “I can’t say that the college-bred woman is the most contented woman. The broader her mind the more she understands the unequal conditions between men and women, the more she chafes under a government that tolerates it.”