msockol 2.0

I was recently asked to write this Board of Education column which appeared in the August editions of the Holmdel Happenings and Holmdel Journal.

One summer while I was in college, I worked as a janitor in a local elementary school.  Spending eight hours a day scrubbing desks and scraping off dried bubble gum offered vivid evidence that a school district stays busy even during the hazy days of summer.

Summer is a time for taking stock, anticipating challenges, and setting goals to ensure our school district continues to provide one of the best public educational systems in the country.   It’s a … Continue Reading

Roughly 40 years ago, my Mom went back to graduate school to get her masters in special education. She had four sons under the age of 11, a full-time teaching job, and the full-time unpaid job known as motherhood.   She did all the homework, took the exams, and conducted various sample tests on my brothers and me.   And she still found the time to cook all our meals during an era in which microwave ovens were still found only on the Jetsons.

This week, the New Jersey Senate paid homage to my mother, my wife, and countless others who … Continue Reading