On Thursday the day after Flag Day, three Bloggers Met with State Senator C.J. Prentiss at Talkies front room; her website is here. The next hour rolled, and we got to know a socially committed lady and had a bit of fun, too. When you listen to the podcast, you’ll find out her entire real name and precisely why she changed it back in the ’70s, what it’s like to be a year older than Paul McCartney, and what retirement has to do with Otis Redding. Names that pop up are Mary Boyle; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Jesse Jackson; Head Start; Michael Charney; SuccessTech; and Ted Strickland. C.J.’s early experiences with a 26-year-old grandmother distill the problems of literacy vis a vis poverty, the true costs of poverty, the necessity of early intervention with reading programs, and give you the background for her groundbreaking 1993 hunger strike for winning back breakfast programs for Appalachian kids. What distinguishes C.J. from her elected peers is that she strives to allocate 90% of her efforts to enhancing the lives of people in poverty. Like Martin Luther King, Jr., she understands that we must raise up our fellow man by economic class, not merely by race, along the lines of what’s outlined in The World House. Talking of Laurel School, another key distinction that pops out is “a computer for every toenail.� The minimum wage, voting issues, Ohio Earn and Learn (she was a key designer for the humanistic and community-building basic concept, not the funding), analyzing third-grade pupils to forecast the number of prisons to be built, there’s lots of great content here. Find out about the delicious synergy of how blue-collar unions making the sartorial splendor of cute little bow ties and suspenders all possible. Wrap with hearing her plans for the future and hear a rendition of “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.� We had fun; you should too. We all learned something. This is a fine lady and dedicated legislator with a heck of a record, and you need to hear about it.
Part 1. Time: 10.20
Part 2. Time: 13.05
Part 3. Time: 18.28
Part 4. Time: 14.06
Part 5. Time: 12.47
The transcript for this podcast is forthcoming. The average cost of a transcription is $100. If you’d like to see this podcast transcribed, please consider helping to pay for its production. If you use PayPal, under Payment For: enter CJ Prentiss Transcript. If you prefer to pay by check, note the transcription in the memo field. Contact info is here.
[…] If any of you haven’t ever heard me speak on this issue, here is what I think. You may think differently, but please feel free to dream a bit and see where you think WIFI can take us. We are entering an age of a knowledge economy where many of us will be left behind. Specifically, young people in urban neighborhoods because they do not have the opportunities afforded to other young people. CJ Prentiss in her interview with Meet The Bloggers talked intelligently and passionately about this very topic. Those of you reading this post can now very easily click your mouse and go to that site and become better informed. Knowledge is power. […]
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