The summer reading list has provided students with a link to school during the dog days of vacation for decades. While it's important for students to read real literature during the summer -- wasn't Moby Dick on the list every year? -- the idea of a traditional book list today seems outdated and incomplete.

It's almost June which means soon signs will be popping up at all the busy intersections . . . you know the ones, the ones that demand you STOP SUMMER LEARNING LOSS.

As a child I hated not being allowed into the segregated library in my hometown. But I am honored and grateful that today the Marlboro County Public Library -- the Marian Wright Edelman Library in Bennettsville, SC -- provides a panoply of early childhood and adult literacy programs.

Spring is almost in full swing and summer is just around the corner. Millions of children in America can't wait for summer vacation, but for millions of poor children who rely on school meals it's a mixed blessing.

We live in a world filled with acronyms, and public education may be one of the worst offenders when it comes to a confusing alphabet soup of terms that only a portion of the population can understand.