While visiting an old friend in Evanston last weekend, I attended a Ceremony of Lessons and Carols at Northwestern University’s Millar Chapel. It was typical of such performances – hard benches and good music, and this time a polite “says who?” delivered to the scare-mongers among us in the form of lessons delivered in Spanish […]
children
Posted inArts & Culture
Trick-or-treat where Lincoln walked
Children ages 12 and under are invited to don their Halloween costumes on Friday, Oct. 23, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and enjoy a free trick-or-treating event compliments of the Lincoln Home Employee Association. Though the houses will not be open for tours, there will be candy stops set up at several historic homes in the festively […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Nappily ever after
PHOTO COURTESY AMY ALKON I just moved in with my fiancé whose 5-year-old daughter stays with us part of the week. On the evenings she’s at the house, my fiance just goes to sleep, leaving me to entertain her. (She likes to play endless games like “Guess how many fingers I’m holding up!”) Well, I […]
Posted inArts & Culture
swimming lessons poem #1
swimming lessons poem #1 I don’t recall how kids 3 and 4 learnedto swim I do have a found scrap from ellielabeled “courage tests” the list headedby “swim through seaweed” so she wasswimming before writing but I well recallkids 1 and 2 – with demi, age 3, we usedthe book – she knelt on […]
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Little people, long sentences
15 to Life: Kenneth’s Story The United States is the only country in the world that regularly sentences children to life and death in prison. On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Springfield branch of the American Civil Liberties Union invites the public to Capital City Bar & Grill for a free Liberty Brew & View screening […]
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Lawsuit claims Illinois illegally withholds treatment for kids
A class action lawsuit against the state of Illinois alleges state welfare agencies illegally withhold treatment for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. The lawsuit could affect more than 18,000 youth with severe mental illnesses and emotional disturbances in Illinois. Filed against the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the lawsuit seeks to force […]
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School’s out, but there’s plenty for children to do
For at least a few students, the countdown to summer vacation began last August. Others maybe waited until January, by which time the bitter cold and recent memories of semester finals started giving way to daydreams of summer sunshine and three months of test-free bliss. But Illinois summers also come with high humidity, and, come […]
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This is the village it takes
On a quiet street in Rantoul sits a small neighborhood of 15 nondescript duplex houses, part of a larger subdivision built decades ago to house the families of pilots and workers at the now-closed Chanute Air Force Base. Although it’s impossible to tell just by looking, something remarkable is happening here: adopted kids from troubled […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Stop, drop and roll
Hello! I’m back. I’ve been spending a lot of time at the Capitol lately, and thus haven’t been able to blog. Anyway, I hope some of you have heard this NPR piece about Slow Death by Rubber Duck. If you haven’t, here’s a quick recap: two Canadian environmentalists spent two years monitoring the amount of […]
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Caseworker who neglected her children investigates child neglect for state
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services continues to employ at least one caseworker found to have neglected her own foster children. Administrative rules calling for a review of the employee’s license to handle cases have apparently not been enforced. In September 2008, Linda C. Jones of Springfield, an 11-year DCFS child welfare specialist […]
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Educator: Springfield needs more charter schools
Dr. Patrick Hardy, chief academic officer for Rockford Public Schools, visited Springfield last week to encourage educators and community members to consider offering more alternatives to traditional public education. During a presentation hosted by the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research and education organization, Hardy contended that charter schools — open-enrollment public schools usually operated […]
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Redesigning high schools from the inside out
While the Springfield School District plans to renovate its three high schools, and possibly build a new one, it has already embraced a new design for secondary teaching and learning. “Small learning communities,” also called academies or pods, will be built around specific career interests in each school. Students will pick a community and remain […]
