Here are some photographs from the big Memorial Day Parade in Appleton this morning (May 31, 2010). I'll start with a large view of my favorite photo, followed by small thumbnails of others. Click to enlarge (these images are linked to 700-pixel wide or tall photos).

At the beautiful year-end choral performance of Appleton East this week, it became obvious that the leaders and teachers in that fine music program aren't just focused on creating a great experience for the audience, but in creating great experiences for their students to grow and succeed. What I saw goes beyond competence and professionalism, also revealing a genuine love for the students and an inspiring desire to help them succeed, not just in a single performance, but in life. Many teachers might be surprised to hear me say that since that's the natural attitude that teachers should have, but it really is an extra-mile thing and one that deserves a lot of respect when we see that kind of leadership in action. Especially when helping a student succeed involves personal risk for the teacher, such as selecting a soloist that might not necessarily be the top performer and may need a lot of extra time and coaching from the teacher. As a parent, it's just awesome to see teachers who really care and help kids to become better people. It's something I've seen not just at Appleton East, but throughout the district. It's easy to recognize in music, where we are blessed with many gifted and caring instructors and leaders, but it's an attitude you'll find in many other areas as well.

Appleton East has been a terrific high school for all four of my sons, but all our area high schools have a lot to offer. But if you can, encourage your kids to get involved in music. There are tremendous experiences and great instructors waiting for them.

The lock system along the beautiful Fox River is being augmented with portage features to allow paddlers to more easily move along the various stretches of the Fox River. By 2012, it will be possible to paddle from Lake Winnebago all the way to Green Bay. Thanks to the nonprofit Friends of the Fox organization, a major section of the river has now been made accessible to paddlers, and more work is underway. Michael King's story in the Post-Crescent, "Ceremony to open portage landings on first segment of Fox-Wisconsin Water Trail on Fox River in Appleton," reveals details and shows a map of the newly added portages.

Fox11 News ran the following story also:

For those parents and students who are troubled by permissive attitudes about inappropriate and offensive "grinding" at school dances in Appleton and elsewhere, there is good news. Nearby Neenah, Wisconsin has demonstrated at its last prom and other dances that "class" can still be part of school functions. Classy behavior without an abundance of grinding appears to be the norm at Neenah High dances. I congratulate Neenah High students, parents, and school officials! Whatever you all are doing to create that classy culture, I hope we can import it to Appleton, where we still have more of a problem with permissiveness toward bad behavior.

I know people are horribly offended to be told that their behavior or their children's behavior is inappropriate. Some can't imagine that in an earlier, more decent era that some "accepted" public behaviors today would have gotten a young man slapped, thrown out, and possibly suspended or even arrested. Some can no longer imagine why the so-called "dance" form of grinding is inappropriate and offensive, why it creates a hostile and unsafe environment for some kids, or, for example, why some young women would feel sexually assaulted to have an unknown male grab her from behind and begin grinding his hips against hers. This can now be done without fear of punishment of even noticeable objection from others. This kind of behavior, however, is much closer to sexual activity and sexual assault than it is to appropriate public dancing. Some parents and young people have spoken out on this issue, but school officials have had a hard time doing anything more than letting committees of popular "pro-grinding" students make predictable comments on the few complaints received. (Am I wrong? Am I missing some more serious action? I hope so - let me know.)

Many young people and their families have simply chosen to avoid school dances to keep away from that kind of atmosphere.

I had heard that this is just how it is going to be everywhere, but reports from trusted eye-witnesses at Neenah dances indicate that much better behavior is possible in school dances. Congratulations to Neenah, whose school dances rocks. Appleton's still need improvement. But be careful about expressing such an opinion for it suggests that somebody isn't doing their job when it comes to maintaining a safe and wholesome environment for our kids, and that's pretty darn offensive to some. So be it.

As for the Appleton area prom, the defense will surely be offered that the prom is not really a school event since it's done off school property by a third-party. But the schools still promote it and make it the Appleton prom, and surely can't be without responsibility for the nature of the event.