In defense of recess
Legislature should mandate 20 minutes of play each day By MARJORIE DECKER WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG, could you spend six or seven hours in a classroom without going outside? Could you sit still for hours at a time, without a chance to run around and get your energy out? Today,…
Bill to Mandate Recess Picks Up Steam in Mass.
A Massachusetts representative has introduced a bill that would mandate a 20-minute recess for Massachusetts schools, but some schools are already ahead of the game. Eliot Elementary in Boston's North End implemented two 25-minute recesses for their students 11 years ago. "Recess is important because it lets all the stuff…
Advocates Balk at Stay-On-Street Rule to Qualify for Shelter
Advocates for homeless families in Massachusetts are pushing legislation that would remove a state requirement that they spend at least one night on the streets before being eligible for emergency shelter. BOSTON (AP) — Advocates for homeless families in Massachusetts are pushing legislation that would remove a state requirement that…
Mass Lawmakers Aim To Lift Welfare 'Cap On Kids'
By NANCY EVE COHEN Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill Tuesday that would lift a restriction on welfare benefits --the so-called "Cap on Kids." In Massachusetts, a parent with one child on transitional aidreceives $478 per month if the family has no income that is counted against the grant. If…
The welfare cap is laughable — and cruel
By Yvonne Abraham, GLOBE COLUMNIST A generation ago, our legislators did something cruel, and not very smart, and now is the time to undo it. In the early 1990s, even more than today, welfare recipients were widely viewed as irresponsible and immoral. Poor people on public assistance were seen by…