Mason Prep Leads in English Education, Too

Pleased to see that the independent schools association has recognized the Kreutner brothers' contributions to Charleston-area education, one for leading Mason Prep, where he has taught for 24 years, and one for heading the new University School of the Lowcountry.

Never having had the pleasure of meeting either, over my years of teaching high school English, I developed a healthy respect for Mason Prep's language arts program. It's not much of an exaggeration to state that I never encountered a Mason Prep graduate who didn't know grammar backwards and forwards, and never met a student from any other local school, public or private, who did (although two or three came close).

Perhaps you may think grammar knowledge "old-school," but I defy anyone to teach students ignorant of grammar how to punctuate properly (another lost art, I suppose!).

Congrats to both!

Perfection, Ya Think?

Thanks for identifying it for me!

"Camellias create a unique culture. Every variety of the flower bears a name, from those honoring people (for the perfume mogul who fancied Magnolia, there's Elizabeth Arden Blush) to the more esoteric monikers (Pink Perfection, one expert said, is the flower that grows at every grandmother's front door). Each name takes a spot on the International Camellia Registry."--Allyson Bird, Romancing the Camellia in Saturday's P & C.

Now, that's an expert!

"Pete" Lawrence: Definitely a Fisher of Men

Kudos to the P & C [I know, can you believe I said that?] on its feature of Arthur "Pete" Lawrence, leader of the West Side Neighborhood Association, in Saturday's edition. District 20 (the downtown school district) does have its leaders, although they're not always the ones making the most noise--just quietly getting the job done. For those of us who do not know Lawrence personally, the article provided some interesting background on a kindred spirit.

One note on his forming the Friends of Burke: Lawrence's comments on how the powers-that-be couldn't touch his job if he spoke the truth must have resonated with many who are concerned with the operations of CCSD and its Board of Trustees. Can anyone forget the "ambush" of Lawrence several months ago by members of the NAACP for his support of the new Charter School of Math and Science? That stand took real courage.

Circulating among District 20 residents is a letter to Lawrence and Leroy Connor, a fellow co-founder of the Friends of Burke, portions of which I am reposting here:

To many of us who live and/or work downtown and who value our downtown schools, you (Pete) have proven to be our experienced helmsman. Leroy has been your able watchman from the bridge and bow. The two of you continue to guide us safely through the night. Pete, you have been steadfast and in the forefront on the issue of quality schools for all, among the many other related concerns shared by peninsula residents. You cut a confident figure of leadership, even when our directions seemed unclear or the horizon wasn't in sight. Like a matched team of experienced boatmen, you and Leroy have used your talents in tandem to show us the way and teach us how to recognize dangerous obstacles. Then you've shown us how to turn these same obstacles into friendly landmarks and to recognize some of them as valuable opportunities.

I know these are analogies that might seem more appropriate to a Navy sailor than an Army soldier, but they still accurately apply to you in the best ways. Maybe the water based comparisons reflect your continuing good fortune at fishing as your grandfather recognized these talents when you were still a kid. Appropriately named, like St. Peter, you have become a fisher of men.

Pete, you are one of the reasons that our peninsula neighborhoods are starting to reconnect after having been divided for so long. Not only divided, usually along racial lines, we have too often felt defeated, if not conquered. You are showing us that we have too many common interests that should unite us. Please know that due to your patience and willingness to educate many of us, including some of our more recently arrived white neighbors, a growing majority of all colors increasingly stand ready to back you on many of your most valued goals and priorities. These include raising the educational opportunities available to all students at Burke, establishing a sailing program where none exists or showing up to support you on whatever is best for your downtown neighborhood (and by association, our adjacent neighborhoods, too).

As you have helped us to articulate on all fronts, your downtown neighbors have discovered that our common enemy is "Average". Our true ally and ultimate objective should be nothing less than "Excellent". Truth and knowing the facts are powerful tools in this struggle. Our only assumption is that if given the chance, we, as a united body working together, will rise to the challenge every time by choosing "Excellence" over "Average" for our schools, our neighborhoods and our city. This has so far been true for OUR new charter school, for OUR Burke HS and for OUR new city gym named for Arthur Christopher.

Thanks for helping us to understand how all of these goals are connected.

First Anniversary!

1878--Pancho Villa is born; 1967--the Six-Day War begins; 1989--Solidarity defeats the Communists in Poland; and 2006--the Newsless Courier appears!

On June 5th, in an amazingly simple move guided by my computer-savvy son (although I soon realized I could have done it alone), I began to comment on line about the "South's Oldest Daily Newspaper." Clearly, a certain amount of arrogance might have driven me to such an extreme, but actually, it was annoyance.


The P & C's coverage of various items had been driving me crazy ever since I moved back to the Charleston area from Texas. The Caller-Times had been such a horrible excuse for a newspaper that I looked forward to better journalism. Well, the P & C probably is slightly better, but either it improved in retrospect, or it has declined in quality since I last read it on a regular basis. So, that first posting, prompted by an article like many others to come, presented my questions (and opinions) concerning the ParaPro and TAs in CCSD.

People write because there is something that they find important enough to write about. Over the last year my postings have ranged from CCSD to traffic to NCAA high school diploma mills to illegal aliens to global warming to Anglicans, but my focus and commenters keep me coming back to education.

What has pleased me the most is finding a community of like-minded people. I would hope that the Newsless Courier can continue to function for its community as (in no particular order) lessons in history, bulletin board, listening post, call to action, place to blow off steam, and force for positive change. What has happened so far reminds me in a small way of the Russian Revolution--of 1989, not 1914. Opponents of the Soviet regime found each other and successfully coordinated their information and actions through access to fax machines!

Let's do it with the Web!