“The one thing that is never taught by any chance in the atmosphere of public schools,” wrote G. K. Chesterton, “is…that there is a whole truth of things, and that in knowing it and speaking it we are happy.”[1] Such words would be greeted with calculated coldness by the architects of the common core curriculum, who would no doubt respond with chilling indifference that there is no whole truth of things and therefore no meaningful happiness to be derived from it. Modernity never gets beyond Pontius Pilate’s famous question, quid est veritas, which is asked not in the spirit of philosophy as a question to be answered, but in the ennui of intellectual philandery as merely a rhetorical question that is intrinsically unanswerable. This intellectual philandery spawns numerous illegitimate children, each of which has its day as the dominant fad of educationists, at least until a new intellectual fad replaces it. It is in the nature of fads to fade but in the brief period in which they find themselves in the fashionable limelight they can cause a great deal of damage, a fact that Chesterton addressed with customary adroitness in 1910, over a century ago:
The trouble in too many of our modern schools is that the State, being controlled so specially by the few, allows cranks[2] and experiments to go straight to the schoolroom when they have never passed through the Parliament, the public house, the private house, the church, or the marketplace.
Obviously it ought to be the oldest things that are taught to the youngest people; the assured and experienced truths that are put first to the baby. But in a school today the baby has to submit to a system that is younger than himself. The flopping infant of four actually has more experience and has weathered the world longer than the dogma to which he is made to submit.
Many a school boasts of having the latest ideas in education, when it has not even the first idea; for the first idea is that even innocence, divine as it is, may learn something from experience.[3]
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood schools will be open and students will return to school on Tuesday, September 6 (minimum day schedule). Opening Day for teachers and support staff is Thursday, September 1.
Graduating high school will become harder for millions of New Jersey students under a measure adopted Wednesday by the State Board of Education that requires students to pass tests in English and math to earn their diplomas. Hannan Adely, Asbury Park Press Read more
As a 20 year resident who had three children go through the schools I offer the following thoughts. Ridgewood is not an easy town to live in and is getting more difficult every year. The school system and performance has steadily declined while the costs are out of control, $100M budget today will be how much in 10 years? The teachers are nasty, do not help the kids at all, and many of us require multiple tutors to get the kids good SAT and college test scores. How many of us had to use tutors? The town in-fights on everything from a sports field to housing to development to traffic. We spend money to improve the train station, but many residents cant park after 7:00am, there is also no way to pick-up or discharge passengers. We add a bike lane in the busiest section of town and back up traffic in all directions for untold miles. Anyone ever able to get a new stop sign or police enforcement on a road that supports speeding, have to wait for something awful to happen before getting attention? Every spring people plant lawns and gardens and every summer, Ridgewood (only Ridgewood) sends out the ‘deputies’ to fine those who water their lawns.
The taxes on my home have almost doubled in 12 years, value has not risen (in fact may have fallen) while services, roads, parking, etc have all remained stagnant.
After 20 years and with a sense of regret we will fold the tents here and move on. I am sure someone will move in a be very happy as we were, but I do suggest we all understand that times are changed and not for the better
Ridgewood High School students Mitchell Saron and Roscoe Swartz earned gold and bronze medals, respectively, competing for the Bergen Fencing Club in the Cadets (16-year-old) saber division of the USA Fencing National Championships & July Challenge, in Dallas on July 2.
Swartz, who had placed third during the Junior Olympics event held in February 2016, bested California fencer Jared Smith to achieve a Top 8 showing at 15-12.
Ridgewood NJ, looks like Ridgewood residents who questioned the over development of the central business district proved right all along. A state appeals panel overturned a court order that could have added thousands of units to developers’ plans.
Suburban towns are not required to address the so-called “backlog” of unmet housing needs that supposedly accumulated from 1999-2015. This is a very good development for Ridgewood. The developers have much less leverage than they thought they did. Now we have to press the point that we are fully built-out, have been for decades, and should not be obliged by any court to “build up”, city-style, to accommodate large numbers of new residents.
What a shame for Saraceno, Simoncini, Pucciarelli and all the others that stood to gain big time and pushed so hard to get all that housing into the CBD. Kudos to,the citizens who delayed all the development and stood up to Aronsohn and his horrible reign of terror, and Gwenn with her sparkly eyed talk about COAH.
Ridgewod NJ, The application deadline for the district’s pilot integrated preschool program has been extended to Friday, July 29. The preschool program will be taught by a dual-certified K-2 General Education and Special Education teacher. The program will strive to engage special needs and general education preschoolers in learning experiences through play in an integrated learning environment that employs a developmental approach. Children are engrossed in a variety of activities which promote language, cognitive, motor and social/emotional development. Special education children are placed in the program through an evaluation process performed by the Special Programs Department.
Click here for more information and the application form.
photo courtesy of the Ridgewood High School Alumni Association
Dear RHS Alumni,
On June 20, 2016, Ridgewood High School graduates 424
seniors. As members of the Ridgewood High School Alumni Association (RHSAA), we are thrilled to have them join our ranks. We would like to wish our graduates the best of luck and good fortune in their ongoing pursuit of a “tradition of excellence” in college or their choice of post-graduation endeavors.
We would like to take this opportunity to fill you in on some of the steps the RHSAA has taken since our inception in 2014.
The RHSAA is now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit recognized by the state
of New Jersey. We are an active and dynamic board of alumni spanning graduating classes from the 1950s to the 2000s.
Since our website launched, we have had thousands visit the site and many alumni have registered via our online portal.
The reunion subcommittee has connected with dozens of class
years to help them plan alumni events, including campus tours. If you have an upcoming reunion, please let us know.
Our apparel team has created t-shirts (which will be featured
as Project Graduation’s Gift to all seniors). We have also added
umbrellas, blankets and hats. We are working on version 2.0 of apparel for the upcoming 2016-2017 academic year.
This past March, the RHSAA revitalized the Distinguished Alumni
program and introduced five new inductees who represent some of the best and brightest of RHS graduates. They joined the twelve previously inducted in 2008.
We will also be launching a brick buying campaign in an effort
to beautify our already lovely RHS campus and to celebrate our 125th anniversary in 2017.
If you are interested in supporting any of these programs or
otherwise supporting the RHSAA, please make a donation via our website.
If you would like to volunteer to help the current and future students of RHS, we would love for you to join our team.
Ridgewood NJ, One had to read a summary of the ‘Fact finder’s’ recommendation (link below) to figure out how utterly insane it is!
• Salary increases of:
• 2.2% for July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016 (retroactive)
• 2.8% for July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017
• 2.8% for July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018
• No change in the current healthcare insurance plan.
• No change in employee contributions to healthcare insurance premiums.
• The highest paid teachers and secretaries receive additional payments.
RETROACTIVE salary increases? NO change in health insurance Cadillac plan? I definitely want some of whatever the teachers are ingesting.
That is how the real world works! The taxpayers are irritated because our district is one of the highest paying in the entire state and the quality of education is lagging – what happened to the Tradition of Excellence? The entire system of education needs to be revisited. Tenure should be abolished although nepotism will still cause problems just as it does in the private sector. Angry masses, as you refer to the taxpayers, simply want value for their tax dollars and are tired of demands by public servants for better benefits and salary increases than what is acceptable in the real world. I am starting to believe educators live in a protective bubble. You chose the teaching profession, hopefully out of a love of learning and children knowing that you could earn a decent living but not get rich. If money was your main motivation you should have considered a different path. Nurses, para-professionals, retail managers with the same level of education do not earn as much as teachers and do not enjoy the generous benefits including time off and generous pensions. Don’t tell me those professions don’t work as hard as you. You are not as special as you think.
“When some districts continue to fail decade after decade, it’s clear that money is not the answer,” – Senator Mike Doherty, on his support for Gov. Chris Christie’s new school funding plan.
A longtime proponent of changing New Jersey’s school funding formula is coming on as the Senate sponsor of Governor Chris Christie’s plan to change the state’s apportionment of school aid. Senator Mike Doherty (R-23), who has pushed his own plan to change the amount of tax revenue given to certain districts rather than the amount of state aid, will serve as primary sponsor of the governor’s plan in the upper house. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
I am not a Christie fan but I will give him credit for trying to reel in the unsustainable pension and medical benefits public employees receive. it has to change. I don’t think it is right that money was diverted from the teacher’s pension fund starting with Christie Whitman and that has to be repaid. For heaven’s sake, it is time to freeze pensions and move onto 401K style plans and keep medical costs in line with what private sector receives. Long gone are the days when public employee salaries were lower than the private sector so delayed remuneration in the form of pensions, etc. made up the difference. As for Ridgewood’s current travesty with the NJEA and our BOE – I’m just sick. I wish all these complaining teachers could be replaced. And, yes, I’m one of those who wears the cloak of anonymity because I have kids in school and I know the teachers retaliate. Many are not as dedicated to their students and the field of education as they profess.
Ridgewood NJ, The Integrated Preschool Program is a preschool program that is taught by a dually certified K-2 General Education and Special Education teacher. The program strives to engage preschoolers in learning experiences through play. Special needs students and general education children are placed together in an integrated learning environment that employs a developmental approach to learning. Children are engrossed in a variety of activities which promote language, cognitive, motor and social/emotional development. Special education children are placed in the program through an evaluation process performed by the Special Programs Department.
Click here for more information and the application form.
Since the President saw fit to issue “guidelines” in an Executive Order, to force schools, businesses, etc, to allow men to use girls’ locker rooms and toilets, I’ve been following the fallout. Shortly after the decree, some schools and stores began welcoming trans-sexuals, and other gender-confused people, to use whatever bathroom or changing facility they identified most with. One reason given was that such persons should not be made to feel uncomfortable if, for example, they are males who believe they are really females trapped in mens’ bodies, and would prefer to use the ladies room rather than the men’s room.I don’t want to go into the usual arguments, like male predators wanting to see females in various stages of undress, but I wonder – if a male wants to use the female bathroom or locker room because he feels uncomfortable using the male facilities, did the President think how uncomfortable the girls might be with men coming in gawking at them? Transgendered people make up well under one percent of the population; why are we trying to accommodate their feelings at the expense of the, say 50 percent of females in the population, who will now be made to feel uncomfortable? It seems to defy logic, when maybe 80 or 90 females have to be made uncomfortable, so one male/female doesn’t.
Well, about a week after this started, I thought of an answer, but didn’t say anything because I was sure lots of others would also think of it. To date, I haven’t heard or read about anyone proposing my solution. I believe it’s because certain people (in power) on both sides don’t want a simple solution. It really isn’t about inclusiveness for all, it’s about breaking down the traditions that have served us well, like honesty and morality, like traditional marriage and the family, like teaching schoolkids about American History and the Constitution, and making them proud to be Americans. The actions of Progressives and others show just how astute Benjamin Franklin was, when he said the Constitution was only for a moral and religious people, and was totally inadequate for any other.
So here is the solution I propose. Every school, and every large store, has facilities to change, try on things, and go to the toilet; they have multiple places for these accommodations. Schools, for instance have faculty bathrooms, as well as student bathrooms. Since the number of transgenders, cross-dressers, etc at each school, store or business is miniscule, only one toilet will be needed to accommodate them (maybe more on a college campus with thousands of students). One of the faculty bathrooms can be set aside for this purpose. Large facilities, institutions, and stores also have enough bathrooms to set one aside so transgenders, etc can use a toilet or change, without embarrassment.
For showering, I can only suggest that if someone is uncomfortable showering with others who have the same genitalia, they wait until they get home to shower. I do not advocate males being allowed to barge into a female shower room, and shower with them. I also believe that if a man wants to use the female showers, it should only be allowed if he has undergone the full medical change, so he is now a woman, like Bruce Jenner did. Just because a man feels feminine one morning does not give him the right to shower with the girls at school.
Need an experienced, certified NJ plumber for basement renovation plumbing in NJ? Call us today at A1 Sewer & Drain Services:
201-645-0888
Many homes in New Jersey are built with a basement, which may or may not have been converted yet into useable living space. A finished basement is a great way to add hundreds of square feet of useable living space to your home, with less cost and hassle than building a whole new addition. Many homes have over a thousand square feet of basement, meaning there’s plenty of space for that new bedroom, rec room, or man cave you’ve always wanted.
Basement renovation often involves installing plumbing to create an extra bathroom. At A1 Sewer & Drain Service, we’re drainage and sewer service contractors who specialize in wastewater, outdoor drainage, and bathroom plumbing. If you’re planning a new bathroom addition, call us any time for a free consultation and cost estimate from our experienced local plumbers, at 201-645-0888.
Adding a New Bathroom Addition in your Basement
Need an extra bathroom to accommodate a growing family? If you have an existing basement, you may not even need to build a new addition. Finishing all or part of your basement can add a great deal of extra living space, including much-needed extra toilets and showers. A new basement bathroom addition can even add market value to your home.
Basements are almost always located below the level of the main sewer line. Because of this, installing bathroom plumbing can be complicated. Vent, waste pipe, and drain pipe installation is the most difficult part of basement plumbing, and you’ll need experienced renovation plumbing and sewer service contractors to make sure that everything is installed correctly.
Basement Plumbing for a New Bathroom Addition
Any new drain lines in your basement bathroom addition will need to flow into your existing main sewer line. Before construction begins, contractors need to locate the sewer pipe, generally by finding the main stack and the cleanout. In urban and most suburban areas, the main sewer line runs into a municipal sewer system. If you have a private septic tank, the pipe will run toward the septic drain field.
To flow correctly, drains and sewer lines need a downward slope of at least ¼” per linear foot. This ensures that liquids and solids move at the same rate through the pipe via gravity, preventing clogs and sewer backflow. This can be tricky in basements, where the main line may not be deep enough to allow the correct drop per foot. To send water and effluent through the drain pipes against the force of gravity, you may need sewer ejector pump installation.
Sewage Ejector Pumps for Bathroom Plumbing
When the level of the main sewer line is too high for wastewater to flow in the right direction due to gravity, you may need sewage ejector pump installation to ensure that wastewater doesn’t back up inside the drain pipes. Ejector pumps are equipped with float switches, which trigger the pump to activate when the water in the ejector pump tank reaches a certain level. The wastewater is forced into the drain pipes, allowing wastewater from toilets and other fixtures to be safely removed without relying on gravity.
For toilets, many homeowners opt to install a grinder pump. This type of ejector pump grinds up solid waste into a fine slurry, helping to prevent clogged drain pipes and backflow.
Basement Sump Pump Installation in NJ
Regardless of whether your basement is used as living space, or whether it contains a bathroom, you may need to consider sump pump installation. Sump pumps remove water into the drainage system, preventing flooding and costly water damage. Because basements are located below grade, they’re at heightened risk for flooding from severe weather, burst plumbing pipes, sewer backups, and other emergencies.
Installing a basement sump pump can prevent thousands of dollars of costly water damage, making it a worthwhile investment for New Jersey homeowners.
Local NJ Sewer Service Contractors for Basement Bathroom Plumbing
Need an experienced plumber for toilet, shower, vent, and drain pipe installation in NJ? At A1 Sewer & Drain Services, we’re sewer service experts. We work with homeowners to install reliable, high quality plumbing for basement bathrooms and new bathroom additions. For a free cost estimate, call us today at 201-645-0888.
