The Christian Science Monitor back issues from May 2001:
It's technical, really: In the scrappy city of Birmingham, England, educators find unconventional thinking and innovative technology spur a turnaround.(Features)(Learning)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Kim Campbell Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND -- In Birmingham, the second-largest city in England, schools are almost as common as Cadbury eggs. The place where the famous chocolatier first opened up shop is also a city where public ...
When to start, what really counts.(Features)(Learning)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Amelia Newcomb Spend any time with parents of the 4- to 5-year-old set, and it won't be long before you're talking kindergarten and learning to read. Both topics are a big draw - in part because both seem to demand as much art as science in answering the ...
Saving a school with sweat equity: Blackburn College blends liberal arts, labor.(Features)(Learning)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Tricia Cowen Special to The Christian Science Monitor CARLINVILLE, ILL. -- Ten years ago, at the brink of financial exhaustion, Blackburn College drastically cut administrative staff and scaled back tenured faculty. But the school had one key resource to turn to: its ...
It takes more than turning - or counting to - 5.(Features)(Learning)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Samar Farah Staff Writer of The Christian Science Monitor Mary Fleck, principal of Oak Street Elementary School in Basking Ridge, N.J., is used to calls from anxious parents considering whether to register a child for kindergarten. But she was surprised recently when ...
Helping parents and children explore books together.(Features)(Learning)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Samar Farah PLYMOUTH, MASS. -- Christopher zips through the kitchen, down the hall, and into the family room, his Pokemon slippers tracing a wild arc of school-bus yellow. He pulls himself onto the couch and sits at attention. "Marcia, Marcia," he calls. It ...
A leading lady in a state that leads in education reform.(Features)(Learning)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Marjorie Coeyman Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor PHOENIX -- There's nothing timid about Lisa Graham Keegan. Ask Arizona's dynamic state superintendent of public instruction her opinion on any education topic, and you'll get it - absolutely unvarnished. ...
Creating.(Features)(Learning)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Kim Campbell BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND -- Maria Aldridge is not interested in the ordinary - forget about walls painted in primary colors, or unappealing entrance halls. As the school effectiveness coordinator at West Health Junior School, the agreeable Ms ....
Let these plants swat the bugs for you: they're widespread and hungry, but they'd only hurt a fly.(The Home Forum)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Pamela D. Jacobsen Some plants get so hungry they eat flies, spiders, and even small frogs. What's more amazing is that these plants occur naturally (in special environments) in every state. In fact, they're found on every continent except Antarctica. You've ...
Simply irreplaceable: A spiritual look at issues of interest to young people.(The Home Forum)
May 01, 2001 ... An eager writer was sharing a portion of a story she'd written for children at a week-long writing workshop. We listened appreciatively to a sensitive tale about a little girl who, having lost a grandmother she loved, discovered a new and special friend in her teacher. But ...
That giant, roaring, gas torch next door.(World)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Greg Campbell Special to The Christian Science Monitor AKARAOLU, NIGERIA -- For 30 years, no one in this small fishing village has seen a dark or tranquil night. The 2,000 residents know that, once the sun sets behind the mangroves, its light will be ...
New Philippine leader faces crisis: The arrest last week of former President Estrada has unleashed daily protests against his successor.(World)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Simon Ingram Special to The Christian Science Monitor MANILA, PHILIPPINES -- Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was supposed to be "the healing president" - a technocrat who would restore the battered image of the Philippines, and begin to mend the nation after corruption ...
Reporters on the Job.(World)
May 01, 2001 ... NOT BANKING ON WAHID: Reporters get clues to what "real people" think from all sorts of sources. Dan Murphy's landlady offered one straw in the wind for today's story. Dan's leaky-roofed but charming Dutch-era house in Jakarta is across the street from a home President Abdurrahman ...
In conflict zones, Red Cross becomes a bull's-eye: The killing of six aid workers last week highlights the risks in unstable countries.(World)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Mike Crawley Special to The Christian Science Monitor NAIROBI, KENYA -- The deaths of six employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross in The Democratic Republic of Congo last week have led many aid workers based in the region to contemplate their own ...
Indonesia moves toward unseating its president: After yesterday's subdued protests in support of Mr. Wahid, analysts say his days are numbered.(World)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Dan Murphy Special to the Christian Science Monitor JAKARTA, INDONESIA -- President Abdurrahman Wahid's supporters were girding for yesterday's battle for more than a month. Supporters in his East Java stronghold formed self-styled "suicide squads" and threatened to ...
Vietnam's moral mind game.(Opinion)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Brad Knickerbocker ASHLAND, ORE. -- Bob Kerrey's anguish over his Vietnam wartime experience resonates with many, many veterans. Like him, they - we - can never know for sure whether the "enemy" engaged in deadly combat in fact were North Vietnamese troops, Vietcong ...
Down on the farm, reforms failing: American farmers still lean hard on government aid, and instead of rising exports they see falling crop prices.(USA)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Laurent Belsie Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor BISBEE, N.D. -- The United States' bold program to wean farmers from subsidies and make them more globally competitive appears to be failing. Instead of becoming more competitive, America's farmers ...
Bush's looming battle: filling federal bench: Scores of Clinton picks were blocked by the GOP. Now, tables may turn.(USA)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Dante Chinni Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor WASHINGTON -- When the Bush administration begins its rollout of nominees to the federal bench over the next few weeks, the Democratic opposition could find themselves up against an unlikely enemy: their own ...
In social HMOs, a model for healthcare reform: They make it easier for elderly to keep living at home - and, unlike traditional HMOs, they're not losing money.(USA)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Alexandra Marks Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor NEW YORK -- As Washington grapples with ways to ward off the eventual insolvency of Medicare, a feisty but fragile Josephine Castoria is living proof that effective healthcare can be provided without ...
Homeownership can be short-lived in inner cities: Critics tie 'predatory' lending practices to a rising foreclosure rate in urban America.(USA)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Noel C. Paul Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor A short walk through low-income neighborhoods in major US cities yields a distressing countertrend to today's home-ownership boom. "For sale" signs proliferate - testaments to a sudden jump in ...
Immigrants scramble to stay in the US.(USA)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: - Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Illegal immigrants had a chance this year to apply for a visa without returning home - as long as they did it before midnight last night. An estimated 640,000 immigrants could apply under the Legal Immigration and Family ...
New White House motto: Keep it simple: Unlike past presidents, Bush gives brief speeches, stays focused, and plays up his 'plainspoken' roots.(USA)
May 01, 2001 ... Byline: Abraham McLaughlin Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor WASHINGTON -- If one thing is becoming clear about President Bush's manner and style, it's that his approach to life - and to governing - might be summed up in three words: Keep it simple. His ...
An ivy that's in a league of its own.(Features)(Homefront)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Judy Lowe If you think all ivy looks much the same, you're not alone. About 30 years ago, Suzanne Warner Pierot was of the same opinion - until she discovered she was laboring under a misconception. Thinking that a stone wall beside a stream that ...
Game break: Parents concerned about too much time spent playing electronic games look for ways to unplug children without making them feel like social outcasts.(Features)(Homefront)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Jennifer Wolcott Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Ehren Oertell was the envy of his peers. With a mother who worked for a games division of Sony, he got his hands on all the new electronic toys before they hit the stores. He hadn't even entered the double ...
Short skirts go to court.(Features)(Homefront)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: April Austin Media watchdogs blame television for everything from increased violence to illiteracy. I blame TV for the Ally McBeal effect. Last week, I was waiting in a district courthouse for my turn to be called as a potential juror. I had arrived a few ...
Summer camp unplugged.(Features)(Homefront)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Jennifer Wolcott Many camps won't allow Nintendo, PlayStation, or Game Boy to be present at those evening campfires - or anywhere else, for that matter. How can a parent prepare a child for this? Start weaning your camper now, say the experts. "It is ...
The revolving door of child-care staffing.(Features)(Homefront)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Marilyn Gardner Stability and continuity are priceless gems for everyone in any setting - for families at home, for employees at work, for students at school. But a lack of stability and continuity may have the most profound effect on those who need it most: the very ...
The pressure of buying treated wood.(Features)(Homefront)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Ross Atkin Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Just the mention of chemicals can make some homeowners uneasy. They are a fact of life, however, when building with pressure-treated lumber. To make Southern pine (a readily available and relatively ...
Fuzzy Bear shows a family how to have a good time.(Features)(Homefront)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Debbie Farmer The most popular member of my daughter's kindergarten class is Fuzzy Bear, a two-foot-tall stuffed animal with matted fur, beady eyes, and a slightly dubious odor. Each Friday he pays a visit to a different family, whose members are supposed ...
A garden that yields beauty and solitude: Through one woman's efforts, a group of volunteers plants and maintains a series of flower gardens at a hospice in Mississippi.(Features)(Homefront)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Nellie Neal Special to The Christian Science Monitor RIDGELAND, MISS. -- June Stevens would rather show than tell. When asked about the work she does at Whispering Pines Hospice, she says quietly, "You'll just have to come and see it." Then, when you do, and ...
Mexicans celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a feast that includes seafood.(Features)(Homefront)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Lotte Mendelsohn Special to The Christian Science Monitor Hordes of us suffer in a cultural and culinary vacuum when it comes to south-of-the-border food. The Mexican-food lexicon for most of us means a variety of spicy delights like chicken enchiladas in ...
From seeds of change, a harvest of gratitude: The author recalls how her father helped to fuel the Green Revolution.(The Home Forum)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Mary Salmon Kennedy "I wonder what your father will think?" My mother said to the images in the mirror. She had just chopped off our long hair, her dark tresses mingling with my long golden curls on the floor. I was too young to have had a voice in her ...
On this topic, I'm unmoving.(The Home Forum)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: William J. Dean The poet Joseph Brodsky wrote, "I am prepared to believe that it is more difficult for Russians to accept the severance of ties than for anyone else .... For us, an apartment is for life." How true this has been for my family. My Russian-born ...
Smugglers' highway: On the Mexican border with Arizona, evidence points to a rise in smuggled migrants.(World)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Howard LaFranchi Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor NACO, MEXICO -- At Casa Guadalupe, a 40-bed migrants' inn a stone's throw from the metal wall dividing this gritty Mexican border town from the United States, Felipe Portillo is encouraging his two small ...
Maoist 'Robin Hoods' in Nepal win support of poor: Government takes notice after increased attacks.(World)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Scott Baldauf Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor MANKHA, NEPAL -- For centuries, the tiny mountain kingdom of Nepal was best known for the world's tallest mountain, Everest, and most skilled mountaineers, the ethnic Sherpas. Now, it is home to the world's ...
On the beat in battered Grozny: As the world marks Press Freedom Day tomorrow, Chechnya's only remaining paper serves as a lifeline.(World)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Scott Peterson Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor NAZRAN, RUSSIA -- The arrival of spring weather and budding leaves in Chechnya brings not the hope of new growth, but the likelihood of stepped-up fighting. But getting accurate information about ...
Locals get a cut of Canada's growing diamond trade: New gem-cutting industry could boost Yellowknife economy.(World)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Ruth Walker Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor YELLOWKNIFE, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES -- Perhaps only in Yellowknife, perhaps only here at Sirius Diamonds, is the term "polar bear" a verb. Jeannetta Hynes is "polar bearing" one of the stones cut and ...
Brutal police counterattacks send recruits to rebels' side.(World)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Scott Baldauf Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor NAUBISE, NEPAL -- In village after village, the tales of police brutality take on a numbing similarity. In the standard scenario, police arrive at the home of a suspected Maoist supporter. The ...
A show of military muscle in Karachi: r Authorities quashed a pro-democracy rally yesterday, raising fear of longer military rule.(World)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Farhan Bokhari Special to The Christian Science Monitor ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN -- To explain the predicament of Pakistani politics, fruit merchant Shamim Malik lifts his scale and points to its two cups - fruit goes in one and a metal weight in the other. References to ...
No place like Rhode Island.(Opinion)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Robert P. Hey WASHINGTON -- Well, well, my home state of Rhode Island is in the news again, and for the too-frequent reason: charges of corruption by government officials. What a surprise: Dog bites man. Zzzzzzz. Now the unwelcome spotlight bathes ...
The case for fair trade over free trade.(Opinion)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: David R. Francis A major frustration for protesters at the Quebec Summit of the Americas last month was the little attention given their arguments by the media. The coverage was almost all about a wire fence, tear gas, and the performance of George W. Bush. ...
Bush accelerates missile defense: Bush team wants to create a sense of inevitability, but critics say the US is risking a game of high-stakes chicken.(USA)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Peter Grier Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is pressing hard to make the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty a thing of the geopolitical past and put the United States on an almost irreversible path toward strategic ...
Can the US really build a power plant a week? It's a key component of Cheney's energy plan, but experts see it as a monumental task.(USA)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Abraham McLaughlin Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor WASHINGTON -- Even Dick Cheney, chief architect of the now-evolving US energy policy, concedes his proposal is "ambitious." Ambitious might be an understatement. The vice president's ...
'Gross out' movies now even gross out teens.(USA)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Yvonne Zipp Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor After years of outrageous comedy, it turns out Hollywood had somebody left to shock: itself. Nine months ago, "gross-out" equaled huge grosses at the box office, with films from "Scary Movie" to ...
Flap erupts over ads on school websites: Critics decry the commercialism, but schools can't afford sites without the ads.(USA)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Lynn Waddell Special to The Christian Science Monitor When students at Adams Memorial Middle School log on to the school's website, they can check their homework assignment, e-mail their teacher, ... and find the man of their dreams. That last is thanks to an ...
Governors offer new model of a green GOP: Unlike Bush, some GOP governors are winning praise for efforts to protect the environment.(USA)
May 02, 2001 ... Byline: Mark Sappenfield Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Standing before the rumpled blue curtain of the Massachusetts Statehouse press room, Gov. Jane Swift had just delivered an announcement that, within hours, would be widely hailed as a pioneering step in the ...
Heading to the city ever since civilization began.(Features)(Ideas)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: - Laurent Belsie Since the beginning, people have sparked bouts of globalization by picking up stakes and moving. As migrants rubbed shoulders - sometimes peacefully, sometimes not - they changed cultures and history. The current round of globalization could well speed ...
A genius of the short-take looks back: Even Richard Nixon couldn't keep Daniel Schorr from telling it like it is.(Features)(Books)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Clara Germani Every newsroom used to have its icon: the gentleman journalist whose grammar and enunciation were so formal he even cussed that way, whose grasp of history was encyclopedic, whose need to know was insatiable, and whose manner conveyed heft of intellect ...
Grandma wonders if it's ever too late: Fans of Anne Tyler will love - and recognize - her latest novel.(Features)(Books)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Ron Charles Should Anne Tyler be arrested for self-plagiarism? It's a question those of us who love her books worry about. The latest, "Back When We Were Grownups," won't do much to dispel our anxiety, but it's delightful: another simply told tale about the ...
No, Harry Potter wasn't the first: Five new short stories about wizards in the Earthsea tradition.(Features)(Books)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Kurt Lancaster Ursula K. Le Guin, the grandmother of science fiction, published the first of her Earthsea books in 1968. So began her wonderful tales about a wizard training school. (Harry Potter certainly wasn't the first!) Although related to those first four ...
Where there's smoke, there's not always ozone: Vegetation-generated hydrocarbons share the blame.(Features)(Ideas)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Peter N. Spotts Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Each day for nearly a month during the summer of 1999, a team of scientists boarded a federal turboprop, buckled themselves behind instrument consoles, and endured what team member Tom Ryerson calls "six to ...
Ultimate free exercise: National Day of Prayer.(Features)(Ideas)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Jane Lampman Today, millions of Americans are expected to gather at houses of worship, city halls, and state capitols across the country to celebrate the National Day of Prayer. An annual event first established by Congress in 1952 to encourage prayer for the ...
Sink or swim? As borders fall and local customs increasingly meld in the wake of globalization, will cultural diversity ...(Features)(Ideas)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Laurent Belsie Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor IQUITOS, PERU -- Running for cover from the pelting rain, tour guide Luis de la Cruz ducks into a thatched showroom where native beads, necklaces, and grass skirts hang from the rafters. A bare-breasted ...
Gone fishing...(Features)(Ideas)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Susan Llewelyn Leach As you slice into that tender pink salmon - raised on the best diet that fish farms can provide - please note that it probably ate up to 5 pounds of ground up wild fish before pulling its own weight, so to speak. Fish farms, it turns out, ...
'All Things Considered' at 30.(Features)(Ideas)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Kim Campbell Thirty years ago today, National Public Radio debuted an afternoon program called "All Things Considered," and drive-time for news junkies has never been the same. The popular show is commemorating its anniversary with several special reports ...
Giving wild fish a break: More than wildlife parks, marine reserves help turn around whole fishing areas.(Features)(Ideas)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Robert C. Cowen Special to The Christian Science Monitor Oceanographer Jane Lubchenco has an upbeat take on the world's declining fisheries: Establish a system of strategically placed "no-catch" zones, and you can have your fish and eat them, too. Her advice ...
Hackers come, hackers go: Don't get used to it!(Features)(Ideas)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Tom Regan It's an all-out attack by Chinese hackers! OK, maybe it's not "all-out." But it's causing millions of dollars of damage. OK, maybe not millions. But we should all be alarmed, right? Well, maybe a little, but not much, according ...
A culture of cheap industrial junk: Japan's economic woes are just the beginning of its troubles.(Features)(Books)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Ann Scott Tyson "Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Japan" is nothing less than a sweeping indictment of a nation gone awry. In chapter after chapter, Alex Kerr describes an oppressively backward-thinking, corrupt, bureaucratic state that is ...
We seek Greek secret of the staff of life.(The Home Forum)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Peggy Vincent The best bread I ever tasted was on Naxos, a Greek island in the middle of the Mediterranean. Just married in 1970, my husband, Roger, and I traveled for a year before settling down. We landed in Greece, rented a room for $12 a month, and stayed for four ...
Grandpa's ways reel me in.(The Home Forum)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Thomas O'Malley My grandfather marched to a different drummer. I found out just how different when he took me fishing for the first time. That was the summer we followed the rise of the hill to his secret fishing hole. Weaving around a trail visible only to ...
From seaweed to sushi: Competition and the dying appeal of the 'farm' threaten Japan's billion- dollar industry.(World)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Ilene R. Prusher Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor SHICHIGAHAMA, JAPAN -- Tokiuti Mizuma is asleep at the wheel of his pickup truck, succumbing to exhaustion even as the heavy equipment around him roars with the din of a dozen washing machines. ...
US quickens China-Russia thaw: Chinese news agency warned yesterday that US missile shield plans could start an arms race.(World)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Robert Marquand Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor BEIJING -- When President Richard Nixon helped "open China," part of the aim was to counter any alliance between the archrival Soviets, and China. Jokes and friendship toasts between then-Secretary of State ...
Forty things Beijing teachers can't say to kids.(World)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Robert Marquand Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor BEIJING -- They aren't exactly George Carlin's seven dirty words. But new rules in a Beijing school district this spring have listed "40 forbiddens" - words, phrases, and sentences - that teachers may no ...
Brazil's scandals hamstring reform: Top leaders are accused of stealing billions, as political fallout spreads widening shadow.(World)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Andrew Downie Special to The Christian Science Monitor RIO DE JANEIRO -- Two billion dollars is missing from Brazilian government coffers - part of a trio of scandals shocking even in this country where corruption is commonplace. Politicians and civil ...
Albanian guerrillas vow to fight for rights: Macedonia's president met with President Bush yesterday to ask for help with peacebuilding.(World)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: Jeff Bieley Special to The Christian Science Monitor NEAR KUMANOVO, MACEDONIA -- Camouflage-clad Commander Mala of the National Liberation Army sits on a long sofa in his headquarters in a northern Macedonian village, the stump of his left hand - lost while fighting in ...
Lessons from Dotcom U.(Opinion)
May 03, 2001 ... Byline: David D. Perlmutter BATON ROUGE, LA. -- Three years ago I passed up an opportunity to shatter a student's dreams. Now I wonder if he wishes I had. The young man in question came to my office near the end of the term to tell me he was dropping out of school ....