Budget Woes...

Well the the long, painful process of developing a school budget for next year is finally winding down. A draft of the FY 11 budget was presented to the school committee last week and hopefully, at their next meeting it will be approved and we can move on. To say that this budget is austere is an understatement. Showing an actual decrease of 0.9%, it is the product of significant sacrifice on the part of many people in order to ensure that the essential programs for our students will be maintained. I commend the teaching faculty for agreeing to accept a 2% increase this year and to extend their contract another year for an additional 2%. The decision to accept five furlough days also represents an additional financial sacrifice well beyond the loss of valuable time for professional development. The other bargaining units, consisting of the administrative assistants, teaching assistants, and custodial staff, are all facing a wage freeze for the coming year and are also to be commended for their willingness to do their part. The administrative team also accepted a 2% increase for the coming year. All of this sacrifice was made in recognition of the difficult times we all face but mostly it was all about trying to preserve as much as possible of what we know makes our school system excellent. In addition to the wage and salary concessions made by all, there were further cuts throughout the district in supplies, athletics, and programs. Make no mistake, we will get by next year with this lean budget, but each and every one of the additional cuts hurts and, in some small way, detracts from our ability to sustain our level of excellence.

This has been a hard few months to arrive at this point in the budget process. We know that there is more hard work ahead next year as we all try to make do with less. So, there is little joy as we head into the holidays, but I think it is safe to say that there is a comfort in knowing that this was truly a collaborative effort to make the sacrifices that were necessary in the interest of doing what is right for our students. There is not much that is more noble than that!

If you get the chance over the next few weeks and months, thank a teacher, a secretary, a custodian, a member of the school committee, or anyone who is fortunate enough to work in the Chatham Public Schools for what they have done for all of our kids.

Once again, Happy Holidays to all!

The Best of Times, and the Worst...

I generally enjoy the weeks leading up to the winter holidays. The joy of anticipation mixed with decorations, Christmas music, family gatherings, and general good will make this time of year special. It is a happy time for most people and it is hard not to feel good even though the days are getting shorter and I often start and end my work day in the dark. As I said, I really do enjoy the holiday season. But there is one aspect of it I do not enjoy. It seems that as soon as December arrives the demands on my time increase ten-fold. Committee meetings, budget meetings, winter sports events, and various other engagements at which my attendance is expected, all seem to compress the time before the winter break and that is certainly stress-inducing. It seems as if I am out several nights a week beyond my usual evening obligations. Make no mistake, most of the events I attend are thoroughly enjoyable and some are even holiday-related social events, however it often feels as if I have little time for myself or my family. Lest I sound like an administrative Grinch, I really do enjoy watching our students perform whether on the stage, on the basketball court or hockey rink, or in some other venue. I just wish the events didn't all happen so close together during a time when I would rather sit back, relax and enjoy the coming holidays.

Well, it is time to turn my attention to preparing for tonight's School Committee budget meeting. I have just enough time to review my budget, head home for a quick dinner and then get back to school for the meeting. The latter effort made all the more difficult because of the relaxing comfort of the wood stove on a cold night.

Given my apparent inability to write in my blog on a regular basis, I should take advantage of this opportunity to wish everyone who reads my blog a joyous, peaceful holiday season and a happy, prosperous New Year. Perhaps I can find some spare time to craft a resolution to be more faithful and timely in my blog posts in the new year.

Got Juice...?

Last week, Harwich High School principal Kevin Turner and I attended a meeting of the newly- formed Harwich-Chatham Regionalization Committee where we discussed the relative strengths of our respective schools, the problems faced by small schools with declining enrollments and, more importantly, what a merger of the two schools would look like should that occur. I think we did a pretty good job of identifying the benefits that would result from regionalization. However, we are aware that there is a long road ahead with many obstacles to overcome. That will be the task of the new committee. For our part, we appreciate being asked for our input and have both enjoyed the discussions we have had over the past few months because it is exciting to develop a vision for a new school and dream about how we might be able to improve teaching and learning and increase opportunities for our students.

Apparently that excitement was apparent to reporter Alan Pollack who, in his article in the Chronicle described us as "juiced up." (http://www.capecodchronicle.com/chatnews/chat111209_3.htm) I am not sure I would go that far, however given the potentially dire consequences of doing nothing in the face of clear demographic data, declining enrollments, and increasing costs, the alternative does inspire some sense of optimism. That evening we spoke at length about capacity, sustainability, and viability and how regionalization, in our view, would affect those issues. It is clear that before too long we, both Harwich and Chatham, will need to take some action to ensure that we both can continue to provide quality educational opportunities for our students. That, as we said several times during our presentation, is the ultimate "bottom line." Ultimately, it will be up to the citizens of both towns to decide whether to regionalize or not. However, any action that is taken should be governed by how that decision positively impacts our children. Now that is something I can really get "juiced up" about!

Greetings and Conversations...

I am very happy I that I avoided establishing this blog as some daily musing on my part. Even if it were a weekly venture, I would be deemed a dismal failure. Time and the other demands of my job always seem to get the better of me. It's not that I do not have ideas to share or things to say; I often wake up in the night and process weighty topics worthy of this space. Somehow those ideas never make it to the blog in a timely fashion. All I can do is try to be a bit more regular in posting comments and ideas or get up at 3:00 AM and write a post!

One thing I have been thinking about lately was prompted by several recent inquiries by parents. They asked why I am often seen standing out in front of the school nearly every morning (I tend to draw the line on windy, rainy mornings!). In response, I often joke that it is my way of preparing for my dream job when I retire...to be a greeter at Walmart! The real answer, however, is quite simple. I enjoy greeting the students as they arrive to begin their day, yawning from lack of sleep, grumpy at the perceived inconvenience of having to rise at such an early hour in order to learn, and most often armed with a Dunkin' Donuts' latte, hot chocolate, or an occasional iced coffee. I wish them a "good morning", compliment them on a great game played the previous day, or thank them for coming to school on time. I almost always get a "good morning" in return and, more often than not, a smile thrown in for extra measure. For those of you who are intimately familiar with adolescents, that is no small feat at 7:25 AM!!

I also enjoy waving to all of the loving, supportive parents who also rise at an inconvenient hour to brave the cold, the traffic congestion, and the aforementioned grumpy adolescent, in order to further their child's education by depositing him or her at our door. We provide free bus service but most parents prefer to drive their children to school. There is something special about that despite the traffic headache it frequently causes. I think it is one of the many things that sets Chatham apart from other schools and communities. It's all about family.

So, if parents are willing to make that sacrifice to drop their children off, I can certainly find the time to spend a few minutes outside greeting them as they arrive. Actually, except on really cold days when I lose sensation in my toes, I really do enjoy it. In many ways, it is a great way for me to start my day. Now, should the bitter cold morning ever come when a student steps out of a vehicle and hands me a small coffee, black-no sugar, that will definitely make my day!

Promethean Revealed...

I sat in a math classroom the other day observing an interesting lesson. I was struck by just how much I did not understand and I began thinking of my experiences in math class more than forty years ago. I finished my freshman year with an A in Algebra I and had dreams of a career as a civil engineer. Those dreams crashed head-on into a major roadblock...sophomore Geometry. I had a teacher who was also a football coach. Every class was exactly the same...review the 40 or so problems we had done for homework, learn about a new concept, and then do more problems to finish the class and 40 more for homework. And so it went every day for three years because I had the same teacher for Algebra II and Trigonometry. No wonder I disliked math by the time I graduated and that I had not been all that successful either.

So I pondered my dismal math experience as I sat in the class and watched with amazement and envy as students in this particular class were totally engaged in a lesson reviewing a series of problems with which they had experienced some difficulty on a test the previous day. Aside from the totally different approach to instruction, the one glaring difference was that the whole lesson was planned and presented using a new interactive Promethean board. The problems were projected on the white board and students used various tools to write on the board and solve the problems. But far more importantly, students got to respond to questions and provide individual answers to the problems. Percentages of correct responses were displayed on the screen which provided both the teacher and the students with instant feedback as to how they did. Watching students that engaged and using technology so effortlessly was pretty neat but not surprising. What we know is that students today are definitely wired differently in the ways in which they use technology. (Ever watch a kid type and send a text message on a cell phone secreted in the pocket of a sweatshirt?) This new piece of technology takes advantage of that skill and facility and enhances both teaching and learning for our students.

If these interactive tools had been around decades ago, I might have been more engaged in math and would possibly be reflecting on a long career of designing roads and bridges and writing about that in my blog.

As always, please let me know what you think.

Regionalization...A Few Small Steps

Last week I met with Principal Kevin Turner of Harwich High School and our respective superintendents to have an initial conversation about merging our two schools to create a new, regional school.

Let me state up front that I am skeptical about any attempt to create a regional school district between the two towns. Having spent twenty-eight years as a teacher and administrator at Harwich High School, I was present for two of the last three discussions of this controversial topic. All, of course, ended in failure. That, in fact, may happen again, but what seems to be different this time is that the demographic data suggest that over the next decade our two school districts may experience real difficulty maintaining educational viability and we may see a significant diminution in the services and opportunities we will be able to provide for our students. So with that reality as a backdrop and as committees from each town prepare to meet and discuss the feasibility of some form of regionalization, we met over lunch and had a very positive, productive conversation which focused solely on a vision of what a new regional high school would look like.

We all agreed that a new combined school of just under 600 students would provide increased opportunity for all students in academics, the performing arts, athletics, and co-curricular activities. We discussed the potential for increasing Advanced Placement courses, foreign language offerings, and upper-level science courses. But most of all, we talked about the importance of creating a totally new school that would draw upon and incorporate the strengths of both schools to create an entirely new educational venture. We even explored the possibility of developing an International Baccalaureate curriculum and becoming an IB school which would emphasize rigor, globalization, and 21st century skills.

So, at this point we are just having an interesting conversation about possibilities. I know I speak for many in Chatham when I say that we have an excellent school that does a wonderful job of providing an education for our students. Could the education we provide be enhanced by regionalization? Absolutely! But the bottom line is at what cost. How would a merger affect our positive school culture? Of all that we currently offer our students, what might get lost in the transition? These questions and many others will demand answers before the process goes too much further. What we know is that much of the best we have to offer like the Community Internship program, We The People, our strong science curriculum, the block schedule, and our integration of technology will have to be part of the bargain. And, before too long, there will need to be an opportunity for students, parents, faculty, and community members to provide their input. As we go forward, it is important that everyone keep an open mind and a focus on what is ultimately the most critical aspect of the whole discussion...what is in the best interest of our students.

As for now, we are just talking. Let me know what you think.

Something to Celebrate...

Well, the 2009 MCAS results have gone public and the Cape Cod Times has done it again. They devoted a whole page to the Cape and Islands schools' results allowing for the obvious comparisons to be made be readers. Hopefully those who scan the scores and draw conclusions about the deficiencies or merits of one school over another will understand that these scores only represent one small slice of what truly defines a school. Admittedly, they are a critical slice as they determine who will ultimately receive a diploma or not.

For Chatham, our students' results were outstanding. We improved overall and had over 90% of our students in Advanced or Proficient in all three areas. Most spectacular were our Science scores where 55% of our current juniors scored in the Advanced category. As principal of a small school where only 50 students take the tests each year, I know all too well that there can be wide fluctuation from year to year as each student represents 2%. However, I have to say to all who will listen, I am very pleased with this years results, but more importantly, I am so very proud of this junior class and all of their teachers. Together we have worked hard to improve. The teachers spent hours analyzing data and modifying their curriculum and the students took the tests seriously and did their best, which is all we ever asked of them.

I am so proud of our students and their performance that I wanted to recognize them in a special way. So, yesterday at lunch in the cafeteria I congratulated them in front of the whole school. As a token of recognition, we presented each junior with a voucher good for one ticket to the October Homecoming dance. That same voucher is also going to get them a free lunch today on me as as small way of saying, "Thanks for your great effort on the MCAS tests and for making us so proud."

That brings me to my last point. I am pleased that we received some publicity in this morning's Cape Cod Times but I was disheartened to read of my alleged quote on page one about giving students a reward for their performance. The truth is, I never said that. In fact, I went out of my way to point out in my conversation with Mr. Brennan that this was not a reward but a simple celebratory recognition for all of the juniors. I know it may seem like a matter of semantics, but I am not a big fan of material rewards, believing that the most meaningful rewards are those which are intrinsic. If I felt that some material reward would boost MCAS scores I'd be springing for a free trip to Disney World not a six dollar ticket to a dance! Our students are justifiably proud of their accomplishments. The tickets and lunch are just icing on the cake. Knowing that their hard work, dedication, and effort resulted in their own personal success and in an MCAS performance that placed our school community - our students, teachers, and parents - among the top 15% of all of the schools in the Commonwealth should be the real reward. I know it is for me.

As always, I would like to know what you think.

Freshmen Parent Orientation

Last Wednesday evening we held our first annual orientation for parents of freshmen. The Chatham PTO provided a delicious dinner and several staff members presented information on a variety of important topics. I gave an overview of iParent, the program which enables parents to have access to their children's grades and other student information. Guidance counselor, Rick Gifford, spoke about a variety of academic issues such as scheduling, the honors program and the importance of good attendance. School psychologist and SADD advisor, Bethany Valine, got the parents' attention by outlining the dangers that young people face today, including alcohol, drugs, texting while driving, sexual behavior, and the potentially predatory nature of the Internet. School nurse Pat Vreeland wrapped the evening up by providing a number of excellent tips on parenting teens.

The dinner was great, the meeting was reasonably well-attended, and the presentations were well-received. However, we learned some important things from the feedback we received from the evaluation sheets parents filled out. First of all, we need to do a better job of getting the word out about the evening. I accept the responsibility of not notifying parents sooner. I did send out a ConnectEd message the evening before the meeting, but had intended to send an invitation letter to parents as soon as school began on September 3rd. I neglected to do that and apologize for the oversight. Some parents said that while the information we presented was important and timely, the evening went on a bit too long. We felt that too, and next year we plan to offer a more interactive panel presentation fielding parent questions rather than speaking at parents. Lastly, we regret that we did not provide an opportunity for parents to introduce themselves and make connections with each other. This is critical especially for those school choice parents in attendance who might not know any other parents in the system. After all, we said many times that evening that parents need to communicate with each other to help keep their kids safe and to share parenting strategies and yet, we did not offer the opportunity to make those initial connections. We will do a much better job next year! Oh, we will also bring pens to the next session!!

Overall, we were all delighted with this first effort. And in conclusion, I need to emphasize that this evening's event was the result of the work of a SADD task force made up of school administrators, teachers, students, parents, and members of the police department that met several times last Spring to brainstorm ways to keep our kids safe. This is a critical job which we take very seriously and we are already planning next year's meeting as well as other things we can do as a team to accomplish our goals during the coming year.

As always, please let me know what you think.

Well, Labor Day has come and gone and we are now back in school. Coming back early as we did last week made a big difference. Students and teachers were able to "hit the ground running" today after spending last week going over expectations and getting initial assignments underway. We have had an exceptionally positive school opening and that bodes well for yet another successful school year.

Though it apparently had little impact on our student body, the controversey over President Obama's speech to the nation's students today was somewhat disconcerting. I have had a difficult time understanding why there was any meaningful oppostion to his speech. I watched it with students today and thought that his message was right on target...take responsibility for your own learning, education is essential to future success, overcome challenges and avoid making excuses which get in the way of learning.... These are the same messages we try to convey to our students each and every day. Even for people who disagree with his politics or his style, he is still the President of the United States and we all owe him the respect that is due that office, especially when he says he has a positive message for our young people. I believe our students receieved the message well and, I must say that I am proud of our superintendent and my colleagues on our administrative team for making the decision to air the speech for our students. I believe we served our students well today and we will all take President Obama's message to heart and carry it forward throughout this new school year.

As always, I would be interested in what you think.

Who says blogging is easy...?

Somehow, though not surprisingly, two months have slipped by since my last post. With A P exams, MCAS, Graduation and all of the usual year end activities it seemed difficult to find time to write about what was going on. Interestingly, whenever I was motivated to post something I did not have the time to do it. When I had the time, the motivation was nowhere to be found.

One might think now that the school year has come to an end, that I would have more time for other pursuits such as blogging. However, sadly that is not the case. As soon as we wrap up the last school year, we take a deep breath and a few days off and then it is back to work preparing for the new school year. Such is the cyclical nature of the education business. And the best part is looking forward to the start of school in September when everything is fresh and clean, students are reasonably eager to get back to a familiar routine and the excitement of another year begins.

So, this summer while we are working to prepare for another year, I hope to write about some of the issues with which I will be dealing such as the shifting demographics of the Lower Cape, regionalization, creating more ways to integrate aspects of engineering into our science, technology and mathematics curricula, infusing more creativity and innovation across our curriculum, and ways to incorporate 21st century skills in virtually everything we do in our school.

I am currently reading an interesting book written by Sir Ken Robinson entitled The Element, subtitled How Finding your Passion Changes Everything. It is a fascinating book about how schools tend to stifle creativity, why that is a bad thing, and what we can do about it. I am looking forward to hearing him speak at a conference in a few weeks. I will certainly react to what I hear from Dr. Robinson in this space at a later date. If you are interested you can view a captivating brief speech he gave a few years ago by visiting the TED site at: http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Let me know what you think.

Random Thoughts While Proctoring an A P Exam...

We have begun the process of administering Advanced Placement exams which is always a time-consuming and stressful process. Regardless of how well or not our students do on their A P exams, I am continually impressed by how much our students learn and how accomplished they have become by challenging themselves with these rigorous courses. I was also recently reminded of how beneficial taking A P exams can be when I read the resume and transcript of a candidate who has applied for a teaching position at our school. He took four A P courses and exams in high school and was able to receive sophomore status in college, no doubt saving himself or his family a significant amount of tuition expense. I must also say that initiative like that, not to mention impressive academic success, certainly catches one's attention on a resume!



Speaking of teaching positions, applications have been pouring in for the four teaching positions we need to fill for the coming year. Approaching the daunting process of screening and interviewing the applicants and making recommendations to the superintendent as to appointments, I am struck by the mixed feelings I have been experiencing. On the one hand while I am happy for those who are leaving us, I am saddened by their departure. Collectively they represent more than seventy years of teaching experience at CHS. So, we wish Mr. Flaherty, Mr. Slagle, and Mrs. Fichtel well in their retirement and offer best wishes to Ms. Frostholm as she heads off to law school, and we are also excited about what four new teachers will bring to our school culture. There is no doubt that all four departing teachers will be difficult to replace, but we hope to bring the best and the brightest to our school full of new enthusiasm and dedication to challenge our students and help them grow. Our hope is to have all four new staff members on board well before the end of this school year.



Lastly, a significant number parents have signed up for an iParent account and have been able to access their child's grades, attendance, and other school data. We are happy to be able to provide this access but I am wondering how useful parents are finding this new access. Are there any problems? Are there classes where grading and homework information is scarce? Unfortunately, we cannot see what parents see in iParent so any feedback you can provide would be very helpful. Also, please remember that if you are experiencing log in difficulties or any other problems using iParent all you need to do is send me an email and I will do what I can to resolve your issue.

Got Spirit?

Occasionally, I hear comments about the apparent lack of school spirit at Chatham High School which has caused me to spend some time thinking about the issue. First of all, school spirit is difficult to measure but generally people believe it exists when they observe students attending sporting events and supporting their peers who are athletes. More specifically, school spirit can and should be measured by the number of students who get involved in other school activities beyond athletics. If we use these two measures and apply them to CHS we get a mixed message. Admittedly, attendance at sporting events has not been great, however participation on interscholastic teams and in various clubs and activities in the school has been very good, with some groups like the Animal Welfare club growing significantly.

I think to fully understand the state of school spirit in our school or any other, one has to expand the definition a bit. To me, school spirit is defined as students demonstrating pride in their school which can happen in a number of ways. Every day at CHS I see students wearing school athletic apparel, proudly displaying the school name or "blue devil" logo. More importantly, I believe pride in one's school is quietly displayed in the way students treat their school facility. The lack of vandalism and graffiti as well as the general cleanliness of the building at the end of the day all suggest that students care about and are proud of their school. This is clearly evident at Chatham High School.

Last month we had an amazing, enthusiastically supported spirit week celebration, culminating in one of the most competitive and spirited games' assemblies I can recall. School spirit was readily vivible throughout the week. However, I would contend that, in so many quiet ways, school spirit is alive and well in our school throughout the year. That is not to say we couldn't use a little more of the vocal school spirit to support all of our athletes.

Spring and Thoughts of Scheduling....

I love spring! Not only for the hint of warmer weather it promises because, for those of us on Cape Cod, we know that to be a cruel illusion. No, I love spring for the promise of the new school year it suggests. Every spring I begin the scheduling ritual and I am always encouraged because the process, though often tedious and frustrating, is also an exciting time of renewal. Though they would be reluctant to admit it, students are also excited to be selecting their courses for next year, a process which suggests that they are inching closer to that goal of graduating from high school and moving on the the next challenging phase of their lives. For me the scheduling process is a time of hope and optimism. It is also a time of challenges and ultimate success. Building a master schedule for a small school is daunting to say the least. Most of the courses we offer at CHS are singletons which makes conflicts inevitable. We ask students to indicate their course preferences and we do our best to accommodate them. Our first priority is to make sure every student gets what he or she needs and then we try to get them the courses they want. In a sense, we suggest to students the advice in the Rolling Stones song, "You can't always get what you want, but in the end you'll find, you get what you need!"

The real fun begins after the master schedule is set and the conflicts abound. Resolving schedule conflicts is like solving a Rubiks Cube. We make a few changes here and resolve a few conflicts only to create five more conflicts somewhere else in the schedule. But, in the end, we are encouraged that all of our students will have a schedule and we will be ready to go come September. That's what keeps me going throughout the spring and why I enjoy it so much!

For those of you who sat down with your son or daughter and discussed course selection with them over the past few weeks...thank you! Most of the course requests are now in and they look very good. Students seem to be selecting courses which will challenge them and suggest that they are not just looking for an easy way out. You and they have done a wonderful job and managed to get the forms in on deadline. Now it's time for me to get to work!

Open House or Empty House?

A few weeks ago, just after the start of our new semester, we held our second Open House of the year so parents could meet their children's second semester teachers, hear about their course syllabi and their expectations for the semester. We also hoped that for many parents it would provide an opportunity to open up a line of communication with teachers via phone or email.

Now, we are always pleased to see parents in our school and we enjoy talking about what we teach, but more importantly, we love to talk about student learning and progress. However, it was rather disappointing to see so few parents attend our recent Open House. We instituted this second evening a few years ago at the request of a number of parents who felt it was important that they get to meet thier children's second semester teachers. We certainly agree and will continue to offer that opportunity in the future.

On the assumption that perhaps there is something wrong with the way we structure our Open House, I would like to pose two questions to parents:

First, if you did not attend our recent Open House, please let us know why. (This blog allows you to post anonymously so please let us hear from you.)

Second, what suggestions do you have to improve the Open House which might encourage more parents to attend?

I welcome and look forward to your feedback.

The Benefits of the Evaluation Process

I spent the first four days of this week at another school here in our Commonwealth serving on a NEASC evaluation team. The days were long and the work was hard, and in this case, made more difficult by the snow day which closed the school on Monday, typically the day when the majority of the necessary information about the school is gathered. However, the team persevered and by Wednesday we had written the draft of a report which will provide a road map for improvement the school will be able to use in the next few years.

Over the years I have served on a dozen visiting teams and I am continually amazed at just how much one can learn about the strengths and weaknesses of a school in such a short amount of time. Our own NEASC evaluation visit was exactly two years ago this month and the report that we received commended us for so many things we are doing well and provided us with close to thirty recommendations for improvement based on the accreditation standards to which we have agreed to adhere. In October, I will have to submit a Two Year Report to the Commission on Public Secondary Schools. Thanks to the work our faculty has accomplished since the visit, I will be able to report, in detail, that over half of the visiting committee's recommendations have been implemented. Look for that report to be posted on our web page when it is completed this fall.

Two years ago our NEASC report confirmed for us what we already knew; Chatham High School is a very good school! The two year report will suggest that we are getting even better!

Welcome to my blog! After many years of proselytizing about technology and the critical importance of 21st century skills, I figured it was about time I took my own advice and began using new technology to communicate. (Actually, blogging isn't that new...if I were really into new technology, I guess I should be "twittering"!) I don't think I am quite ready to take the plunge and create a Facebook page at this point, but this is a good first step.

My essential goal in initiating this blog is is to open up a new conduit for information and ideas to flow between me as the leader of our school and the parents, students, and community members I serve. At times I will post a question in search of feedback relating to school issues and policy, or solutions to things that just perplex me. I will also post my opinion on timely issues relating to the ever-changing nature of education or my reaction to something I have read, once again in hoping for feedback or just to generate a stimulating discussion.

So, parents, students, members of the community, if you are stimulated by something that appears on the blog, please join in the discussion. In the words of one of my not-so-favorite cable news commentators, "Keep it pithy", but by all means, let me know what you are thinking.