Breaking News -- Public School Closure Extended Another Two Week -- March 29, 2020

This was just announced by our granddaughters' school district in north Texas. I assume this will occur across most (if not all) of Texas. Public schools will remain closed two weeks beyond the original date. Schools will now be closed through April 17. Easter is Sunday, April 19, 2020.

Good call.

Many states have announced their public schools will be closed for the rest of this academic year. I assume that will eventually be announced in Texas.

These states have already announced that they will remain closed through the end of this academic year:

• Kansas
• New Mexico
• Vermont
• Virginia

Two words: Betsy DeVos. Wow, wow, wow. I had not seen this article until just now, seeing it after my earlier note suggesting that Ms DeVos should take "advantage" of this crisis.

On Friday afternoon, education secretary Betsy DeVos spoke as part of the coronavirus task force presentation. In eight and a half minutes, DeVos touched on several points, including indications that she may try to use the widespread pandemic-driven shutdown to create a path to national school vouchers.

After thinking Trump for his “clear-eyed leadership,” plus a few other nods to her boss, DeVos moved on some actions the department is taking.

First, as most states are already aware, the federal government has waived the mandate for this year’s Big Standardized Test.

Next, she attempted to clarify the department’s stance on education for special needs students. This has been a point of concern for many school districts; if distance learning or other solutions cannot be made available to all students, including those with special needs, then that would be illegal. The department has said A) yes, it would be illegal and B) school districts should not let that hold them back. On Friday, DeVos emphasized both messages. She stated that the transition to online or distance learning must happen quickly and “it needs to include meaningful instruction and supports for children with disabilities.” She followed that immediately with “Learning should not stop or be denied because schools fear federal regulators.”

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Gamine

It all started with Audrey Hepburn earlier today. I was watching "Love in the Afternoon" on TCM. I was curious what the reviews had to say about it and happened to read one review in TV Guide:

Filmed in Paris at the Studios de Boulogne, the Opera, the Chateau de Vitry, and in various suburban settings, there's no question that LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON had great locations going for it.

It also had the winsome charm of Hepburn, the elfin puckishness of Chevalier, a literate script by Wilder and Diamond, and an airy feeling that wafted the audience along.

What it didn't have going for it was a leading man--Gary Cooper could be many things, but as the lead in a romantic comedy, he fell short.

Not that he'd never done it before. Cooper had made several pictures in which he handled comedy lines with aplomb, but he was pushing 56 at the time and looking too long in the tooth to be playing opposite the gamine Hepburn.

Later at the park, while Sophia was riding her bike, I was re-reading The Weil Conjectures: On Math and the Pursuit of the Unknown by Karen Olsson, c. 2019. I saw the word "gamine" and wondered if I had put it on Arianna's word list. I had not, so I added it to her list.

Then, of all things, I am now watching TCM's "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter," with Alan Arkin and Sandra Locke. I was curious. How did Sandra Locke get her start? Again, a most interesting backstory over at wiki.

And there it was again, "gamine."

"The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter" was Locke's film debut, garnering her an Academy Award nomination. From wiki:

For the "Heart" audition, then-fiancé Gordon Anderson gave his bride a so-called Hollywood makeover: he bound her bosom, bleached her eyebrows and carefully applied her makeup so as to create a more gamine appearance. They also lied about her age, shaving off six years to seem younger – a pretense Locke would keep up for the rest of her career. After three auditions, she was cast in the role.

Gamine. What are the odds? Three times in three very different sources in one afternoon.