The New Haven Independent published my account of a recent Literacy Forum on Early Learning, "It's about WORDS" – as the WORDS Project of the New Haven Early Childhood Council was a focus of the forum.

On public television this week, my wife and I watched The House I Live In – a provocative documentary about the human and social, as well as financial, costs of the “war on drugs” in the U.S.  The film includes glimpses of New Haven, where filmmaker Eugene Jarecki lived briefly as a child and where his friend Nannie Jeter has lived for many years.  This important movie merits a large audience, as does Jarecki’s earlier documentary, Why We Fight.
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In the realm of documentary film, another that deserves attention is Charles Ferguson’s 2010 Inside Job, mentioned in a June 2011 (June 4) post.

Friday evening, April 5, my children and I had the opportunity to attend a joint New Haven Symphony Orchestra/Fair Haven School performance at that New Haven public school.  We enjoyed the show, including the young dancers who are part of Ballet Haven.  Afterward, we greeted that organization’s founder, Mnikesa Whitaker.

One of my oldest and closest friends, Jeff, is a U.S. Army veteran who yesterday recommended Tomas Young’s "The Last Letter" on the occasion of the 10^th anniversary of the Iraq War.

From a mutual friend, I just received terrible news – of the sudden death of Eli Richbourg.  Peace and comfort to his widow and son.  Eli was a talented, conscientious, warm and good person.

This weekend’s New York Times included an article, “One Way to Cheer Up: Cheer Harder” – a piece that evoked a January 2010 (January 24) post, as well as an April 2011 post, which followed an improbable NCAA championship by the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team.

This past Friday, my kids and I were at Yale to see that university’s men’s basketball team defeat Princeton.  Last night, we were unable to attend when the team defeated Penn.  It was “senior night,” the final game for Yale's seniors, whose plans range from architecture to law school.  Sophomores, including two known for their sobriety, helped lead the victory.

To the northeast, the University of Connecticut men also concluded their season yesterday.  UConn’s “senior day” ceremony honored a graduate student, who played a part in the team’s overtime win.  I was in the crowd to applaud his effort and that of the team, throughout the season. 

Appropriately, as both Yale and UConn anticipate promising seasons in 2013-14, they can prepare for one game in which they will directly compete, according to Yale’s tentative schedule.

John Lawrence, who recently retired after 38 years working in staff roles for the U.S. House of Representatives – including the last eight as Nancy Pelosi's chief of staff – has launched a blog called DOMEocracy.

Casey Gerald, a 2009 Yale graduate, sent me information about MBAs Across America, a new venture of which he is one of four founders.

The Black Male Engagement Initiative (BMe) is a network of men in cities across the country.  Among those men is Samuel Reed, a middle-school teacher in Philadelphia who has been a leader in the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia.

I voted for Sam Reed here, by clicking on Philadelphia and scrolling through the alphabetical list to view his one-minute interview and a written description of his project.  He writes:

“The ‘BME—Artistic and Literary Cafe Showcase’ will bring a collective force of young people together to leverage their talents and connect their passions and creativity to address youth issues…. This project will connect … with traditional literacy skills and provide inspiration and foundational skills for reading, writing, making and thinking skills required for the creative economy.  Engaging disengaged African American males will be particular focus of this project.  This project will produce performance art through an interactive video documentary and digital media using art and literary works produced for and by youth participating in the project.  This project will draw muse from comics, sports, art and literature and run parallel with the work I am doing with students at the Beeber Middle School….  We will … disseminate the work-in-progress via electronic forums (web sites), professional workshops and out-of-school forums. The culminating multi-media installations will be presented at community art venues.  After completing the community art showcases, interactive commentary will be posted on the BMe website and other community sites.”

Paul Turner, who chairs the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at Yale, is among the authors of a recent study of the adaptability of a virus subjected to temperature changes.

He was quoted in a subsequent article: “Our study shows, that in the time allowed, (the viruses) weren't able to cope…. They could not rely enough on the mutations that were being generated in that population for anything to emerge and dominate that could deal with this highly unpredictable environmental change.”

Paul Turner led a 2009 Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute seminar on “Evolutionary Medicine” and will be leading a 2013 seminar on “Asking Questions in Biology: Discovery versus Knowledge.”

The Institute’s 2013 seminars begin next month.

Maria Popova’s Brain Pickings site includes an excerpt from Bertrand Russell, originally published in the New York Times Magazine in December 1951.  Russell argued for “a new decalogue, not intended to replace the old one but only to supplement it.”  The “Ten Commandments that, as a teacher, [Russell] . . . wish[ed] to promulgate” are here.

Richard Blanco and Elizabeth Alexander spoke together at Yale recently, the occasion a tea for the two poets who (in 2013 and 2009, respectively) read their poems at President Barack Obama’s inaugurations.

Hosting the campus event was Stephen Pitti, who (like Elizabeth Alexander) is a Yale faculty member.

Steve Pitti has led New Haven and national seminars – in which public school teachers have participated as Fellows – on “Latino Cultures and Communities.”

The snow on the ground this morning appears to rival or even surpass levels from the Blizzard of 1978, when the school in my hometown closed for the entire week.  My family and I expect to spend much of our day shoveling!

February is designated as Black History Month.

A 2012 national seminar addressed “Narratives of Citizenship and Race since Emancipation.” 

Jonathan Holloway – Professor of History, African American Studies, and American Studies at Yale – led that seminar.

Public school teachers participated as National Fellows and prepared related curriculum units.

Waltrina Kirkland-Mullins of New Haven's Davis Street School developed one of the units, on “Diverse Journeys -- Americans All!”

The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute held its 2013 Open House earlier this month, with New Haven public school teachers’ seminar applications due next week.

Last week, the Connecticut Mirror published "On Guns and Security: A Parent's Plea for Reason" –  reflections spurred by the Newtown massacre and the National Rifle Association’s perverse, if unsurprising, response.

I argue, “This is about how we define security, its reality and its perception,” and ask, “What actually makes our communities and families secure? What makes our children feel secure?”
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In 1999, months after the Columbine attacks, the Hartford Courant and Minneapolis Star Tribune published "Hamilton Would Have Embraced Gun Control" – my admittedly speculative attempt to adapt Alexander Hamilton’s pragmatic federalism to a modern challenge.

The Center for Domestic Violence Services is featuring "men who give" to support this cause.  Please consider doing so, particularly now as a foundation will match gifts.

President Barack Obama and the White House yesterday issued a proclamation for National Mentoring Month, which is January. 

President Obama said in part, “A supportive mentor can mean the difference between struggle and success. As we mark this important occasion, I encourage all Americans to spend time as a mentor and help lift our next generation toward their hopes and dreams. To learn more about how to get involved, visit www.Serve.gov/Mentor.”

The United Way and New Haven Public Schools highlight “the ART of school success” —  attendance, reading, and time for conversation — as ways for home life to bolster students.  Such efforts demand greater attention, from early childhood on.  Literacy is an appropriate focus.

The New Haven Register recently published "Improving Education Involves Everyone" – a piece that I wrote on related themes.

The ineffable cruelty of the violence in Newtown, Connecticut yesterday has prompted grief around the world.

For me, the surreal shock and relative proximity of the events evoked in some ways experiences of September 11, 2001, when I was living and working in Manhattan.

This afternoon, it was moving to listen to a choir perform a “Holiday Joy” concert in which scores of girls participated, from age seven (including my daughter) to teenagers, holding hands as they represented the innocence and ideals we cherish.  The choir sang, in addition to such favorites as “Come all ye faithful” and “Gloria in excelcis Deo” and Hanukah standards, the following words of the song “Let peace begin with me”:

Let there be peace on Earth,
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on Earth,
The peace that was meant to be.

The world is our family,
Brothers and sisters are we,
Let us walk with each other,
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me,
Let this be the moment now,
With every step I take,
Let this be my solemn vow,

To take each moment and live each moment
In peace, eternally.
Let there be peace on Earth,
And let it begin with me.

The Yale Daily News (YDN) ran a December 4 article, “City schools win AP recognition,” that included an interview with Wen Jiang, featured days earlier in a New Haven Independent article.

According to the YDN article, “... Jiang attributes the success to a ‘supportive environment’ created by teachers, counselors and peers. Jiang said he felt encouraged to take AP classes and so did many of his peers, adding that teachers would stay after school multiple times a week to help students with their coursework.”