Today's Opinions

This BIG Goal was introduced to staff and students three years ago, a lofty goal with high expectations, intense monitoring, and consistent engagement.

The focus never wavered. The hard work got harder. The efforts were never-ending.

“Not all of my students are on grade level but by golly way more than the majority are,” is what Pam Pickens from Painted Stone Elementary said on the last day of school, June 4. “Setting that bar so high made us aim high, and it worked.”

As I hope you are aware, this Sunday is Father’s Day. For whatever reason, as the title of today’s column suggests, Father’s Day seems to play second fiddle to Mother’s Day.

Perhaps it is because, in many instances, moms play a bigger role in the child-rearing process. I once read an article describing differences between moms and dads, and one of the areas it highlighted was the knowledge about their children.

They lounged beneath awnings that were erected under a shade tree in the front yard and at tables, chairs, benches and even a swing spaced along an L-shaped front porch. They squeezed into folding chairs at tables, found occasional seats along walls, surrounded card tables pushed together in the family room and even stood and sat in spots around the perimeter of the kitchen and on playground equipment in the back yard.