AirBnB says you may not be as “Tolerant” as you say
by JEROME HUDSON 6 Feb 2017506
The tens of millions of Americans watching Super Bowl LI Sunday night were treated to a politically-charged advertisement from home-sharing company Airbnb, which launched its #WeAccept ad campaign with a 30-second spot highlighting diversity and multiculturalism.
https://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2017/02/06/eric-holders-airbnb-runs-weaccept-super-bowl-ad/
Years ago, parents struggled over when their kids would be socially, emotionally, and cognitively ready for kindergarten. Now it’s a similar question, but about leaving for college.
by: Hank Pellissier | February 2, 2017
When Hillary Billings’ oldest son, Ted, was accepted at New York University (NYU), she was proud — but concerned. “We felt he needed another year to mature,” Billings says. Before her son was “thrown into the deep end in the Big Apple,” she wanted him to take a gap year to mature a little so he’d be ready for the urban living, social life, and academics at NYU.
What’s a gap year?
Billings is not alone. Across the country, a small but growing group of teens and their parents are jumping aboard the gap year trend. Although the term has been adapted colloquially to refer to any time off after high school, technically, a gap year is when students who’ve been admitted to college formally request to delay their start date for a year to travel, work, or volunteer.
Some gap years are driven by teens, of course, but many parents like the idea of giving their teen an extra year to mature before going off to college. It’s reminiscent of a choice many parents agonize over when their kids are young: whether or not to delay kindergarten by a year, known as redshirting kindergarten. The idea, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 best seller Outliers: the Story of Success, is to give 5-year-olds an extra year to catch up to (or get a leg up on) their peers socially, emotionally, and cognitively. Citing evidence from a 2000 study, Gladwell asserts that less mature students can get locked into “patterns of… underachievement… and discouragement, that stretch on and on for years.” Now, parents of some high school graduates are evaluating their 18- and 19-year-old kids’ relative maturity levels as a precursor to moving on to the next step. Why risk calamity by enrolling your teenager in college too early, if they’re not yet fully up for the challenge?
America’s (small) new trend
Gap years have long been popular in Europe and Australia. The concept originated in the grand tours enjoyed by aristocratic youth in the late 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, writes Joseph O’Shea in Gap Year: How Delaying College Changes People in Ways the World Needs. Upper-class vagabonds traversed the continent and exotic corners of the British Empire, familiarizing themselves with foreign flavors, curious customs, and opposing perspectives. In the 1970s, soul-searching backpackers put their twist on the tradition, which continues today. Due to economic conditions in 2012, only 12.5 percent of UK students took a gap year — it was the lowest number in a decade. In Australia, nearly a quarter of all students take gap years. In the U.S., though, the numbers are much smaller: an estimated 1.2 to 2 percent of students take a gap year. Recent data suggests that despite the small numbers, it’s a giant uptick that’s likely to continue. According to a survey by the American Gap Association, the number of attendees at USA Gap Year Fairs rose 294 percent from 2010 to 2014. Gap year nonprofit Thinking Beyond Borders claims that in the past five years there’s been, “a doubling in the market… an explosion.”
Celebrity endorsers and media coverage help fuel the trend. Malia Obama’s gap year, before starting Harvard in fall 2017, is an internship at the U.S. Embassy in Spain. Benedict Cumberbatch spent his teaching English at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, and Prince Harry helped build a clinic in Lesotho, Africa. New York Times columnist and best-selling author Nicholas Kristof has, for years, been urging youngsters to take gap time, proclaiming: “The bottom line is that you’ll almost certainly learn more from a gap year than you will in any single year in college.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Elite universities are also stoking the fire. For the past 30 years, Harvard University has encouraged students to take gap years “to travel, pursue a special project or activity, work, or spend time in another meaningful way.” Robert S. Clagett, former Senior Admission Officer at Harvard, helped establish Middlebury College’s February-start program while he was the Dean of Admission there. Matt McGann, Director of Admissions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, tells applicants “My hope is that you will at least consider, just for a moment, taking a gap year.” According to Mike Devlin, Stanford University’s Acting Director of Admission, “Stanford believes a gap year can be a beneficial experience — particularly for students who have an objective or mission.”
Gap year companies also play a role, motivating curious parents, particularly those who can afford the astronomical prices. (A three-month excursion to broaden your teen’s perspective can cost upwards of $15,000 — and still leaves teens 3/4 of the year… for parents to pay for?)
Sounds good, but does taking a gap year work?
Questions of elitism aside, there’s data to show that gap years are, in fact, beneficial. Clagett points to studies on the February-start program at Middlebury College and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s program that reveal undergraduates who enjoyed a gap year earned a GPA 0.1 to 0.4 points higher than would have been expected. What’s more, gappers at Middlebury hold a “disproportionate number of leadership positions on campus.” And, according to the American Gap Association, students who took a year off tend to finish university more quickly than their peers.
Although parents may fear their teen will never return to their studies, statistics show the opposite. According to a 2010 survey of 280 students conducted by Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson, co-authors of The Gap-Year Advantage: Helping Your Child Benefit from Time Off Before or During College, 90 percent of youth who ditch scholastics for a year report back to their desks on time, with 60 percent claiming the gap year helped them determine their major and their careers.
With college tuition at an all-time high, Jennifer Miller of the American Gap Association observes, “many students are taking a step back to think carefully about that path before barreling forward.”
Maturity in America
College admissions officers, especially at elite schools, invariably highlight “maturation” as a primary reason for gap years. In today’s era of helicopter parenting, with hovering adults coddling their kids, is the gap year emerging as a “time to grow up” ritual that sheltered teenagers, who can’t do their own laundry, desperately need? Perhaps. But admissions officers tend to say the proof is in the pudding. “Our academic staff also finds that, many times, students who take a gap year arrive at Stanford with more maturity both socially and in the classroom,” comments admissions director Devlin. Clagett says he finds that students who take a gap year “will frequently be more mature, more focused, and more aware of what they want to do with their college education.”
Students, amusingly, also view their maturation as the prime reason they want a gap year; of course, they don’t call it that. A yearning “to find out more about themselves” is the top reason for a gap year, according to Haigler and Nelson’s 2010 survey. Another questionnaire, prepared by Nina How of Temple University, yielded “Gain Life Experiences / grow personally” as the main goal of a gap year — beating options like taking a break from academics, traveling, volunteering, or wanting work experience.
Some parents, like Ken Beckman of Minnesota, think their teen needs a dose of the real world. Beckman is mandating a gap year for his eldest son because he wants him to experience a blue-collar existence. “I want him to leave home and get his own place and get a job and have a boss — at WalMart, for example!” Beckman says. He wants his son to struggle with boredom, loneliness, and lack of family support in an environment where upwards of $50,000 in college tuition isn’t at stake.
Hillary Billings and her husband were motivated by Kristof’s articles, particularly his view that a gap year can — and should — provide volunteer services and open the gapper’s eyes to human needs. That’s what Billings wanted for her son; she didn’t want Ted to move from “one academic bubble to another.” But when she asked him to take a gap year, “Ted was not happy,” she recalls. “He wanted to be part of his peer group heading off for college.” After attending a gap year fair at Drake High School in Fairfax, CA, Billings signed up her son with an organization called VolunQuest. Ted was sent to Isla Mujeres, a tiny island off the coast of Yucatan, Mexico, to live with locals and teach English.
Ted’s gap year “was pretty rough,” admits his mom. “He couldn’t take showers at his house because there were so many cockroaches in the bathroom…. He was also very lonely. There were no other volunteers there at the same time.” But when Ted returned, NYU was still there, waiting for him — and Ted was ready for it.
“Ted matured a great deal,” Billings says. “Before his gap year he was timid and nervous to extend himself for fear of being judged or failing. During his gap year, he gained much more confidence in himself and his ability to manage any situation, no matter how difficult.” Ted’s been on the Dean’s list at NYU every semester, he explores New York’s boroughs with a desire to meet new people, and he takes risks — and knows the right ones to take. “We don’t worry about him,” she says.
Billings has three more sons, and she’s insisting they all take a gap year.
“Limiting demand”?
Really?
ENOUGH of the posturing bullshit.
ENOUGH of the “planning”
ENOUGH of the “studies”
Build the garage and ignore the social gadfly ilk that screwed the pooch the first time around. The CBD needs the garage, it’s not just for the restaurants but it sure as hell is for the commuters. That’s what we all do here…commute. Except for the no life to much time on their hands ambulance chasing news photographers…they have WAY to much time on their hands.
file photo by Boyd Loving
By Michael Symons February 5, 2017 7:01 PM
TRENTON — More than 500 pedestrians have been killed in New Jersey since 2014, the most in any three-year stretch since the early 1990s. A new legislative proposal seeks to remedy that by shifting more of the responsibility onto them, rather than drivers.
Bill A4449, called the Driver and Pedestrian Mutual Responsibility Act, says pedestrians could only cross at designated crosswalks, ends a requirement that drivers stop and stay stopped for people who are crossing a street and doesn’t automatically blame drivers if someone is hit in a crosswalk.
Assemblyman Chris Brown, R-Atlantic, said the purpose of the legislation “is to try to bring common sense back to the Statehouse.”
“Throughout the summer and even into the winter months, there are numerous complaints and problems with pedestrians just stepping off the curb into traffic,” Brown said.
“What we have done is try to codify common sense and make sure that people use the good brain that God gave them before they cross the street,” he said. “And you would think you wouldn’t necessarily need to put some of these common sense items into writing, but unfortunately you do.”
Read More: Why NJ lawmakers want to get rid of the stop-for-pedestrians law | https://nj1015.com/why-nj-lawmakers-want-to-get-rid-of-the-stop-for-pedestrians-law/?trackback=tsmclip
and if you dont agree you should move says poster!
Is this Kellyann? Good grief. I feel sorry for your kids and husband. You sound nasty. If you don’t like it then MOVE! We voted by an overwhelming majority in our town for Clinton/Gottheimer. We would love for your kind to move the heck out of town.
you brought a smile to my face.
You were able in only 4 sentences to exhibit exactly what is wrong with the liberal/progressive/democrat thinking.
How funny that your “side”, as you put it “WE”, will tolerate every other group in the USA BUT not the conservatives.
Wow, how quickly you resorted to calling names (nasty), making it personal (husband and kids) and telling me to move out of town.
What if I told you I was a black, gay, Syrian refugee – would you change your tune?
What if I told you I was an old white male christian?
I think your tolerance or respect of my opinion is not based on my humanity but based on your party platform.
I am guessing you think that your politics make you and your party the better people
file photo by Boyd Loving
Yes, I too would ask our esteemed superintendent to keep his eye on the job he is paid to do.
I did not appreciate this letter, I am well aware of his political leanings and do not wish for them to be taught to my child.
Did he write letters like this in the past when the candidate he voted for was in office?
I am hoping that the BOE will shut down Fishbein’s political commentary – both in his letters and his tweets and retweets.
He can dance around a topic such as this as much as he wants BUT he is being political.
Sure, he never mentioned Trump but we all know what he is talking about.
How about teaching our kids to toughen up, not fall apart when their candidate loses, respect leaders and process even when you don’t like it and work for respect rather than expect it —– that would be a better education than they are currently getting!
This letter is disgraceful. The only “rhetoric concerning immigrants and foreign-born visitors” has been the liberal media’s false spin of the campaign issue of ILLEGAL immigration. Of course he doesn’t provide a single example of the true issue. The dishonesty and liberal bias of entertainment and the media is now abundantly clear in our own local education system. Certainly not a surprise, but extremely unfortunate. If politics is going to be permitted to creep into the education of our children, then present all sides of an issue, and teach our children how to make their own decisions without passing judgment on those who think differently. Shame on all those who consider themselves educators but purposely fail in this manner for their own personal or political agenda.
PLANNING BOARD PUBLIC MEETING AGENDA
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Village Hall Court Room– 7:30 P.M.
(all timeframes and the order of agenda items below are approximate and subject to change)
1.7:30 p.m. – Call to Order, Statement of Compliance, Flag Salute, Roll Call – In accordance with the provisions of Section 10:4-8d of the Open Public Meetings Act, the date, location, and time of the commencement of this meeting is reflected in a meeting notice, a copy of which schedule has been filed with the Village Manager and the Village Clerk, The Ridgewood News and The Record newspapers, and posted on the bulletin board in the entry lobby of the Village municipal offices at 131 North Maple Avenue, and on the Village website, all in accordance with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act.
Roll call: Knudsen, Voigt, Altano, Joel, Patire, Scheibner, Torielli, McWilliams
2.7:35 p.m. – 7:40 p.m. – Public Comments on Topics not Pending Before the Board
3.7:40 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. – Committee/Commission/Professional Updates for Non Agenda Topics, Correspondence Received by the Board
4.7:45 p.m. – 9:45 p.m. – Ridgewood/Dayton, Preliminary and Final Major Site Plan, 100/152 South Broad Street, Blocks 3707/3905, Lots 5.01/1.01- Pubic Hearing continued from November 15, 2016
5.9:45 p.m. – 9:55 p.m. – Council Referral of Ordinance 3579: Regulation of Institutional Uses and Public Utilities
6.9:55 p.m. – 10:25 p.m. – Draft Ordinance Addressing Miscellaneous Recommendations in Reexamination Report and in Zoning Officer Memoranda
7.10:25 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. – Adoption of Minutes: September 1, 2015
8.10:30 p.m. – 10:40 p.m. – Unfinished and New Business
9.10:40 p.m. – Executive Session (if necessary)
10.Adjournment
In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, all meetings of the Ridgewood Planning Board (i.e., official public meetings, work sessions, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings, which are always open to members of the general public.
Members: Susan Knudsen, Jeff Voigt, Joel Torielli, Melanie McWilliams, David Scheibner, Richard Joel, Isabella Altano, Debbie Patire
Professional Staff: Blais L. Brancheau, Planner; Christopher Martin, Esq., Board Attorney; Christopher J. Rutishauser, Village Engineer; Michael Cafarelli, Board Secretary
VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD
UPDATED SCHEDULE: PSE&G ELECTRIC RELIABILITY IMPROVEMENTS
UTILITY UNDERGROUND INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE
WORK SCHEDULE UPDATE: February 6, 2017 – February 10, 2017
February 6, 2017 –February 10, 2017
Underground Manholes & Pipe Installation
South Broad Street
(at the cross section of Ridgewood Avenue)
Road Closures
(7:00am – 5:00 pm)
Monday- Friday
8 Parking Spots
As part of our electric reliability improvements in Bergen County, PSE&G will be performing utility underground work in the Village of Ridgewood. As of early-February 2017, PSE&G will beperforming the following activities in your area:
Excluding inclement weather delays, PSE&G anticipates working Monday –Friday, (7:00am – 5:00pm)
Safety is our primary concern. PSE&G will work with the Ridgewood Police Department to minimize any traffic concerns or inconveniences to the public. During construction, please refrain from going near our construction work zones.
The upgrades will enhance your electric capacity, system redundancy, and service reliability within the Village of Ridgewood, as well as surrounding communities. If you have questions or concerns, please call our toll free number at 1-877-678-5784
Ridgewood NJ, The RCB is pleased to be joined by Ridgewood resident and soprano Kristen Plumley. Described as possessing a “shimmering soprano” (The New York Times) with “sparkle and precision” (The Washington Post), she enjoys singing everything from opera’s light lyric roles to oratorio to pops classics.
Ms. Plumley will perform works by Schubert, Strauss, and Arlen with the RCB.
The program will include Tan Dun’s “Internet Symphony – Eroica”, which is a four-and-a-half minute micro-symphony that combines multicultural influences and the iconic theme from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”).
Unfamiliar with the melody or want a refresher before next week’s concert?
Take some time to enjoy the above video of the Vienna Philharmonic performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 under the baton of Leonard Bernstein.
Ridgewood NJ, Emmanuel Baptist Church invites the community to join its new choir. Anyone who has an interest in music and would like to share their musical talent on Sunday mornings is invited to join the choir. All ages and all levels of musical talent are welcome.
Please contact the Church office at 201-444-7300. If you are unable to get through to the church office, contact Musical and Artistic Director, John Giresi, at [email protected].
Emmanuel, a welcoming and affirming congregation founded in 1891, is celebrating its 125th Anniversary Year and maintains a tradition of community outreach. Emmanuel is located at 14 Hope Street, at the corner of Hope Street and East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ. The building is ADA accessible and all are invited to attend.
file photo by Boyd Loving
“Guys. To my knowledge there have been 4 reported burglaries in our neighborhood the past 2 weeks. A couple were on spring and 1 today on John st. The pattern is mid day breaking glass to enter homes. Heard it’s a white male in a hoodie. We should encourage everyone to take the necessary precautions – hide jewelry, valuables, etc. Set your home alarms and lock doors.
As a member of the safety patrol, BE SAFE!”
Anyone have any further info about this. I see nothing in the town blog, Patch, etc. and I suspect this would be bigger news than busting a couple of unauthorized candy sellers in town — from which some would extrapolate a budding crime wave.
They should be paying for these services but they don’t. The Village Council should be challenging Valley’s “not-for-profit” status in court based on the Morristown precedent but they do nothing. We’re literally leaving millions of dollars of payments in lieu of taxes from Valley on the table as a result. Taxpayers should be sickened by this inability to protect Ridgewood tax payer interests but no one seems to care.
Dear Parents/Guardians and Staff:
Over the past year, we have all become aware of an increase in vocalized negative rhetoric concerning immigrants and foreign-born visitors to the United States. This problematic discourse has led to a corresponding buildup of concern and uncertainty for many, including for some of our own Village students and their families.
I feel that it may be helpful to remind everyone that our Ridgewood schools welcome and embrace children from all over the world, who by federal, state and local law are guaranteed equal access to an education. Our student database shows that we are truly a “melting pot,” with children from the following countries:
Albania Egypt Lebanon South Africa Australia El Salvador Malaysia Spain Bahrain Ethiopia Mexico Sri Lanka Bangladesh France Monaco Sweden Belarus Germany Netherlands Switzerland Belgium Guatemala Northern Mariana Islands Syrian Arab Republic Bermuda Honduras Pakistan Taiwan Bolivia Hong Kong Panama Turkey Brazil India Peru Ukraine Bulgaria Iran Philippines United Arab Emirates Canada Ireland Poland United Kingdom China Israel Puerto Rico United States Costa Rica Italy Romania Uruguay Czech Republic Japan Russian Federation Uzbekistan Denmark Kazakhastan Saudi Arabia Venezuela Dominican Republic Korea Singapore Vietnam
Far beyond our legal and moral responsibilities for educating all children, the Ridgewood Public Schools have a long and proud history of incorporating and celebrating the diverse cultures of our student body into our regular curricular programming. From the annual Asian Festival held at Ridgewood High School each spring, to the International clubs at the middle school level, and down to International Day at our elementary schools, we affirm our respect and admiration for other nationalities in large ways. We are fortunate to have numerous families and community members from other countries who are willing and eager to share their traditions and we are enriched by the numerous opportunities they give us to learn firsthand about other cultures and beliefs.
Through these opportunities, we are also able to teach our children about tolerance and respect for the dignity of every being. Of course, as we are all prone to making mistakes on occasion, we also have a longstanding official policy of zero-tolerance for prejudice and disrespect that is strictly enforced if the need arises.
In sum, long before the recent uptick in negative rhetoric on immigration issues, inclusivity has been a top priority in the administration of our schools. We have worked hard to be inclusive and we will always continue to work even harder to make all students and their families feel welcome and valued in the Ridgewood Public Schools.
I conclude with the meaningful words found at the base of the Statue of Liberty, that wonderful symbol of welcome to visitors and immigrants from afar:
The New Colossus Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! Emma Lazarus (November 2, 1883)
If you have any questions or concerns, I encourage you to reach out to your child’s principal or me.
Sincerely yours,
Mark Krulish , Staff Writer, @Mark_Krulish11:38 p.m. ET Feb. 3, 2017
RIDGEWOOD — With the growth of online retailing, suburban downtowns have undergone a shift toward more service-based businesses. And with that shift has come a greater demand for parking.
Ridgewood is grappling with that need. Recognizing that changing times call for changing parking strategies, officials are taking a look at the village code.
