I am very pleased to announce the publication of my newest book, Boston Red Sox Managers. This book profiles all the Red Sox managers, from 1901 to the present. Included are Joe Cronin, who managed for 13 seasons, and Rudy York, who managed for one game. It includes the very first manager, Jimmy Collins, and the present manager, Terry Francona. And it includes all the rest, 44 managers in all.
This book is actually a part of a much larger book I am writing profiling all the Major League baseball managers, from the 1870s to the present. My original hope was to have the larger book finished before Spring Training, 2009, but I quickly saw that that was unlikely to happen, so I have decided to publish shorter books, categorized by teams, while I work to finish the larger book. The Red Sox, the team I have followed passionately since I was a boy, was the logical choice to start.
Boston Red Sox Managers by Brian Merrill is available exclusively on Amazon.com at a price of $9.95 per copy.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
We're Bailing Out Car Makers While We Abandon Our Children
I guess I don't get it. I don't understand how the government can be bailing out the auto industry when, here in Maine anyway, we are looking at an unprecedented $26 million cut in education in the middle of the school year. When the auto company CEOs are making $400,000 a year, and a fraction of that is being cut from a statewide school budget that is likely to deeply affect our children's education. When these same CEOs show up to testify to Congress, asking for billions (nor millions) of dollars in free money, and they show up having flown to Washington in their individual corporate jets. Isn't that like driving a limousine to a food cupboard?
Here in Maine, our governor has ordered $26,000,000 in cuts, not for next year, but in the middle of the year, well after school supplies have already been ordered, when schools are trying to figure out how they are going to pay the winter fuel bills. This is money that has already been promised to the schools that the schools have built their budgets around. What are the schools going to do? My school district is giving pink slips to all the education technicians, anticipating that some or all of them may lose their jobs somewhere around Christmas. (Happy Holidays and don't let the door hit you in the butt as you leave for good.) My wife's school is looking at having 30 to 35 kids per classroom for next year. In my school, we are already cut back to the point where we can only offer our students English/Language Arts classes every other day. Are we going to have to do that with Math, too? We have cut our reading instruction from last year to this year by two thirds, from 350 minutes a week to 110 minutes a week. And now we hear that there may be more cuts. Maybe the kids can get by with 30 minutes of reading instruction a week and English every third day. Maybe we can cut Math out completely. I've always heard its over-rated anyway.
But, we better make sure we bail out the auto industry. Some of those executives might not get their Christmas bonuses. Isn't this the same industry that was told to produce more fuel efficient vehicles a few years ago? And they refused? They said people wanted the big SUVs and Hummers. Now, which vehicles are sitting on the lots rusting before they have ever been driven?
But lets cut all those ed techs from the schools. What do they do all day, anyway? They only work with our toughest students: the kids who can't read, the kids who kick and bite and punch, the kids who didn't get any supper the night before because mom was passed out drunk and dad hasn't been seen since last January, the kids who swear at them all the time, the kids who aren't toilet trained. Who is going to work with them? The principals? The superintendents? Maybe the school board would volunteer to come in every day at lunchtime to catheterize that student that used to be catheterized by the ed tech? Lets get rid of some of our most important staff members, the ed techs, and see what sort of school we have left.
I'm not blaming the superintendent. His hands are tied. To have cuts in the middle of the year is an impossible situation. There is very little supply money left to cut. The teachers have signed a year-long contract, there are legal issues if they are let go in the middle of the year. That leaves the hourly employees. I understand his dilemma.
One solution: take one tenth of one percent of the money that may be going to bail out the auto industry and send it our way, toward Maine, toward education, and we might be able to keep our already cut to the bare bones schools going for a little while longer.
Here in Maine, our governor has ordered $26,000,000 in cuts, not for next year, but in the middle of the year, well after school supplies have already been ordered, when schools are trying to figure out how they are going to pay the winter fuel bills. This is money that has already been promised to the schools that the schools have built their budgets around. What are the schools going to do? My school district is giving pink slips to all the education technicians, anticipating that some or all of them may lose their jobs somewhere around Christmas. (Happy Holidays and don't let the door hit you in the butt as you leave for good.) My wife's school is looking at having 30 to 35 kids per classroom for next year. In my school, we are already cut back to the point where we can only offer our students English/Language Arts classes every other day. Are we going to have to do that with Math, too? We have cut our reading instruction from last year to this year by two thirds, from 350 minutes a week to 110 minutes a week. And now we hear that there may be more cuts. Maybe the kids can get by with 30 minutes of reading instruction a week and English every third day. Maybe we can cut Math out completely. I've always heard its over-rated anyway.
But, we better make sure we bail out the auto industry. Some of those executives might not get their Christmas bonuses. Isn't this the same industry that was told to produce more fuel efficient vehicles a few years ago? And they refused? They said people wanted the big SUVs and Hummers. Now, which vehicles are sitting on the lots rusting before they have ever been driven?
But lets cut all those ed techs from the schools. What do they do all day, anyway? They only work with our toughest students: the kids who can't read, the kids who kick and bite and punch, the kids who didn't get any supper the night before because mom was passed out drunk and dad hasn't been seen since last January, the kids who swear at them all the time, the kids who aren't toilet trained. Who is going to work with them? The principals? The superintendents? Maybe the school board would volunteer to come in every day at lunchtime to catheterize that student that used to be catheterized by the ed tech? Lets get rid of some of our most important staff members, the ed techs, and see what sort of school we have left.
I'm not blaming the superintendent. His hands are tied. To have cuts in the middle of the year is an impossible situation. There is very little supply money left to cut. The teachers have signed a year-long contract, there are legal issues if they are let go in the middle of the year. That leaves the hourly employees. I understand his dilemma.
One solution: take one tenth of one percent of the money that may be going to bail out the auto industry and send it our way, toward Maine, toward education, and we might be able to keep our already cut to the bare bones schools going for a little while longer.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Hearing From a Former Student, Too Much Water and Seth Update
I have three topics for this blog entry, as the title of the blog suggests.
First, I got an email today from a former student of mine. When I taught sixth grade, for a couple of years I taught science, in addition to math. I had very little background in science, so I taught what I knew: space. I did a unit on the space program as well as a unit on astronomy. My kids really seemed to enjoy the units. One girl in particular really was especially motivated by the space unit. She emailed me this week. She is going to school at Florida Institute of Technology, with an interest to perhaps work at NASA, perhaps as an astronaut. She was telling me about the program she is in. She has recently been at Kennedy Space Center, where she was taken out to a launchpad, with a Space Shuttle sitting there all ready to launch (scheduled for November 14). I was very impressed. I love hearing from former students, but I particularly like to hear from this former student. This is a young lady who set her sights on working for NASA from the time she was young, perhaps even in sixth grade. She has worked very hard, in school, by attending space camps, and now in college, to meet her goal. I have every reason to believe she will meet that goal. I wish more students could be as goal-oriented and hard-working as this young lady. I am so proud of everything she has done and, whether she ends up working for NASA or not, I will continue to be very proud of her.
Item number two: I discovered a water main break. I was home sick from work Wednesday (I am already feeling 99% recovered) when I noticed that the ditch in front of the house was filled with water. Except when we get heavy rain, this almost never happens, and when it does it drains quickly. I saw that water was coming out of the culvert that crosses under the road fairly steadily. This bugged me and a few hours later I went outside and took a closer look. The ground was beyond saturated along the ditch and, when I checked the other end of the culvert, no water was entering from the other side. To make a long story short, I ended up calling the water department on a hunch and sure enough, the water main was leaking about fifteen feet further up the road. They ended up shutting off the water to the whole street, digging a huge hole and fixing the leak. When I mentioned to Cara (by cell phone as she was on her way home) what had happened, she was impressed. But not with my discovering the leak, but by the fact that I actually called the water district myself.
Update on Seth: Seth is in Vermont working at Sugarbush Ski Resort for the winter. He is making snow for the resort, working very hard, and living in a small apartment near Sugarbush. He sounds very happy and Cara and I are very proud of him. His girlfriend is in Europe and will be back right before Christmas, so the separation is tough on him, but in the long run, it should be strengthen the relationship. I know when Cara and I were first dating, I was in Belfast and she was in Fort Kent and, looking back, I think it helped to strengthen our relationship. Not that I would want to do that all over again.
First, I got an email today from a former student of mine. When I taught sixth grade, for a couple of years I taught science, in addition to math. I had very little background in science, so I taught what I knew: space. I did a unit on the space program as well as a unit on astronomy. My kids really seemed to enjoy the units. One girl in particular really was especially motivated by the space unit. She emailed me this week. She is going to school at Florida Institute of Technology, with an interest to perhaps work at NASA, perhaps as an astronaut. She was telling me about the program she is in. She has recently been at Kennedy Space Center, where she was taken out to a launchpad, with a Space Shuttle sitting there all ready to launch (scheduled for November 14). I was very impressed. I love hearing from former students, but I particularly like to hear from this former student. This is a young lady who set her sights on working for NASA from the time she was young, perhaps even in sixth grade. She has worked very hard, in school, by attending space camps, and now in college, to meet her goal. I have every reason to believe she will meet that goal. I wish more students could be as goal-oriented and hard-working as this young lady. I am so proud of everything she has done and, whether she ends up working for NASA or not, I will continue to be very proud of her.
Item number two: I discovered a water main break. I was home sick from work Wednesday (I am already feeling 99% recovered) when I noticed that the ditch in front of the house was filled with water. Except when we get heavy rain, this almost never happens, and when it does it drains quickly. I saw that water was coming out of the culvert that crosses under the road fairly steadily. This bugged me and a few hours later I went outside and took a closer look. The ground was beyond saturated along the ditch and, when I checked the other end of the culvert, no water was entering from the other side. To make a long story short, I ended up calling the water department on a hunch and sure enough, the water main was leaking about fifteen feet further up the road. They ended up shutting off the water to the whole street, digging a huge hole and fixing the leak. When I mentioned to Cara (by cell phone as she was on her way home) what had happened, she was impressed. But not with my discovering the leak, but by the fact that I actually called the water district myself.
Update on Seth: Seth is in Vermont working at Sugarbush Ski Resort for the winter. He is making snow for the resort, working very hard, and living in a small apartment near Sugarbush. He sounds very happy and Cara and I are very proud of him. His girlfriend is in Europe and will be back right before Christmas, so the separation is tough on him, but in the long run, it should be strengthen the relationship. I know when Cara and I were first dating, I was in Belfast and she was in Fort Kent and, looking back, I think it helped to strengthen our relationship. Not that I would want to do that all over again.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Forgive my Ignorance
Being a white man from Maine, I had no idea of the impact that Barack Obama's Presidential election victory would have on people, particularly on African-Americans. I had no idea how much it would mean to blacks to have a black man elected President. Now, seeing the reaction of so many people, both black and white, but particularly black, on the news, in magazines and newspapers and on the Internet, makes me wonder where I have been. It makes me see that I was missing something.
I though I understood the significance of having an African-American man elected President. May times over the years, I have had conversations with my students at school about how far overdue this country was in elected an African-American or a woman to the position of President. Yet, I guess I grossly underestimated how much of an impact this would have on the African-American community. Where was I?
To see Jessie Jackson openly weeping on television, to see Oprah Winfrey's reaction on her show the next day, to see Condeleezza Rice interviewed, and to hear many black people interviewed on television sent chills down my spine. But the clincher was seeing Oprah interview Will Smith talk about how much it meant to him, personally. Where was I?
I can partly blame it on where I live. I live in Maine, in an area that is 99% white. In school, I can count on one hand how many black students I have in class each year, many years I have had just one, or sometimes none. We have no African-Americans on our teaching staff. There are no black people in my neighborhood. But, this is no excuse.
How could I not see how important it is to see an African-American elected President? How could I not see how important this is to a people who were enslaved for generations less than 150 years ago? How could I not see how special this would be to a people who only gained their basic civil rights 40 years ago? How could I not see? Am I blind?
In hindsight, I understand just how important this is. Many people interviewed said they did not think they would see this in their lifetime. I think I am starting to understand. The only thing I can relate this to is when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 after 86 years of coming oh so close. And yet, this comparison is not even close. It's probably insulting to African-Americans to even say it might compare. But I know how much the Red Sox winning meant to me. It brought me to tears. It was something I thought I would never see. Now, magnify that a thousand-fold and you might get close.
My ignorance is unforgivable. Hopefully my eyes have begun to open.
I though I understood the significance of having an African-American man elected President. May times over the years, I have had conversations with my students at school about how far overdue this country was in elected an African-American or a woman to the position of President. Yet, I guess I grossly underestimated how much of an impact this would have on the African-American community. Where was I?
To see Jessie Jackson openly weeping on television, to see Oprah Winfrey's reaction on her show the next day, to see Condeleezza Rice interviewed, and to hear many black people interviewed on television sent chills down my spine. But the clincher was seeing Oprah interview Will Smith talk about how much it meant to him, personally. Where was I?
I can partly blame it on where I live. I live in Maine, in an area that is 99% white. In school, I can count on one hand how many black students I have in class each year, many years I have had just one, or sometimes none. We have no African-Americans on our teaching staff. There are no black people in my neighborhood. But, this is no excuse.
How could I not see how important it is to see an African-American elected President? How could I not see how important this is to a people who were enslaved for generations less than 150 years ago? How could I not see how special this would be to a people who only gained their basic civil rights 40 years ago? How could I not see? Am I blind?
In hindsight, I understand just how important this is. Many people interviewed said they did not think they would see this in their lifetime. I think I am starting to understand. The only thing I can relate this to is when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 after 86 years of coming oh so close. And yet, this comparison is not even close. It's probably insulting to African-Americans to even say it might compare. But I know how much the Red Sox winning meant to me. It brought me to tears. It was something I thought I would never see. Now, magnify that a thousand-fold and you might get close.
My ignorance is unforgivable. Hopefully my eyes have begun to open.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
School Consolidation
In MSAD 56 where I teach and in MSAD 34 where I live, we have just voted to consolidate our school districts. Despite much trepidation on the part of many people, the vote was really not that close and both school districts voted to combine, beginning in July 2009, less than a year away.
Not that the state gave us much choice. It is a law that schools must consolidate unless they are already a certain size. Then they left it up to the people to vote. However, if the people decided not to consolidate, the state was going to fine the school district a huge chunk of their funding. The loss of funds would devastate any school district that said no. I doubt MSAD 56 could have continued to function without the state funds. I suspect a third of the teaching staff would have been let go and the smallest of our three elementary schools would have been forced to close. Maybe even the smallest two. I suspect those of us who survived the cuts would have had more than thirty students per classroom.
Luckily, the people of both school districts made the only decision they could: to consolidate. For good or for bad, we will soon be one school district. I suspect the good will far outweigh the bad. Then again, I usually see the glass half full.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Voting
I voted today.
You know, it feels good to vote. It feels like you did a good deed when you vote. I'll admit, I don't vote every year, but when I do it makes me feel good.
It does make disgruntled when I hear people say, "it is your civic duty to vote." Hogwash, I say. It is everyone's right to vote, not a duty to vote. If someone does not feel they want to vote, then they have every right not to. Many people make a statement by not voting. "None of the above." I often wish that was one of the choices. Especially this year in the Presidential category. I don't like any of the candidates. I chose one and voted for him, but I am not happy with my choice. I picked the one I felt would do the best overall job, but let's face it, anyone with any common sense would never run for President. Who would want the job. Have you ever looked at a photograph of a President when he (I use he, because we have not had a she yet) first takes office and compare it to his photograph as he leaves office? He has aged double the number of years he was in office. Have you ever compared Abraham Lincoln's photos from his first and last years in office. He appears to have aged 25 years.
Anyway, voting makes me feel good, even when the choices don't.
You know, it feels good to vote. It feels like you did a good deed when you vote. I'll admit, I don't vote every year, but when I do it makes me feel good.
It does make disgruntled when I hear people say, "it is your civic duty to vote." Hogwash, I say. It is everyone's right to vote, not a duty to vote. If someone does not feel they want to vote, then they have every right not to. Many people make a statement by not voting. "None of the above." I often wish that was one of the choices. Especially this year in the Presidential category. I don't like any of the candidates. I chose one and voted for him, but I am not happy with my choice. I picked the one I felt would do the best overall job, but let's face it, anyone with any common sense would never run for President. Who would want the job. Have you ever looked at a photograph of a President when he (I use he, because we have not had a she yet) first takes office and compare it to his photograph as he leaves office? He has aged double the number of years he was in office. Have you ever compared Abraham Lincoln's photos from his first and last years in office. He appears to have aged 25 years.
Anyway, voting makes me feel good, even when the choices don't.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Fall Update
I realized the other day that it had been quite awhile since I had updated my blog. I thought I should do an update, I had intended to blog once or twice a week, but I just could not think what to say. Then I thought, if it had been so long, I guess it is time to update on everything that has happened since my last blog, this past summer.
School has started up again with a whole new crop of eighth graders. Things are a little different this year. I am on the first all-male teaching team in the history of Searsport District Middle School. We are sharing a principle with the high school. We have a new superintendent. And I have my nephew Jake in class this year. All those things combined make for a different and unique year. Now, I don't mean that in a bad way, nor necessarily a good way either. It is just different. Having Jake in class is definitely good, although odd at times. I don't know how Jake feels, but I do find it strange to have him in class, although I am totally enjoying the experience.
Seth, my stepson, has finished his job at the Jordan Pond House and has moved to Vermont to work at Superbush Ski Resort for the winter. He has definitely grown up and matured a lot in the last year and I am very proud of all he has done.
Cara is as beautiful as ever. I know I don't tell her this enough.
I have a new book out. It is called From George W. to George W.: The Presidents and their Cabinets. It is available exclusively on Amazon.com and has been out since late August. Sales so far have been practically non-existent, but I'm hoping it will catch on at some point. I have a couple projects in the works for other books and am hoping at least one of them will be ready before the end of 2008.
Now that Halloween has come and gone (we had no trick-or-treaters), I am looking forward to the Christmas season, which, as I have posted before, in my opinion starts now and goes through the first week of January. To me, Thanksgiving and New Years are a part of the overall Holiday Season.
Cara and I have battened down the hatches. In other words, we spent yesterday getting the house ready for the winter. This includes putting plastic over a few spots on the house that are drafty, taking care of lawn furniture, flower beds, the gas grill, the kayaks, and a number of other outdoor stuff. Winter is on its way, whether/weather we are ready or not.
I am going to try and update this blog more often, even if the entries are short. Bye for now.
School has started up again with a whole new crop of eighth graders. Things are a little different this year. I am on the first all-male teaching team in the history of Searsport District Middle School. We are sharing a principle with the high school. We have a new superintendent. And I have my nephew Jake in class this year. All those things combined make for a different and unique year. Now, I don't mean that in a bad way, nor necessarily a good way either. It is just different. Having Jake in class is definitely good, although odd at times. I don't know how Jake feels, but I do find it strange to have him in class, although I am totally enjoying the experience.
Seth, my stepson, has finished his job at the Jordan Pond House and has moved to Vermont to work at Superbush Ski Resort for the winter. He has definitely grown up and matured a lot in the last year and I am very proud of all he has done.
Cara is as beautiful as ever. I know I don't tell her this enough.
I have a new book out. It is called From George W. to George W.: The Presidents and their Cabinets. It is available exclusively on Amazon.com and has been out since late August. Sales so far have been practically non-existent, but I'm hoping it will catch on at some point. I have a couple projects in the works for other books and am hoping at least one of them will be ready before the end of 2008.
Now that Halloween has come and gone (we had no trick-or-treaters), I am looking forward to the Christmas season, which, as I have posted before, in my opinion starts now and goes through the first week of January. To me, Thanksgiving and New Years are a part of the overall Holiday Season.
Cara and I have battened down the hatches. In other words, we spent yesterday getting the house ready for the winter. This includes putting plastic over a few spots on the house that are drafty, taking care of lawn furniture, flower beds, the gas grill, the kayaks, and a number of other outdoor stuff. Winter is on its way, whether/weather we are ready or not.
I am going to try and update this blog more often, even if the entries are short. Bye for now.
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