NRU uplift...

...or at least silver linings. The world has been so full of bad news that it has been hard for me to do my news round up.

Here are two stories I felt I needed to share on the uplifting side... bad news will return, no doubt soon, with attendant ranting.

Our current media is replete with examples of public education that does not work or that is not working the way we imagine it should.  I was pleased to see this article shared on fb about a superintendent that goes above and beyond what we might consider *education* in order to help her students be successful.  I think the majority of teachers and principals would love to participate in this kind of education -- but we need to provide them with the resources, not just money but time and people, in order to do this.  Just think what would be necessary to level this up to Oakland or Sacramento or San Francisco, not to mention Los Angeles. But it is a potential model... 

Norway is facing the challenge of how to integrate immigrants into their larger culture ... this may not appeal to all as it may seem like forced assimilation, but I believe it is a model for having adult conversations about difficult topics.  We can choose to say nothing, to do nothing.  But the challenges will persist.  And our unease about the newcomers frequently morphs into bias, conscious or not.  We have to find ways to bring migrants into our culture with tolerance or we will continue to radicalize them as permanent outsiders.