It has been five months since my friend disappeared. That is a long time. I haven’t seen a trace of my friend ever since. What black hole swallowed up my friend never to been seen or heard from again?
Delaware Bloggers
Echoes Of The Past
Delaware BloggersI reminded myself I had to update the links to other Delaware blogs today since a few new ones have been introduced. I did myself a favor and clicked on each link on the Delaware Blogs section to see which ones are still active and which aren’t. As a result, I’ve added many to a new list called “Closed Delaware Blogs”. I went a step further and found tons of old Delaware blogs and added those. Thanks to Kilroy’s Delaware, The Delaware Way and Delaware Liberal for providing those links. If you know of any old Delaware blogs that aren’t on my lists, please let me know. As a general rule, if someone hasn’t posted anything in at least a year, I am putting them on the closed list. There are a couple where I know the authors and know they are not planning to post anything anytime soon.
Blogging was around a long time before I entered the scene. I think it is important to see what others said in the past. Many of their thoughts are just distant echoes of what we hear today. Different people and places, but the overall themes are the same. Especially when it comes to education and politics. We are entering a new era next week, nationally and in Delaware. Things will change while some things will stay the way they have always been. Having met some of these former bloggers, I miss their writings. Especially Transparent Christina and Kavips. Both of them had such unique spins on education. I’m hoping Kavips has been lurking around the Delaware blogosphere just biding their time to come back. We shall see! I was just beginning as the seventh type was winding down and I would have liked to see what Mike O had to say about what has happened since. He comments but it is not the same. I could always go for more Steve Newton, but he seems resigned to posting on Facebook these days. I’ve seen blogs disappear not long after they first came out. Some of them were damn good too! It isn’t an easy thing, this not-for-profit-much-less-a-penny 21st century writing mechanism.
Support Delaware Blogs!
Delaware BloggersDelaware has a ton of blogs. I have no doubt there are some I don’t even know about. But there are many and they all provide unique points of view you won’t find elsewhere. These are things us bloggers do on our own time. These are just some of my favorites and some I don’t agree with all the time but they are still worth the read:
E.R. +Educators To The Rescue+
16 To Watch In 2016: The Delaware Bloggers
Delaware BloggersWe strike first. We don’t have to wait for a copy editor or an all-clear from the publisher. We are the copy editor. We are the publisher. You love us. You hate us. We show up at meetings when you least expect us. Some of you get nervous when you see us typing feverishly. We don’t get paid. We do it for the kids. We find you. We are opinionated and headstrong. We have allies and enemies. We know who has been naughty and nice. We are the tired. We are the alert. We don’t cut corners. We don’t aim to please. Election Season is coming. Fear Us. This is gonna be fun!
Another New Delaware Blogger: Welcome To This Crazy World “fixdeldoe”
Delaware BloggersWe have a new blogger in Delaware. With the very aptly timed name of fixdeldoe, I look forward to seeing more posts! I like what I’ve seen so far. Please go to https://fixdeldoe.wordpress.com/ and if you’re a blogger, please add them to your blogroll.
And check out some of the awesome posts Who’s Minding the Children has put up lately as well at https://hopeforourstudents.wordpress.com/ This blogger doesn’t cut corners and puts it all out there!
Both these blogs seem to be written by teachers, for teachers and parents. Since Mike Matthews doesn’t blog anymore, let’s give these newbies a shot! Fresh perspectives are always good, especially these days. We need all the voices we can get! The only thing I don’t like, and this is absolutely no fault of these bloggers, is that they are anonymous. Teachers have been forced to be silent on many issues. I can’t wait until the day the chains break and they can speak freely without fear of repercussion. Until that day, and even after, I will support them as much as I can on here.
A Delaware Blog Returns At Last! Welcome Back Parents of Christina!
Delaware BloggersAfter a five-month absence, Parents of Christina is back! Parents of Christina was started by Harry and Melanie Curriden years ago to talk about their daughter with Autism as well as their struggles with the education system in Delaware. PoC could be very controversial at times, and I’m sure Governor Jack Markell didn’t always like to read it!
Sadly, Harry Curriden passed away last June. Understandably so, Melanie took a hiatus from the blog. But she’s back, and ready to give Delaware readers another spin on education in our state. Last Monday, Melanie wrote the following:
Monday, November 10, 2014
I’m back!
Since September, I have been unable to hit “publish” on several posts I started . When our lives change so do your priorities (that’s what I told myself anyway). My daughter has a way of making me see what truly matters.
Over the weekend we were having a talk about school and she mentioned autism. She understands autism makes certain things more of a challenge, but she knows I am extremely proud of her. She said to me “I despise autism.” Yes, despise hate is a word we try not to use in our home. I explained that autism is a part of her and she is much more than autism and I love her very much.
This was the first time she has wanted to talk about autism and it seemed very troubling to her, so I gave her some time. Later, I asked her what she didn’t like about autism and her response, “the sign at school—Delaware program.” She explains that she has gone to several schools that were “wrong” and wants to know why she can’t go back to a school helped her regain a love for learning.
I will stop about my daughter due to privacy issues, but PoC was created to inform and help other parents advocate for their children. Harry and I started PoC because we knew we weren’t along and then the issues all children are facing with education reform.
My blogging hiatus is over not only to speak for my daughter, but also because of the emails and Facebook messages I have received over the last month. PoC was not created or supported by the district due the honesty my late husband Harry and I shared, and that honesty will continue.
Welcome back Melanie! I can’t wait to read new articles from you. Your voice has been sorely missed around the Delaware blogging world! Readers can check out Parents of Christina at the following link: http://www.parentsofchristina.org/
A Message For Kilroy @KilroysDelaware @ed_in_de @dwablog @nannyfat @ecpaige #netde #eduDE
Delaware BloggersKilroy, I know you’re speaking tonight at the Red Clay Consolidated School District Board meeting. I wish I could have been there to cheer you on, but I have my own quest at the Capital board meeting. I know you will say the things the DOE doesn’t want you to say, but you will do it anyways. That’s what makes you Kilroy, as well as awesome. You are the voice of Red Clay, as well as education in Delaware. Your voice does matter! We are all proud of you and everything you have written and exposed. You got me into this immensely crazy Delaware blogging world, and I thank you for that.
I’m sure anyone concerned with the priority schools will be reading Kilroy’s Delaware tonight. If you don’t read Kilroy’s, you really should. 9 out of 10 times Kilroy has the lowdown before the other bloggers in the state even get a sniff!
Parents Of Christina Blog Writer Passes Away, A Great Man
Delaware BloggersHarry Curriden passed away last Monday. I never met the man in my life, but I was very sad about his death. Why? Because he helped his daughter to advocate for what she deserves, and he helped several other children through advocacy as well. Any person who does that is a hero in my book. The Delaware blogging world lost someone great, and I never knew him. I have been to his family’s blog several times, Parents Of Christina. In fact, I have it on my blog list on this site, and have since day one. I fully intend to read all of his family’s writings, because you never know when you can learn from someone who helped blaze the paths for advocacy in Delaware. His last post was on Father’s Day, a week ago. What a fitting tribute for a man who was the very essence of the word father. Harry was very invested in exposing things in our education world today, and I found this post from May 1st to be awesome!
http://www.parentsofchristina.org/2014/05/good-things-are-happening.html
I wanted to share a couple other links, to the Kavips and Children & Educators First blogs, where they knew him much better and gave great tributes to him:
http://elizabethscheinberg.blogspot.com/2014/06/condolences-to-parents-of-christina.html
http://kavips.wordpress.com/2014/06/21/death-comes-to-blogging/
Thank you Harry, for everything you did for so many children in our state. I have already listened to Fireflies a few times today. Rest in peace.
The Season Of Myths 