The year 2009 has dawned upon us
with a ton of challenges that range from the fear of being laid off-or
if not, the draining task of seeking employment-how to ever make money
from selling a house, to disgust at the state of affairs in the Middle
East.

Even the most sunniest of personalities may find
themselves drawn into the heated discussions of how low the state of
this world has gone. Like any form of exercise, working those positive
thought muscles may take more work than ever. But it's doable. And for
some, part of their New Year's resolution is to staunchly stay on the
brighter side of matters.

A quick walk through the
neighborhoods of Somerville, armed with a digital camera to capture
some smiling faces, revealed that very few people were truly about
ready to give up hope, and that their resolution for 2009 is to dig
deep from within and see what comes up.

Newly-weds Glenn and
Deborah Morrow of Somerville, both have good reason to be optimistic
for 2009-they are in love. The Morrows have been doing a lot of work on
their house-general renovations and tidying-to make it more of a haven
for them. They decided to cut back on traveling and entertainment so
that they could weather any unfortunate layoff situations, but to them
that's a good thing. Returning to a calmer, domestic home life will
only make them a closer unit.

"Plus, it is an attitude," Glenn said. "I have a lot to be grateful for."

Deborah likes to read poetry when life seems unbearable, as the written word offers a Universal message about faith and love.

"I
try not to be afraid when things seem bad, since fear can really make
you crazy," Deborah said. "I also try to see who out there is in worth
shape than I am. Helping others really can take away those fears."

As
she dashed across Somerville Avenue from appointment to the other, Mimi
Graney, the executive director of Union Square Main Streets, said
keeping busy and useful keeps her feeling hopeful. Constantly thinking
of creative projects for Union Square takes a lot of positive energy.

Hope
for 2009 also comes in the form of fixing what has been broken. People
are coming to realize that the two-party system is not democracy,
explained Mary Crary, a professor of Newton, who was taking a walk
through Union Square with her friend, Amy Valens, a retired teacher,
visiting from Forest Knolls, CA.

"American citizens have to
find ways to engage more in the political process," Crary said. "I hope
that our democracy supports this process, but you can't just rely on
that."

People need to switch their way of thinking away from
Democrats v. Republications, which is dysfunctional and distracts
people from the main issues. "So I resolve to look more at how we can
work towards this shift, than how bad things are," Crary said.

She added that she has intensified her yoga practice and works hard to take deep breaths when things become overwhelming.

Valens
had to agree that she had more hope with Obama soon to be in office. "I
cross my fingers that Obama will pull more things out of his hat," she
said.

Finding hope for 2009 also boils down to faith that
things will get better. John Figueiredo, an HVAC technician from
Somerville, said that he expects the recession to turn around by this
summer and that unemployment levels will start to level off. "Typically
my resolution is to take better care of myself and eat right," he
grinned.

Over at Union Square Smoke Shop, owner Dave
Hamparian, said he has seen both good and bad times, and they all
pass-eventually. "I hope we get through the worst of it as quickly as
possible and that we can find a way to recover," he said.

Across the street at Midnite Convenience, owner Frank Golden shrugged and admitted he takes it all on the cuff.

"I
say, 'Keep on keeping on,' to quote Joe Dirt from Saturday Night Live,"
Golden quipped. "No, really. That is all you can do when you really
think about it. There isn't any other alternative.

Here are five such myths. Each is widely repeated, deeply held — and dead wrong.

1.) We need more government to insure poor Americans.

Government has been providing health coverage to low-income patients for over 40 years. The results are hardly encouraging.

Witness
Medicaid. The quality of care beneficiaries receive is exceedingly
poor. Heart attack victims covered by Medicaid, for instance, are less
likely to receive state-of-the-art care than their privately insured
counterparts — and they're more than twice as likely to die as a
result of their illness.

Because of low reimbursement levels,
physicians are reluctant to treat Medicaid patients. A 2003 study found
that primary care physicians were five times more likely to reject
Medicaid beneficiaries than patients with private insurance.

The last thing this country needs is to expand a failing public insurance system.

2.) 46 million Americans do not have health insurance.

This
Census Bureau figure is often spun as proof that America's healthcare
system is in awful shape and failing many in this country.

Included
in the Bureau's count, though, are more than 10 million non-citizens
and approximately 14 million people who are eligible for public
healthcare programs but haven't enrolled. Plus, nearly 10 million of
the uninsured have household incomes of more than $75,000.

Far too many Americans go without health insurance, but the number of chronically uninsured is nowhere close to 46 million.

3.) Universal health coverage can be achieved by government mandate.

According
to the federal census, nearly two-thirds of the uninsured are aged 18
to 34. This makes sense — healthy people aren't going to pay for
expensive insurance they'll never use.

Those who support an
"individual mandate" believe that by requiring all Americans to buy
health insurance, the formerly uninsured young and healthy will
increase the size of the risk pool and therefore lower premiums for
everyone.

The problem is, some states require insurers to
charge everyone the same rate. So young people would end up paying far
more in premiums than they should — or could — pay.

The real
way to attract young adults into the insurance market is to lower
premiums. This can be done by reducing costly benefit mandates and
allowing people to buy insurance across state lines.

4.) Prescription drug importation will save patients money.

At
most, foreign drug importation would save Americans one percent on
healthcare costs over the next decade, according to the Congressional
Budget Office.

At the same time, purchasing drugs from places
outside the United States raises tremendous safety concerns. Many
foreign drug factories avoid FDA screenings; a hearing in the House of
Representatives last year found that foreign factories are inspected
once every 13 to 30 years on average.

5.) The state-run healthcare systems in Canada and Europe are better and cheaper than America's.

People
who make this claim usually point to the fact that life expectancy is
higher in Canada and Europe. But life expectancy is influenced by a
number of variables aside from the quality of a country's healthcare
system — like diet, genetics, exercise, smoking, pollution, and even
marital status.

A study published last year in the British
medical journal Lancet Oncology suggests that America is better at
treating cancer than Europe or Canada. Researchers found that Americans
have a better survival rate for 13 of the 16 most prominent cancers.

This
study's findings tell us more about the quality of a healthcare system
than life expectancy rates do because the relationship between
treatment and outcomes is more direct.

A single-payer health
system with a global budget — like Canada has — results in long
waiting lists, rationed care, and a dearth of the latest technological
equipment.

If our leaders recognize these five myths, we can expect healthcare reform that works for all Americans. Let's hope they do.

The total cost of the $3,203.02 per
member pay raise for the 200 legislators is $640,604 per year. Over the
two-year 2009-2010 session, the cost is $1,281,208.

Patrick is
required under the state constitution to determine the amount of a pay
raise or pay cut that the state's 40 senators and 160 representatives
will receive for the 2009-2010 session. All Massachusetts governors are
obligated to increase or decrease legislative salaries biennially under
the terms of a constitutional amendment approved by the voters in 1998.
The amendment, approved by a better than two to one margin, requires
legislative salaries to be "increased or decreased at the same rate as
increases or decreases in the median household income for the
commonwealth for the preceding two year period, as ascertained by the
governor."

Legislators' salaries have been raised every two
years since the $46,410 base pay was first raised under the
constitutional amendment in 2001. The new $61,439.76 salary means that
legislative salaries have been raised $15,029.76 or 32 percent since
the automatic hike became part of the state constitution.

The
most recent hike, prior to today, came when former Gov. Mitt Romney
gave representatives and senators a 4.8 percent annual pay raise for
2007 and 2008. That $2,667.33 hike increased the base pay of $55,569.41
to $58,236.74.

At the moment, Democratic House Speaker Sal
DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray also receive and $35,000
bonus for their service – boosting their salaries to $96,439.76.
Republican House Minority Leader Brad Jones and Senate Minority Leader
Richard Tisei receive a $22,500 bonus for their service – boosting
their salaries to $83,939.76.

The remaining 196 legislators currently receive the new base salary of $61,439.76.

Over
the next few weeks, DiMasi, Murray, Jones and Tisei will choose their
leadership teams and also appoint dozens of members to committee
chairs, vice chairs and other leadership positions. At that time, these
legislators will see their base pay boosted by bonuses ranging from
$7,500 to $25,000.

In his official letter to State Treasurer
Timothy Cahill announcing the raise, Patrick said, "As required by
Article CXVlll of the Amendments to the Constitution, for the purpose
of adjusting the base compensation of members of the General Court, we
have ascertained, based on the federal census American Community Survey
and reports of average weekly wages, that the median household income
for the Commonwealth f r the preceding two year period increased by 5.5
percent."

Beacon Hill Roll Call / Special Report / January 7, 2009

"A
budget gap of the magnitude we face will require tough choices that
impact individuals, families and businesses across the Commonwealth,"
said Governor Patrick. "It's necessary for us to have everything on the
table when making these decisions."

The expanded 9C power will
give the Governor emergency budget authority over agencies outside of
the Executive Branch – including the Legislature, the Judiciary,
District Attorneys, Sheriffs, and other Constitutional Officers – and
local aid.

We
thought all three speeches were excellent – so lets take a few minutes
to break them down, for better or worse, and see what they were really
all about.

The School Committee – new Chairperson Maureen
Bastardi made it clear that this sitting School Committee and its
members are completely dedicated to making sure that they will fight
tooth and nail to make sure the same level of services are provided to
the students/children of this city. For an elected body that is more
often than not ignored and/or misunderstood, it is clear that they as a
body are ready for whatever is thrown at them – the bottom line is that
they are equal to the task.

The Board of Aldermen – new
President Walter Pero wasted no time taking a shot at the proposed
changes to the Charter that will be moving forward in some form in the
next few months. He did it with a touch of class and a history lesson –
to get his point across. The bottom line is that this year promises to
be interesting with a President of the Board who is not afraid to speak
his mind and a board that isn't afraid to ask the right questions, even
when it seems like they are just rubber stamping something for the
administration.

The Mayor – Joe Curtatone came through with a
speech that covered the bases and had plenty of sound bites; however,
if you listened carefully, there was plenty of substance to what he was
saying. He did it without saying "I did this" and "I did that" or "look
what I am going to do" – he did it with a splash of realism. He
admitted that it will "get worse before it gets better." That is the
kind of stuff we need to hear. Bottom line – he is committed to doing
everything he can to make Somerville a more sustainable community with
broad vision across the spectrum of local interests.

This
series on institutional transformations required to keep America's
promise would be incomplete without looking at our schools. Their
students will live in these institutions and be the agents of their
change. Since I know little of such matters, I asked the guy who I turn
to for such insight, Joe Beckman, to write this column.-Bill Shelton.

It's
reasonable to ask if there is a future for education as we know it. Our
understanding of schools has changed dramatically since we attended
them and will change even more over the next twenty years. Let's look
at the record. Progressive educators pushed typewriters and multiple
choice tests, since those were their most advanced technology.
Typewriters beat handwriting during the Depression; and tests measured
the post-war era. In the '60's we rebelled. We had Sputnik and the new
math, invented federal grants for higher education, along with Peace
Corps and VISTA.

In the years following Watergate, not much
happened. Schools got crusty. Lots of the '60's stuff got blown away.
It took vouchers, charters and unions, Bush and No Child Left Behind,
nasty shootings and school violence to produce serious innovation..
Ugly provocations led to ugly suggestions: mandates for more hours,
more days, more years of class in controlled environments.

Those
mandates don't work in Baghdad, and they won't work in Somerville. If a
kid's bored in five hours, that kid will explode in 7; if it's bad for
9 months, it will be prison by month #11; and if school tests saintly
students to survive through age 18, lots fewer will get to heaven when
it's the law. You get more with honey than vinegar.

Let's look at the alternatives.

With
retirements and transfers, 15%-to-20% of Somerville teachers leave
every year. So in the next five years. nearly 40% will be children of
the Internet. Sometime around then they will share with their students
this cultural transformation. There is no limit to what they – and
their kids – will do.

If we think of incentives rather than
mandates we can imagine a much happier future. If we ask kids how to
solve a problem rather than test them for a single solution, we'll get
lots more than what tests now measure.. If they see school as a
laboratory, a resource, a means of building lives – and if we share
that vision – we'll get more for them and lots more for us. And then,
if we help teachers create this laboratory rather than regulate and
limit their courseware to a set of standards, our schools can be the
resource we need to build our community, to know each other better, and
to create a self-renewing city.

This sounds pretty grand, but
it's easy. First, we know that the SAT and MCAS are stretched beyond
their capacity to measure what kids know. Real change in testing is
about to crack the College Board's ceiling. People have created
reliable, tested, and useful ways to measure "wisdom," for example –
"anticipating the impact we make on others." At Tufts, they asked,
"with an 8 _ by 11 piece of paper, solve a problem – any problem – and
tell us how and why." That kind of question invites evidence of wisdom,
creativity and practicality. It sure beats "how many widgets are left
when you give six to Mirabelle!"

Second, we know that
after-school programs can be fun, can pay, and can co-opt the day
program. That's why MIT's "interterm" pulls together students' first
and second semester into a transition. We lack that kind of integrative
project in the middle and high school.

Not for long, however..
There are already video projects that extend that day. There may soon
be city planning, economic development, and community organizing
projects to turn schools into what we need, to get the most from the
$700,000,000 Green Line, or from the New England Revolution in Inner
Belt, or a new Assembly Square. Projects like these build résumés that
make an SAT score less important to a college.

Third, the best
innovations come from within the schools, not from outside. Those
whiteboards now sprouting in Somerville classrooms are perfect for kids
to correct each others' papers like gleeful gamers and refine their
drafts for other teachers or colleges when the time comes. They are
also perfect for a movie or a lecture or a news commentary from the net
when somebody says something you KNOW needs correcting. When a
classroom is a real lab, those "toys" show both how to learn, and how
to learn from each other – lessons long sought and rarely shown.

Fourth,
the gamers will finally figure out how to turn scores into grades.
Already the state lists hundreds of old MCAS questions on their website
(http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/testitems.html). Soon some smart kid will
code those questions into a game, with points for speed and accuracy.
Ultimately, some funder will give a prize for good scores. Everybody
will then see that MCAS is just a game itself, and that other games,
far more fun, can show lots more than a simple speed test using old
fashioned tech. When getting into Harvard with $250,000 in scholarship
money is just another way to say a kid won The World of Warcraft, lots
more game makers will make a lot more money from eager-beaver parents.

Fifth,
we are not alone. The average kid "texts" at least four other kids a
day. When students work together, there is no limit to where those
collaborations go. Networks already involve students everywhere. I've
used tutors from Romania and the Philippines in classes in Chelsea and
Boston. There are few student aid programs abroad, and tutors here cost
$40/hour. That disparity cannot long prevail. Eventually we'll have
lots of graduate students from abroad chatting with classes in
Somerville for lots less money and lots more contact.

Sixth, you
can't keep a lid on things, forever. Information flows in lots of
directions at once. Eventually, student blogs will warn about certain
teachers or give cues to better grades or easier ways into better
colleges, or, at the very least, brag about beating a test. Those blogs
will warn about teachers to avoid and celebrate those who makes things
fun. For a first cut at this, check out
(http://www.ratemyteachers.com/schools/massachusetts/somerville/somerville_high_school.
; Just as schools now use CORI (criminal records checks), schools,
kids, teachers, and parents will to vet their next assignments.

Finally,
it will be interesting to see how long it takes before students produce
an online newspaper. It is so easy to set up a website, its surprising
that it hasn't happened. Also surprising is that there are so few
YouTubes of people angry funny or creative. An example of this was Mark
McLaughlin at Teen Empowerment last year
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c6VN2pOLWU). Once we thought that kind
of "work" was for footnotes and papers. Soon it will be blogs and
self-promotion.

This vision challenges subjects we now think are
central – history, English, algebra, etc. Recently, Tom Bent, who
serves on the High School's School Improvement Council with me,
described how a student on his electrician crew at Harvard saw a wiring
diagram on a blackboard and observed, "That's an algebra problem. Why
didn't they tell me I could actually use that subject." So, we'll find
those uses and make 'em work.