Debates about reading go back centuries. In the 1800s, Horace Mann, the father of the public-school movement in the United States, denounced the idea of teaching children that letters represent sounds. By the 1980s, the debate was so intense that people referred to it as “the reading war.” It was phonics versus whole language. The […]
Opinion
Posted inColumns
What is different about SPARK Ohio?
Scientific studies have repeatedly found that explicit systematic phonics instruction is the most effective way to teach children how to read. And parents are a child’s first teacher. Across the United States and Ohio, many programs for children from birth and beyond are funded and implemented. And many programs for early literacy and school readiness […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor, Opinion
Letter to the Editor: We need to pull our world back into balance
The Native Americans, who lived in balance with Creation, did not take more than they needed. They lived within their tribe with equality, each giving as they received. As the world changed, the Hopi Indians had a term called Koyaanisqasti to describe, “Life out of balance.” We are living with the consequences of this imbalance […]
Posted inEditorials
Editorial: Shelby’s exceptional planning sets the bar high for ARPA funding in 2022
Generational money. Transformative opportunities. Cooperative efforts. A year ago, those were the challenges for and opportunities offered to Richland County leaders as planning began to invest nearly $45 million in federal money coming to the community through the American Rescue Plan Act. We have seen some great decisions, including funds for countywide broadband expansion, needed […]
Posted inOpinion
Sherrod Brown: 1 year later, ARP continues to save Ohio businesses
One year ago, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. And today, thanks to the investments we made in vaccines and in our economy, life is returning to normal. Small businesses have been able to stay open, restaurants have reopened to customers again, and arts venues are thriving. I know […]
Posted inColumns
Can Ohio libraries be a place for a phonics awareness program?
Should librarians or library specialists teach phonics to parents? To young children at libraries? Or to both parents and young children? Every Child Ready to Read at your library (ECRR) is a parent/caregiver education initiative, directed toward public library staff, intended to promote early literacy. Early literacy is what children learn and know about reading […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor, Opinion
Mansfield Sr. & Mansfield Christian baseball teams offer helping hands
It’s one of the oldest stories in the book: rivals coming together for a common cause. That’s exactly what happened in Mansfield over the course of the last 4 weeks. Crosstown baseball rivals, Mansfield Christian and Mansfield Senior High, saw their head coaches partner up to lead a USA Baseball Academy backed youth skills camp. […]
Posted inColumns, Opinion
Rob Portman: Postal service could face insolvency unless changes are made
Editor’s Note This story was first published by the Cincinnati Enquirer, before being distributed by Sen. Rob Portman’s staff. The United States Postal Service is in dire need of help. Last year, Gary Peters and I introduced the Senate version of the Postal Service Reform Act. S.1720 had 26 additional cosponsors equally divided between Democrats […]
Posted inColumns, Opinion
Sherrod Brown: We need to lower the cost of prescription drugs
The cost of prescription drugs is too high in this country. We know Ohioans are concerned about the cost of living right now, and some of the worst inflation we see, year after year, is drug prices. And often, the culprit is price gouging by big pharmaceutical corporations. It’s why I introduced the Affordable Medications […]
Posted inOpinion
Ohio AG joins lawsuit seeking records from Biden Administration involving federal intimidation of parents
COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has joined 13 other states in a lawsuit that seeks to determine how the federal government targeted parents who raised concerns with local school boards about the education of their children. “Targeting concerned parents as if they were domestic terrorists is deeply troubling, and we deserve some answers,” […]