The Best of Our Knowledge
(2010-03-08)
Listen Now:
ALBANY, NY
(WAMC) -
"THE SHORT BUS: A JOURNEY BEYOND NORMAL"
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Part One: The Beginnings -
Labeled severely dyslexic and ADHD in grade school, Jonathan Mooney dropped out of school temporarily during the sixth grade. Yet, he went on to graduate from Brown University with honors, in English no less.
His most recent book, "The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal", provides a voice for all those who have been deemed "abnormal."
"The Short Bus" follows Mooney's 35-thousand mile adventure around the country in a real "short bus" - - the symbol of special education in America.
Jonathan Mooney is the recipient of the distinguished Truman Fellowship for graduate study in the fields of creative writing and disability studies. He's also coauthor of "Learning Outside the Lines." Mooney is the President of Project Eye-to-Eye, a nonprofit mentoring and advocacy organization for students with learning disabilities. We'll learn more about that in next week's show. This week, we open with the start of his journey.
"The Short Bus" is published by Henry Holt and Company.
Glenn Busby reports. (7:25)
**(Attention Listeners and Program Directors. The website mentioned at the end of the above story for those seeking additional information is: www.jonathanmooney.com.)**
"LET'S MOVE"
EDUCATION SECRETARY AND FIRST LADY ROLL OUT NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO ADDRESS CHILDHOOD OBESITY EPIDEMIC -
SCHOOL NUTRITIONIST RESPONDS -
Education Secretary Arne Duncan joined First Lady Michelle Obama recently as they rolled out the administration-wide national campaign to address the childhood obesity epidemic. One of the main objectives of the Let's Move program is to improve access to nutritious food in the nation's public schools.
As an example, Connecticut is currently ranked tenth in the nation for its delivery of healthy meals to public school children. That high ranking is due in part to the efforts of Lonnie Burt, Connecticut School Nutrition Association Communications Director, and Nutrition Services Director for the Hartford Public Schools.
TBOOK spoke with Burt about the day to day challenges of providing healthy school meals within their budget.
Charlie Deitz reports. (6:39)
CHILD'S DREAM SETS UP EDUCATION CAMPS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA -
Health and education is on the minds of many people around the globe as well.
Child's Dream is an organization trying to help children in Southeast Asia. Based in Chiang Mai northern Thailand, Child's Dream has been helping fund a variety of education and health projects in that region for more than six years. It was founded by a couple of young Swiss bankers. Sallo Pollak works with Child's Dream in Chiang Mai, and explains their efforts.
Radio Netherlands, Dheera Sujan, reports. (4:22)
**(Attention Listeners. To learn more about the activities of the organization reported on above, their website is: www.childsdream.org.)**
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