Reading for Pleasure

So a new study came out linking a reduction in pleasure reading with a reduction in reading comprehension scores for high school students. Not surprising. Aside from the inherent pleasure that it provides to those of us who love to read, reading for pleasure allows us to exercise certain muscles that we don't get from other sources--like newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc. Reading fiction in particular forces us to concentrate over very long periods of time, and if we take on challenging writers, the task is even harder.

While educators are killing themselves over improving students' NCLB, SAT and AP test scores, the best thing we can do for them is say relax--grab a book, and enjoy. Now there's a radical idea.

Googleicious

I love reading about people like Bonnie Brown. She was hired as a masseuse by a new tech company a few years ago, and in addition to her salary, they gave her stock options. Today, Bonnie is retired, and she manages her own charitable foundation. The new tech company? Google. Only in America.

Donald Farrell

Last weekend a sophomore at Rowan was beaten to death. Donald Farrell was doing what so many other college students do on a Saturday night--he was walking around campus with a group of friends. So often as parents we worry about every conceivable terror that can visit our children--car accidents, drugs and alcohol, suicide. But the banality of evil may be even tougher to handle. Your child is simply walking with friends, and the next day he is no longer here. And for what? A cell phone? Some cash? It's unbearable.