>What is with it, with all this referral to ballot stuffing anyway? It was quite Clear that residents rights to respond to the CMX field survey, per each household, were exercised in a free government format of the people, by the people and for the people. By the way, This is America – U.S.A.! Clearly people have that right to voice their individual opinions and they were submitted in response to that survey! Responses as revealed by the CMX consultant Clearly demonstrate the Outcry by people to save the natural nature Grove Park for and under its natural open space agenda to PRESERVE it.
This Outcry of the people, by the people who DO Care for PRESERVATION, was in response to the November public meeting proposal to build sports ball, soccer fields, picnic structures, and parking structures, in Grove Park, because of the pressing need for more sports programs and lack of field availability. I do believe those issues have been addressed in the draft proposal, and agree it is clear that Priorities are needed for sports fields such as at the High School and BF fields. However, the response shows 105 individual households from the Hawes area responded – because they Care, just as they Cared against sports fields being built, back 12 years ago when a very large crowd of All Concerned residents showed up at city hall council meeting, and spilled over into the hallways, to oppose the sports council prepared agenda of proposed engineered drawings of sports playing fields in the Grove Nature Park Preserve, it was decided at That time, there would be No development of sports fields of any kind and to leave the Nature Park alone.
The natural nature Park Preserve, already has natural earthen trails, that over time has from floodings and fallen trees, does need maintenance, attention for preservation should be cared for and given it. Already joins the county bike path, the draft suggests 2 new additional linkings to bike path which need to be co-ordinated with Paramus and County. Maintenance for preservation should be ongoing and not neglected and Does require money.
Nature is a Gift that should be appreciated, enjoyed, studied and preserved by ALL now and for the future generations. I agree that resonable discussion should be considered by the VOR and without an “eggtimer”. Thank you for your reconsideration.
A recurring theme of this blog is being green. Today’s news wires are carrying a story that is very exciting!! It seems that the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan is going to replace all of its street lights with LEDs. As we’ve discussed previously in this blog, the LED saves a significant amount of electricity (which equals $$$$$) and lasts approximately 10 years to a 2 year life for a regular incandescent bulb. According to the story, the city expects to recover its costs of installation through energy savings in just 2 years!! This means that the next 8 years of operation (the expected life of the LED) will be money in the taxpayers’ pockets. In addition, it will reduce greenhouse gas production in an amount equivalent to taking 400 cars of the road! Where is the downside on this? Why aren’t all towns and cities looking at doing this?Thoughts anyone?
>October 25,2007 Local Artists Studio Tour Supports the Ridgewood Library Foundation Tour 8 Ridgewood Artist Studios from 10AM to 2PM. Discover their inspiration,, observe demonstrations and techniques. 20% of sales will benefit the Library Foundation. Tickets are $25 and can be picked up at the Library from 9 to 11AM. Box lunches available. Information: 201/670-5600 x122
October 26 ,2007 ANNUAL FLU CLINIC Valley Community Health – 201/291-6090 Ridgewood/Ho-Ho-Kus Annual Flu Clinic – Senior Center at Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Ave. from 9AM to 12PM. Participants must be 65 years or older. Free with Medicare Part B – No HMO Medicare accepted. For 18 years – 64 years – Flu vaccine $25 (cash or check only). Pneumonia vaccine – $35.00 (cash or check only).
October 27 ,2007 Fall Harvest Festival Chamber of Commerce Saturday, October 27th from 1pm to 4pm – Family Fun in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square. Goffle Brook Farms will transform the park into a Halloween Happening! Costume Parade at 2pm. Bath Salt Potion class, Josephine Dvorken will take Halloween Pictures; Great Pumpkin Hunt in the Park; Petting Zoo and Face Painting; Trick or Treats from the Chamber of Commerce!
Ends October 28 2007 Farmer’s Market Jersey Fresh Produce Every Sunday from 9am to 3pm find the freshest produce at the Ridgewood Train Station. In addition, there are local vendors with fresh mozzarella, bread, pickles, olives, and baked goods. Sponsored by the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce. Last Sunday is October 28.
>My friends you may not know this, but you are witnessing the first shot of the revolution. I begin the revolt of the parents for our children in our schools against all forms of reform math.
I will refuse to allow my children to be taught in this ridiculous way. I will not be intimidated by your PhDs in Education, I represent the thousands of parents who have achieved great success with traditional math education and are the generation of proof that it works. We will begin to send back your silly TERC books, filled with nonsense. We will instruct our children to refuse to draw pictures, not to write math stories and to call it an “equation” with symbols rather than the silly “math sentence.” If you have the audacity to chide them for using REAL math, we will come down to the school en masse and picket with large signs that say NO MORE BAD MATH or JUST SAY NO TO TERC, MATH IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE.
You can decide to allow reform math to continue, but you will find us, your customers and clients, no longer willing to comply. We will throw out the TERC2 and CMP2 workbooks and send our children in with traditional texts. Our children will become math literate despite the poor programs implemented.
Declare a boycott of Pearson Publishing and its subsidiaries until its salespeople stop pushing reform math programs on our schools based on weak and laughable research.
Welcome to history, welcome to the beginning of the parental revolution, welcome to the beginning of the day when the public was put back in public education. Let this be our declaration of independence and the start of our revolutionary war.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all children are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that primary among our children’s rights is the right to an adequate and true education. Within that right, there shall be included a strong mathematical education.
A math education defined by mathematicians rather than educators and includes the following tenets. 1) Our schools should focus on math programs on the basis of their content and from hereon pedagogy will be driven by clear, detailed, and well documented mathematical content. 2) A math program should include a logical sequencing of topics, honoring the scholarly subject entitled mathematics. 3) A quality math program will not include for any grade other than Kindergarten the use of scissors, glue, paperclips, M&M’s or any other object that is now defined as a manipulative and acceptable for exceeding assessment benchmarks. No, our children will have the high and honorable goal of a math program desiring them to use the abstract symbols and language of mathematics. 4) A quality math program will emphasize the learning of necessary math facts & standard algorithms. 5) The math program should use the proper language of mathematics and not invent new unnecessary or watered down terms.
We the parents of the children in the public education system are not happy. These are our children whose educational fate you decide. Shame on those of you for not including the educated parents of this country in this debate and shame on those of you for ignoring parents concerns; for it is OUR children who will be known as the LOST Mathematical Generation, OUR children who will not be able to make change without a calculator, OUR CHILDREN who in their elementary years are being limited in their future by reform math’s limitation of its teachings. It is our children you doom and it is done without even giving a PARENT THE CHOICE FOR THE CHILD.
Thomas Jefferson’s vision of public education would NOT have included drawing circles to add and subtract. Jefferson would be angered when he saw mathematics taught with scissors and glue. Jefferson would be irate when he saw that educators dismiss the outcries of parents. Jefferson would weep at the thought that his dear United States of America would lose an entire generation of its educated society because a British publisher wanted to make more money selling manipulatives with programs like TERC and CMP than selling real textbooks. Just as patriots broke open tea chests and heaved them into Boston harbor, with other patriots at other seaports following that example and staging similar acts of resistance, so too should parents be throwing TERC2 and CMP2 workbooks into a harbor or river or recycling bin – our very own Boston tea party.
We, the parents, will ultimately triumph because it is Our children, not children of the state or education system. And for OUR children, their education is more important and held more dearly than any social, political, economical, or ideological agenda.
It is on the shoulders of parents across this nation, that a generation of children will not be lost in their math education. And those that recognize this and stand in recognition will provide to the future of this great nation, mathematically capable citizens to lead us throughout the 21st century. And that success will be none for reform math.
>Today we take for granted that the world is round. In the fifteenth century, however, most people believed the world was flat. They thought that monsters or a trip over the edge of the earth waited for anybody who sailed outside the limits of known territory. People laughed at or jailed others who dared think that the world was in the shape of a globe.
There were educated persons, however, who reasoned that the world must be round. An Italian named Christopher Columbus was bold enough to push this notion, and ask for money to explore the seas, and find what he thought would be the other hemisphere of the earth. Portugal, Italy and England refused to support such a venture.
At that time, spice merchants were looking for an easier route to Asia. They traveled south past Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, and continued eastward. Christopher Columbus convinced Queen Isabella of Spain that it would be easier to sail directly west and find the rich treasures of India and Asia. A new route would be found, he said, and possible new lands for Spain.
Columbus first asked Queen Isabella for help in 1486, but it was years before she agreed… provided that he conquer some of the islands and mainland for Spain. Columbus would also be given the title of “Admiral of All the Ocean Seas,” and receive one-tenth of the riches that came from any of his discoveries.
Finally, on August 3, 1492, he and ninety men set sail on the flagship Santa Maria. Two other ships, the Nina and the Pinta, came with him. They sailed west. Two long months went by. His men became tired and sick, and threatened to turn the ships back. Columbus encouraged them, certain that they would find the spice trail to the East. On October 11th, ten o’clock at night, Columbus saw a light. The Pinta kept sailing, and reported that the light was, in fact, land. The next morning at dawn they landed.
Christopher Columbus and his crew had expected to see people native to India, or be taken to see the great leader Khan. They called the first people they saw “Indians.” They had gone ashore in their best clothes, knelt and praised God for arriving safely. From the “Indians” they learned that the island was called Guanahani. Columbus christened it San Salvador and claimed it immediately for Spain. When they landed on the island that is now Cuba, they thought they were in Japan. After three subsequent voyages, Columbus was still unenlightened. He died a rich and famous man, but he never knew that he discovered lands that few people had imagined were there.
Columbus had stopped at what are now the Caribbean Islands, either Watling Island, Grand Turk Island, or Samana Cay. In 1926, Watling Island was renamed San Salvador and acknowledged as the first land in the New World. Recently, however, some people have begun to dispute the claim. Three men from Miami, Florida have started a movement to recognize Conception Island as the one that Columbus and his men first sighted and landed on. The controversy has not yet been resolve.
Few celebrations marked the discovery until hundreds of years later. The continent was not even named after Columbus, but an Italian explorer named Amerigo Vespucci. In 1792, a ceremony was held in New York honoring Columbus, and a monument was dedicated to him. Soon after that, the city of Washington was officially named the District of Columbia and became the capital of the United States. In 1892, a statue of Columbus was raised at the beginning of Columbus Avenue in New York City. At the Columbian Exposition held in Chicago that year, replicas of Columbus’s three ships were displayed.
Americans might not have a Columbus Day if Christopher Columbus had not been born in Italy. Out of pride for their native son, the Italian population of New York City organized the first celebration of the discovery of America on October 12, 1866. The next year, more Italian Organizations in other cities held banquets, parades and dances on that date. In 1869, when Italians of San Francisco celebrated October 12, they called it Columbus Day.
In 1905, Colorado became the first state to observe a Columbus Day. Over the next few decades other states followed. In 1937, then- President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed every October 12 as Columbus Day. Since 1971, it has been celebrated on the second Monday in October.
Although it is generally accepted that Christopher Columbus was the first European to have discovered the New World of the Americas, there is still some controversy over this claim. Some researchers and proponents of other explorers attribute the first sightings to the early Scandinavian Vikings or the voyages of Irish missionaries which predate the Columbus visit in 1492. The controversy may never be fully resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, but 1992 marked the 500th anniversary of the Columbus discovery.
>Parks and Recreation Director Timothy J. Cronin and Village Engineer Christopher J. Rutishauser recently presented Village Council members with conceptual plans for the construction of permanent restroom facility at Vets Field.
As envisioned by Cronin and Rutishauser, the proposed facility would be constructed as an appendage to The Kasschau Memorial Shell; on the Shell’s west side, facing the Ridgewood Public Library.
Council members were presented with two possible design configurations; no projected price tag was provided for either, nor was there discussion regarding estimated construction start and end dates. It was originally believed that restrooms would be incorporated into a planned concession stand, but the price tag for that project far exceeded budgeted funds.
Further discussions regarding the restroom project, and a mobile/portable concession stand, will be held during one of the Council’s October Work Sessions.
>With all due respect 1:52, the “urgency” of these palans, as you refer to it, is clear. Valley’s plans are the result of prudent long-range planning on the part of the hospital’s management team and board. They are doing what any good business or institution does to anticipate the level of service and type of service that will be required of them in 10, 20 or 30 years…not just today.
Frankly, this is where the Valley opposition’s argument begins to fall apart. No business manager, board member or trustee of any institution would undertake an improvement project of this scope and financial commitment without being absolutely sure that they will be able to see the project to fruition without risk of being stopped (for whatever reason) after investing tens of $millions 5 or 10 years from now. They MUST address all these issues now.
All you have to do is look at Pascack or any number of failed healthcare providers in recent years to understand how critical Valley’s initiative is. But, before you start drawing unrealistic comparisons between Valley and Pascack, understand that Pacack did not have the stellar management team and board, with a proven record of fiscal responsibility and management efficiency, which has been recognized on a national level. You are all looking the proverbial “gift horse” in the mouth.
But, where your agument loses all credibility is regarding the zoning. While it is true that much of the surrounding homes existed 56 years ago, the neighboprhood HAS developed around them since 1951. More importantly, the zoning restriction have become much more RESTRICTIVE during that that time. However, the zoning restriction are focused on RESIDENTIAL issues, without regard for the operational requirement that Valley faces. IOt is simply UNREALISTIC and IMPRACTICAL and UNREASONABLE to reqiuire Valley to mantain its level of excellence 30 years into the future while treating them like a residence. It is that simple. This an isse that has been been exacerbated by the Village’s zoning restrictions, many of which did not exist in the 1950’s or 1960’s. And it is a problem for the Village and its residents, as much as it is for Valley.
By the way, I don’t know what statistics your are referencing. But, we are seeing the greatest increase in aging populations, particularly here, in over 100 years. Have you heard about something called the “aging Baby Boomer generation”? Nonetheless, it is not simply the number of patients that Valley will serve, but HOW they will need to be serves. This is really the driving issue. The business of healthcare service is changing and how service providers are equipped to deal with those changes is at the heeart of this issue.
One final note, you stated that “remember this is the same hospital that wanted our children to play on top of a parking garage”, as if Valley somehow acted irresponsibly. If you speak with any Village official or BOE member, they will tell you that residents failure to approve Valley’s proposal to build an underground garage below BF field and provide a brand new turf field above it, at ground level, may have been the greatest SCREW UP (my words) in the Ridgewood in the last decade. It would have been a huge positive for the BOE and our youth sports teams. It would have provided the BOE with $millions for needed improvements and/or avoided the need for tax increases. It would also have eliminated the need for much of what Valley is now forced to propose in their current plan. How ironic is that???
If those incredibly shortsighted people responsible for voting the BF proposal down had approved it, Valley might actually have been able to accomplish their current plan without requiring new (more appropriate) zoning. I am sure that those people are largely the same people who are opposing Valley’s plan today. Too bad we can’t hold YOU accountable today.
It is you who do not deserve the our trust or faith. For you have not acted in the best interest of our children and our families. Valley act in good faith then and is doing so now. They may not be perfect. But, we are lucky to have them 5 minutes from our homes. Maybe the Valley opposition should get off its self-righteous NIMBY soapbox for a minute and consider how they can act to correct a situation that they made inevitable when they voted the BF proposal
– Restore home to school trust with clear expectations of the school
– Remove reform math programs TERC2 and CMP2 immediately as Administrator should be a proponent of world class practices and opponent of educational fads and failed practices.
– Restore gifted education with a dedicated budget amount for each school and document clear accelerated work goals in each school for such students.
– Restore content and academic achievement as the primary goal of our educational system across K-8.
– Revamp curriculum department to provide world class standards (capable of an A rating by an independent foundation) across all subject matters. Standards should de-emphasize pedagogy and emphasize knowledge to be learned and mastered.
Short Term Work To Be Done – Perform an accounting of how much tutoring community has provided over the past 5 years. Of importance is the WHY behind the various tutoring and also the personal cost (time,money) spent. Offer plan of action for district to improve upon providing and meeting the needs over outside services.
– Eliminate authentic assessment and document the clear, concise, objective assessment that must be done for the students.
– Dissolve PRISM & Grant Wiggins affliations.
– Make a mission statement of Ridgewood Public Schools to be to provide an education to its children worthy of a world class ranking. And document that world class standards (This should effectively eliminate all dependence on standars from private teacher organizations, wich as NCTM)
– Must be good with large budgets but be sure budgets will now provide textbooks and workbooks to students in all grades.
– Must be able to provide oversight of curriculum and instruction group to develop acceleration flight plans for our top performing students (those that are not tested as gifted but are operating above the group). Ability grouping. Eliminate over dependence on group work; especially in those age groups where inappropriate (K-8).
– Must be willing tackle open campus issue at the High School, violence in the school and holding accountable all involved.
– Provide a strong voice in the community to ensure saftey of student environment (construction for 10+ years near a middle school should be a cause for concern by the school district and voiced by a capable leader)
– Be proactive and open and accountable. For example, provide cost of materials when the local reporter asks for it or hold accountable the department, supervisor, for the answer. Require your leadership team to return phone calls, emails, letters promptly and to follow through on answering questions to the satisfaction of the inquiring person.
And finally, recognize this is a partnership with the community but since we pay for this respect our voice as being as important as yours.
Administrator with an affection for educational fads need not apply. Administrator must value content knowledge and have demonstrated such work in prior districts. Adminisrator seeking glory or publication need not apply. Administrator will be subject to googling.
>Read Dr. Brennan’s update as of 4:00 p.m. Thursday. Superintendent’s Update Thursday, September 20, 2007 4:00pm To update you on recent events: 1. There has been no bomb threat directed at any Ridgewood public school. We are in constant communication with the Ridgewood Police Department, which is keeping us fully informed.
2. We have an RHS sophomore who has been missing since September 10, 2007. We are working with the Police, the family, and other agencies to locate this student.
3. There is no evidence of any connection between the missing student and the threats made against the communities in Northern Bergen County.
4. We are again implementing heightened security at all buildings tonight. The safety of your children is our primary concern. Thanks for your cooperation and support. If there is any change in this information, we will update you immediately on the website and by e-news. To subscribe to e-news: email [email protected]. In the subject line type: subscribe rps.enews.
>How much more in reduction of services are Village residents going to take? Since the Village Hall building project and other real estate purchases. This Council and administration is bringing living in Ridgewood to new low. Council members and Village Manager should just admit that they were left some serious debt from previous Village Manager and Council decisions and projects. Take the hit, advise residents that they need to raise municiple taxes to getback on track and bring the Village back to the community it once was. There is point where you have stop cutting back on services this Village proudly had. Streets used to be cleaned of snow and leaves ontime. Village owned properties and buildings used to look clean and functional – no more! And now, start charging for medical attention and transport? I think residents will not take any more of this. We will see at election time, won’t we.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007 Ridgewood featured on CBN News
“The tide is turning too slowly for parents.” That’s just one pithy comment in Heather Sells’ report for CBN News in a news story that features Ridgewood’s math woes.
Disillusionment with reform math seems to cut across race, religion, political affiliation, and even one’s stance on reform math, as evidenced by a shocking quote from pro-reformist Joe Rosenstein.
The segment airs multiple times throughout today on the 700 Club program, carried on ABC Family Channel cable network, FamilyNet, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and other U.S. television stations
In NYC – CBS Family Channel 14 at 10:00 am – 11:00 am; 11:pm – 12:00 am
Text of the story is reprinted below:
The Math Debate: When Johnny Can’t Count By Heather Sells CBN News September 4, 2007
CBNNews.com – RIDGEWOOD, New Jersey – A new survey shows three out of four high school graduates aren’t ready for college even though they’ve taken the recommended classes. The problem for many students is math.
But math is an issue for teachers too because many educators can’t even agree on the best way to teach it.
Eleven-year old Rebecca Lucas is a modern-day ice princess. After two years of lessons, she can spin and jump. She’s also a talented student. But in the fourth grade last year, she wasn’t even sure how to subtract, let alone multiply.
Her mother, Nicole Lucas, remembers the stress.
“[There was] a lot of crying, arguing,” she recalled. “I was pushing her.”
And there was also the confusion.
Nicole said, “She would get lectures from me ‘Are you paying attention?’ ‘Why aren’t you getting this?’ And then, of course, we find out later it’s because she just didn’t know it.”
Rebecca joins countless students across the country whose lack of basic math skills may hurt their college career.
That’s why one group of fifth-graders is practicing their multiplication. Their immediate reward is a lollipop. But experts like NYU’s Dr. Sylvain Cappell say the long-term benefit is mastering the fundamentals.
“If you can put aside the technical steps and just do the calculations automatically then you can go on to advanced material,” Cappell said.
But how much emphasis should be placed on “the basics” versus lessons that emphasize conceptual thinking and self-discovery?
That question has been the subject of an almost 20-year math debate that began when the National Council of Math Teachers endorsed so-called “reform math.”
It began because of a concern about future competitiveness for tomorrow’s jobs. Reform math emphasizes hands-on learning and real-world situations.
The textbooks are heavy on story problems and light on numbers, equations, and practice sheets for kids.
“They need to become engaged. And if they don’t become engaged they don’t learn, they don’t retain it,” said Dr. Joseph Rosenstein of Rutgers University.
In the last several years, Rosenstein, the council, and others have shifted somewhat, admitting that perhaps schools should focus more on skills such as arithmetic, multiplication, and division.
But in many communities from coast to coast, the tide is turning too slowly for parents.
Those worried that reform math isn’t teaching their kids the basics are waging curriculum battles on their local turf.
One of the hottest debates might be in suburban Ridgewood, New Jersey. There, a new superintendent is taking over for a math reformer who left after protests from parents.
Opposing a math curriculum may appear straightforward on the surface. But in towns like Ridgewood the debate has become ugly. Parents here who oppose reform math refused to go on camera with us, fearing harassment or even their own personal safety.
Ridgewood police are even investigating threats against one family, the Carolls, which has publicly opposed the new math.
Kathleen Carroll said, “It’s really sad that it’s become a big deal. It’s very divisive.”
But long-time New York City math activist Elizabeth Carson says it’s no surprise that math is such a big deal.
“We’re talking about a huge industry that’s involved in this reform math, so there’s a lot of money at stake, a lot of professional careers on the line,” she said. “There’s a pride of a school system on the line.
In towns like Ridgewood, parents suspect reform math is the reason for booming tutoring businesses.
“Most of these kids are average or above average IQ that are coming to us,” said Lisa Mlinar of Huntington Learning Center. “They don’t tend to get enough of that core skill and drill. They never really master a single subject like multiplication or division before they move on to the next thing.”
Troubles with math are also surfacing on college campuses, as shown in a new survey by the college testing service act.
“Only 16 percent of the kids who took core courses in math are ready for college-level courses,” ACT’s Cyndie Schmeiser said.
Right now, remedial education costs more than a billion dollars a year.
College math professors say high school teachers are trying to cover too many different kinds of math and many students don’t even know their basic skills.
“Many of the students will use calculators in my freshman calculus classes when they really shouldn’t. They will use it to multiply two times three,” Rosenstein said.
With more jobs demanding math and science know-how, the stakes are higher than ever. That’s a main reason some math professors worry about reform math.
“There may be several generations of students who’ve been brought through that kind of curriculum who’ve been told they know math, who’ve played games with it-all of which is fine-but in the end didn’t have the skills they need to advance into the fields that need it,” New York University’s Dr. Charles Newman said.
And that may make reaching for the stars literally impossible.
Schmeiser said, “We owe them the education we promise in K through 12, and that is to be ready to go out into the world when they graduate.
>Any curriculum and school policies that specifically disenfranchise our male students WILL effect male antisocial behavior. Any outsider can look at the K8 curriculum and see how the males in this town are constantly marginalized. The reading materials are unabashedly feminist. Girls are great! Boys are insignificant, at best. The so-called math program is based on lateral “girl” learning patterns while the normal “boy” learns through vertical layered reasoning which is not to be used because it favors boys (and the rest of the world too). Males in Ridgewood are told from day one that the school system is a hostile environment and that they are the reason for everything that is wrong in the world. The State of New Jersey has been using taxpayer’s dollars since the early ninties to fund anti-male curriculums in this State starting with the New Jersey Project run by the misandroids Sheffield and Rothenberg at WPC. That program has been folded this year – thank God! Yet it has morphed into PRISM at Montclair State’ Women’s Studies Department. The deparment is full of third generation man- haters and they have alot of money to “transform” curriculums into female friendly and screw the males while your at it mistresspieces. It’s hard for me to believe that B&I with their connections to MSU and Rutgers and their own educational backgrounds could have been unaware of the origins and intent of TERC/CMP. I’d like to see the statistics from Travell and Orchard broken down by gender. I’d like to see the gender of all of the reportable incidents at the high school broken down by gender. I think those statistics will prove my point.
“Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country,” said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. “All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day…is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation.”
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Founder of Labor Day
More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.
Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”
But Peter McGuire’s place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.
The First Labor Day
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.
In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday” on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.
Labor Day Legislation
Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.
A Nationwide Holiday
The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.
The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.
The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.
>These are some of the most ridiculous and selfish comments I have read on this blog. I am continually amazed by the arrogance and selfishness of people in Ridgewood, who tout the character of our town and demand the highest standards of service and resources, yet are unwilling to pay for them. Whether a it is a new field, a new service or a new building, how many times have we heard something like, “it wasn’t like that in the 1950’s, so we don’t need it now”.
That is an absurd rationale and illustrates a fundamental lack of understanding and appreciation of civic planning, municipal management and community responsibility.Any rational and thoughtful Ridgewood resident wants a local hospital that can offer the best medical care possible. There may be situations that require patients to seek specialists in NYC or elsewhere. But, that shouldn’t mean we force Valley to make due with antiquated and inappropriate zoning and require all Ridgewood residents to live with the consequences of long-term declining services. I hope my family never needs Valley’s services. But, I want to know that it is there if we need it and I certainly don’t want to “have to go” to Hackensack or NYC to get the best care, if my family has a medical emergency.
I live near RHS and the campus buildings, which overshadow our homes (and from some views have a very “institutional” look) have not diminished our neighborhood. Nor will Valley’s plans diminish the neighborhoods around the hospital compared to today’s appearance. It will certainly not diminish the view from BF field. The eye sore there is the back side of the school, BF’s parking lot, dumpsters and broken fences, not Valley Hospital. In fact, the trees that shield the field from Valley Hospital may be the most attractive view from the field.Like our school system, Valley Hospital is a valuable asset that enhances the quality of life in the community and distinguishes Ridgewood from less desirable neighboring communities. Also like our school system, it requires periodic improvements and upgrades and deserves our support for well planned fiscally responsible change.
>I know this is the wrong place to ask this, but is that above comment correct? Did the town really give this church $10,000 to tear down the house? I called Village Hall today, asked the question, and I got transferred for 20 minutes… engineering, zoning, parks dept, etc. No one would comment.
Not sure of the answer. The word I got was that the Church was paying just over $20K for the job. However, the Church was not obligated to fill in the hole left behind, nor to do other site work in preparation for the property being turned into a park ,perhaps the $10K covers that work; i.e., filling in the hole, leveling the land, and removing the fence.
