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Obama appealed to virtue. And I think he was right. And the virtue I think we need above all others is practical wisdom, because it's what allows other virtues -- honesty, kindness, courage and so on -- to be displayed at the right time and in the right way. He also appealed to hope. Right again. I think there is reason for hope. I think people want to be allowed to be virtuous.
In many ways, it's what TED is all about. Wanting to do the right thing in the right way for the right reasons. This kind of wisdom is within the grasp of each and every one of us if only we start paying attention. Paying attention to what we do, to how we do it, and, perhaps most importantly, to the structure of the organizations in which we work, so as to make sure that it enables us and other people to develop wisdom rather than having it suppressed.
The BOLD was added for my emphasis. This is from Barry Schwartz's TED Talk presented in February 2009. He talks about the need for "practical wisdom".
"Practical wisdom," Aristotle told us, "is the combination of moral will and moral skill." A wise person knows when and how to make the exception to every rule...Here is the full TED Talk:
eat ¢ drink ¢ celebrate summer | |
Celebrate Summer with 3! | |
It's not too late to celebrate summer at 3! For the entire month of June, dine at 3 and receive a sealed envelope. Inside the envelope is a surprise gift voucher valid on your next visit to 3 before August 31, 2009. The voucher may be for a complimentary appetizer, an entree, or maybe even dinner on us! So come see us soon, and celebrate summer with 3! | |
Envelopes will be given out during lunch and dinner from June 1 to June 30, or while supplies last. One envelope will be given per table, per visit, in the dining room only. Envelopes must be presented by August 31, 2009. Vouchers are not valid unless envelopes are opened with your server present. This offer is valid at 3 only. Vouchers must be redeemed at time of reveal. No substitutions are available on this offer, and vouchers are not redeemable for cash. Tax, gratuity, and alcohol are not included on any voucher offers. | |
461 West Central Street (Route 140), Franklin, Massachusetts www.3-restaurant.com Visit our other Let's Eat, Inc. restaurants: SKY, Norwood, MA www.sky-restaurant.com and Sudbury, MA www.sky-restaurant.com |
Local twins John and Austin Brown brought something much more exciting than their favorite toys to school for show and tell yesterday.
They took Bruins forward Phil Kessel.
"This is our buddy Phil Kessel," Austin said to a crowd of his fifth-grade classmates gathered in the auditorium at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School.
The Browns were the winners of the "Show and Tell" experience sponsored by the Boston Bruins Foundation. According to the boys' father, Dan Brown, the family was looking to donate to the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon and saw this as the perfect way to contribute.
"I just thought it would be a great way to support a great cause and my kids are more than excited," Brown said.
Read the full article about Bruin Phil Kessel's visit to Franklin in the Milford Daily News here
The teachers union overwhelming approved a proposal to freeze their wages for one year, which will save an estimated 16 teachers' jobs, said School Committee Chairman Jeffrey Roy yesterday.
The Franklin Education Association voted 176-74 yesterday in favor of the proposal, which defers members' negotiated 2.5 percent pay raise through June 30, 2010, Roy said.
Union President Robert McLaughlin could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Read the full article on the teacher's deferment in the Milford Daily News here
I do not believe that the article states the correct number of school positions to be cut for this budget year. By my count, I show the following positions cut since FY 2003:
Franklin (MA) School Position Reductions | Total |
FY 2003 | -28 |
FY 2004 | -21 |
FY 2005 | -1 |
FY 2006 | -4 |
FY 2007 | -1 |
FY 2008 | -29 |
FY 2009 | -44 |
FY 2010 | -45 |
-172 |
"Our example to our children, to our families, and to the world around us isAnd the outlook for the week ahead:
constant. The question is not whether or not anyone is watching, the question is
what are they learning as they watch." Kirk Weisler
Franklin, MA-The Franklin Downtown Partnership announces the special activities planned for the next “Third Thursday”. Join downtown businesses for a “Girls Night Out” and discover how easy it is to get in touch with your creative side in this round robin of fun, relaxing activities for busy adults. Grab a friend and head to Franklin’s downtown for this special event.
There's a decent chance parents will not have to pay the sizable increases in fees for busing, athletics and extracurricular activities that was under consideration to help offset the budget deficit, said Superintendent Wayne Ogden.
The School Committee still must vote whether to bump up athletic fees to $200 per sport (now $150), extracurricular fees to $50 per activity (now $25), and $350 for busing (now $325).
Administrators calculated the cost for a family with three children, who each participated in one sport per season ($1,800 total), one extracurricular activity each, for the year ($150), and each taking the bus ($1,050), to total $3,000 annually, or 60 percent of the average Franklin tax bill.
"We deliberated a great deal about the need to increase fees to cover our rising costs at a time when the budget was being level-funded, versus the financial stress on families during our economic crisis," Ogden said.
"Plus, there was a very real possibility that increased fees might result in reduced participation in these programs," said Ogden.
Read the full article on activity fees in the Milford Daily News here
With the final budget still unsettled, if the fees are not raised, how will the budget end up balanced?
You can either increase revenue (increase fees in this case) or cut expenses (additional programs or personnel) to balance a budget. Stay in touch to find out what schools could look like when September 2009 rolls around.
“We’re cutting down to bare bones,” ... “We are cutting some services. We are taking no increase in pay on the town side. On the school side, teachers are giving up some pay days. We still don’t have a state budget. We are using estimated figures. If we’re wrong, we’re looking at additional cuts. People are unhappy.”Gee, this sounds familiar! We are not the only Franklin with budget troubles. Franklin, CT has similar woes. Read the full article in the Norwich Bulletin here
Amid the backdrop of the deaths this week of two teens linked to drinking, a report released today by a regional health foundation shows a drop in alcohol use among area high school students.
The biennial report, the MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey, uses responses from questionaires sent to middle and high schools in MetroWest and Greater Milford by the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation. Introduced in 2006, the report now includes data from 2008, allowing the first look at possible trends.
Between the two surveys, the proportion of high school students who reported drinking within a month of the questionnaire dropped from 42 percent to 39 percent.
Those using alcohol at some point in their lives, meanwhile, fell from 67 percent to 63 percent. And those recently consuming five or more drinks in a row binge drinking fell from 25 percent to 23 percent.
Click through to the Milford Daily News web site to down load the full report.
While the numbers are down for alcohol, they are up for marijuana. Given the recent tragedies involving local youth and drinking, clearly much work remains.
For my two cents; how much have parents/guardians changed their own behavior? They are the ones who are setting the example for the children to grow up with.
One quote I like makes this point:
"Our example to our children, to our families, and to the world around us is constant. The question is not whether or not anyone is watching, the question is what are they learning as they watch." Kirk Weisler
Speaker Robert A. DeLeo has appointed his chief advocate, Majority Leader Rep. James E. Vallee, D- Franklin, Majority as the principal House member of the legislative conference committee on ethics reform.
DeLeo credited Vallee with being the drafter of the stringent, far-reaching ethics and lobbying reform bill recently passed by the House and strongly applauded by government reform advocates.
The conference committee, consisting of three House members and three Senate members, is charged with resolving the differences between each chamber's versions of ethics reform legislation.
"I am honored to be part of crafting such an important piece of legislation," said Vallee. "Only when the citizens of Massachusetts see their legislators making bold moves to change the public perception will we prove that we are acting with nothing but the public interest at heart. I look forward to working with my House and Senate colleagues to negotiate a bill that will represent the strongest, most comprehensive, and meaningful overhaul of the way our government does business."
Read the full article about Rep Vallee and the ethics reform efforts in the Milford Daily News here
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Farmers already depend on the unpredictability of weather and nature each year so it was with some trepidation given the faltering economy that organizers of local farmers markets opened for business last week.
For now, farmers and organizers are optimistic for their harvest sales.
Framingham farmer Tom Hanson said the poor economy in an indirect fashion is fueling farmers markets. He believes people are slowing down, eating at home, and taking the time to come out to the market, while before they were too busy.
Jeff Cole, executive director of the Federation of Massachusetts Farmers Markets, said the downturn in the economy and a declining restaurant industry "leads us to conclude that folks are taking limited resources and making different choices on how they are going to spend, which seems to be in the direction of the markets."
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here. Note: there is no reference to Franklin in this article.
Did you know Franklin has a farmer's market? On the Town Common, Friday afternoons. You can visit the Federation of Massachusetts Farmers Markets website to sign up and receive an email alert to remind you of the market.
Several area communities and school districts have asked employees to break existing contracts and accept wage freezes, salary-increase deferrals, or other givebacks in the coming fiscal year to help prop up wobbly municipal finances.With the stakes high for both communities and public employees, municipal and school unions have generally turned down the requests, with reactions ranging from respectful mutual understanding on both sides to acrimony and suspicion.
In Franklin, the School Committee's chairman, fearing that the teachers union had not adequately briefed its members about the town's financial plight, used the online site YouTube to make a direct appeal to teachers. In a virtual Internet duel, the union used its own website to respond.
Whatever the relationship between employers and employees, there is a shared understanding of the need to save cash, as municipal revenues and local aid from the state go into freefall, according to local officials.
Read the full article in the Boston Globe here
The Franklin teachers are scheduled to vote on their latest negotiated agreement with the School Committee on Monday, June 15th.