Martha's blog

Looking for a Few Good Men

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 11:33:30 -0500

My cousin�s husband, Charlie Seymour, is a first grade teacher at James Monroe Elementary School in Santa Rosa, CA. Charlie is a rarity these days�he is the only male teacher at his school, and one of the few men teaching in his county. That makes Charlie part of the scant 9 percent of males who are elementary school teachers according to the most recent research available by the National Education Association. Only 24.9 percent of the nation's 3 million teachers are men.

Let's Move 'Em to Private Schools

Thu, 20 Jul 2006 16:30:11 -0500

I�m a product of the public schools�the public schools of New Orleans, no less. No, I�m not trying to be a poster child to lambast the Republicans for their proposal to spend $100 million on vouchers for low-income students in failing public schools around the country to attend private and religious schools.

Jason Kamras: One Heck of a Teacher

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 11:47:07 -0500

Jason Kamras is making the future look brighter for many Washington, DC students. Last April he was awarded with the title National Teacher of the Year, which was DC�s first. Kamras is profiled in today�s Washington Post ,and the article discusses his travels as the titular winner, his love of teaching math, and his positive remarks about No Child Left Behind (yes, *positive*, not a typo).

Thoughts on Health Insurance, or Lack Thereof

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 22:39:55 -0500

When it came to our health, my mother always crossed her fingers and kneeled at her bed at night, praying that my sister and I would not get sick. My mother, a single parent, didn�t have insurance�she couldn�t afford it, and like many folks, she lingered in limbo: she earned too much to qualify for Medicaid, but couldn�t afford private insurance.

Pick one: a) Fat b) Overweight c) Obese

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 09:47:10 -0500

I was a chubby kid. (I�m also a chubby mother because of a plus-40 pound weight gain during my pregnancy, but that�s a subject for another rant-worthy blog). My cousins called me chubby, my track coach called me chubby, and even my mom and grandfather called me chubby. Was I offended by this occasional term of endearment? Sure. I mean, would I call my daughter chubby if she was?

Dear Husband: A Smoky Lesson

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 15:14:50 -0500

We have a crisis on our hands. And it involves our lovely 5 month-old daughter. Her health and happiness could be affected by a nasty habit of yours: smoking.

You know the facts. You�ve always known. You know that smoking can cause certain cancers, lead to death, and cost thousands of dollars a year. And a recent report issued by the U.S. Surgeon General revealed that nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent.

Breastfeeding: Do It, or Your Child Suffers!

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 08:43:12 -0500

Here comes another guilt trip. According to a New York Times article published yesterday, public officials have determined that not breast-feeding may be hazardous to a baby�s health. I already knew that breastfeeding was best (It even says that on the cans of the formula I use!) but I didn�t know that feeding my daughter the powdery stuff could be harmful to her.

Newsflash: It�s not over, folks

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 08:47:59 -0500

About a week ago, I listened to Rush Limbaugh complain about not having a peaceful dinner when one his friends brought up the Avian flu as the next catastrophe to worry about. I suppose Rush deserves a nice meal to contemplate nothing but the peas on his plate (Rush, do you like peas?), but what�s important to note about his comment is that many, many folks feel that way, especially about New Orleans. Their thoughts are this : �New Orleans? I thought things were fine� or �New Orleans! Enough already!� Yeah, well just because my hometown has curiously left the radar of the national news things are still not-so great there.

Hooray for Dads and Daughters!

Fri, 02 Jun 2006 14:42:38 -0500

I�ve always loved Barbie. And I pooh-poohed any naysayer who complained Barbie contributed to stereotypes of women and to eating disorders�teens aspiring to attain Barbie�s highly unattainable proportions. Nonetheless, I�m cheering the organization, Dads & Daughters latest victory�successfully campaigning against Hasbro to scrap plans to make dolls based on the Pussycat Dolls, a musical sextet of very sexy and scantily-clad women.

Good TV, Bad TV

Thu, 25 May 2006 14:14:09 -0500

I�m trying to remember what I watched when I was 5 years old. I don�t remember. What I do remember is that I didn�t have a television in my room, but that�s not the case with many 5 year olds today. According to a Kaiser report�Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers and Their Parents�43% of 4 to 6 year olds have a television in their room. The most common reason parents name for having a TV in their child�s bedroom is that it frees up other TVs in the house so other family members can watch their own shows.

Too many volunteers?

Tue, 23 May 2006 08:02:30 -0500

Yesterday afternoon, I got a strange request. Lisa Derx, director of e-buddies�a non-profit that provides opportunities for e-mail friendships between an individual who has an intellectual disability and a peer who does not have an intellectual disability and the subject of a potential story I�d wanted to write about�requested that I not do a story on e-buddies.

What the mayor of New Orleans should be thinking about

Mon, 22 May 2006 13:08:12 -0500

On Saturday night, my husband and I sat in bed with our laptops and waited for 9pm. We were waiting for the polls to close in New Orleans�promptly at 8 pm (New Orleans is an hour behind DC). Specifically, we were waiting for the online results of the mayoral election�who had New Orleanians chosen to lead the city for the next four years? Hopefully, as voters entered the voting booths they thought of a couple of things: Which man would provide the best opportunities for my child? Which man would provide a safe and healthy environment for my child?