Opinions

The four-day school week

As school districts across Texas are planning the 2023-24 school year, many are deciding to switch from a traditional five-day week to four days. These districts cite teacher retention, recruitment, and overall cost savings as justification for making the change. During the 2022 school year, 41 districts had four-day weeks, up from 14 districts in 2021. It is alarming that so many districts have decided to move to a shorter school week despite the overwhelming data that shows the switch does not achieve cost savings more than 1-2% and it is not beneficial to student academic or social outcomes. Unfortunately, the uptick in the four-day school week is not expected to slow any time soon.

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Songs in the night

The first night, when I awakened at 2 a.m., (yes, I realize that’s actually morning), I wondered why the strains of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Beautiful” were circulating in my subconscious. Even then, in a trancelike sleep, I recalled that this song had appeared on the display of my car radio, as XM Sirius gave it another turn in the spotlight.

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Taking aim at UFOs

A month after China excused its apparent weather balloon as going rogue across America’s spacious skies, the squinty-eyed leader of the United States said he is establishing sharper rules to detect, monitor and even shoot down unknown aerial objects.

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Recalling spring storms

Spring brings the rebirth of earth after its winter hibernation.

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Hairspray is in our DNA

On a recent whirlwind trip to my hometown, I drove five hours and had exactly 15 minutes to get my luggage out of one car before driving another one, with my aunt in tow, to Broadway Under the Stars, on the grounds of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Ala.

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Movie industry fading to black

To no one’s fault but their own, the movie industry is fading to black. The theatrical term, fading out or fading to black, is used when a performance on stage is ending. It’s also appropriate for the entire industry. But instead of the chapter or scene going dark to give the crew time to change sets, it is signifying the taste of the audience.

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Confessions of a Valentine's Day Cynic

Something really surprising happened to me this year. No, I didn’t win the lottery or find a miracle pill to regrow my hair. It wasn’t anything like that. I actually made a big deal out of Valentine’s Day!

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F-word(s)

The prevalence of the f-word, sometimes called the f-bomb, is yet another sign that the world is going to hell…or, so it might seem. I find that troubling. I love words. I think everyone who uses the f-word simply has a limited vocabulary and no interest in improving it. I want to help: there are a lot of f-words out there which don’t deserve a tainted reputation.

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MTM

In my first apartment, I purchased my individual initials in a stocky, wooden block design and promptly hung them in a vertical pattern to replicate what I had seen in the apartment of Mary Tyler Moore.