smart moms

I’ve spent a lot of time in the last twenty-four hours thinking about my daughter’s teachers and her education in Maplewood, finding myself in tremendous gratitude. As many people may be aware by now, yesterday, Vicki Knox, a teacher at Union High School, was making news and facing a school board investigation for having made disparaging comments about LGBT people on her Facebook page.

"All of these young people regardless of their race, their sexual orientation, they are gifts to us, they have so much to offer and it's just terrible to find out that kids are letting this part of their life define everything about who they are going to be", Michelle Obama said recently on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Openly gay actress Sara Gilbert will be joining five other women on a new CBS talk show targeted to moms. Sara is mother to two children - along with Allison Adler, her partner of eight years. The two are raising son Levi Hank, born to Allison in 2004, and daughter Sawyer, born to Sara in 2007.

Sara will be joined by Sharon Osbourne, Big Brother host Julie Chen, actress Holly Robinson Peete, Broadway actress Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Leah Remini from King of Queens.

"I think she (Shiloh) is fascinating, the choices she is making. And I would never be the kind of parent to force somebody to be something they are not. I think that is just bad parenting... Children should be allowed to express themselves in whatever way they wish without anybody judging them because it is an important part of their growth.

President Barack Obama apologized by phone to a woman prevented from seeing her dying partner at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Just a few years ago, Janice Langbehn [left] pleaded with doctors to get hospital visitation - as her partner of 17 years slipped into a coma. Eight hours passed before Langbehn would be allowed into the Trauma Center. By then, she could only say her final farewell as a priest performed the last rites on 39-year-old Lisa Marie Pond [right].

I downloaded the first four songs recorded and released by Court Yard Hounds as soon as Sony announced they were available. CYH is a side project formed by Dixie Chicks sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison.

All four songs sound great - and they offer the ease and beauty of Dixie Chicks at their best. But one song in particular - "Ain't No Son" - was too angry for me, and I removed it from my playlist. Now I know why the song struck a chord with me.

Lauren Forcella publishes a syndicated column - Straight Talk For Teens - which offers input from teens on current life issues. The articles allow a panel of teens to express their views on a wide range of issues. In each column, Forcella offers a 'middle way' for parents to address each topic.

In the latest column, a teen writes: