ementary schools — Haskell School —rnhas been placed on the Illinois state academicrnwatch list. That was all that somernRockford educrats needed to revivernone of their pet programs—year-roundrnschooling. The principal of Haskell hadrntried to impose year-round schooling onrna predominantly white, middle-classrnschool in Rockford’s pre-busing days andrnfailed, due to overwhelming oppositionrnby parents. So she took her entire staffrnand moved to Haskell, where the studentrnpopulation — post-busing — is predominantlyrnlower-class whites and minorities,rnand resurrected the idea. Many parentsrnwho complained about the year-roundrnplan were told by supporters that theyrndidn’t really care about their children.rnNot surprisingly, then, there was littlernpublic opposition to the plan when thernschool board considered it in February.rnI’he comments of one mother, who hasrnfour children at Haskell, summed up thernsentiments of the crowd: “I can’t get myrnchildren to read a book when they’re offrnfor the summer; all they want to do is torngo outside and play. If we go to yearroundrnschooling, then somebody elsernwill force them to study, and I won’t havernto be the bad guy.” For parents in Rockfordrn—as for parents nationwide —rn”Think of the children” has become arntrump card. But what they really mean,rnas Henny Youngman might put it, isrn”Take my children, please.”rnO B I T E R D I C T A : Responding tornreaders’ requests. The Rockford Instituternis sponsoring its first summer schoolrnfrom July 27 to August 1 in Rockford.rnFeaturing Chronicles’ editors and writers,rnthe school will be open to students of allrnages. This year’s topic, “Redefining thernAmerican Right: From Aristotle to PatrnBuchanan,” will focus on the roots of thernAmerican right and feature sessions onrnthe classical tradition, medieval Christianrnthought, the Anglo-American constitutionalrntradition, the American counterrevolutionariesrnof the I9th century, andrn20th-century Middle American rebels.rnIn addition to composing a formal paperrnand attending a special session on writingrnby novelist Chilton Williamson, Jr.,rnstudents will participate in ten to 12 lecturesrnand both formal and informal discussionrnperiods. Attendance will be limited.rnLook for further details in futurernissues oi Chronicles.rnThe National Grassroots Alliance ofrnEvanston, Illinois, is cosponsoring a rallyrnin Washington, D.C., April 23-25, to expressrnpopular frustration over Congress’srnunwillingness to pass immigration reformrnlegislation. In addition to the rallyrnon Capitol Hill, other activities include arncongressional briefing, visits to congressmen,rnand a reception to honor congressmenrnwho support immigration reform.rnFor further information, please contactrnNGAat (847) 784-0911.rnWendell Berry has contiibuted threernnew poems to this issue. Mr. Berry, thernwinner of the 1994 T.S. Eliot Award forrnCreative Writing, is the author of 33rnbooks of poetry, essays, and fiction, includingrnEntries, Another Turn of thernCrank, and A World Lost. A native ofrnHenry County, Kentucky, he returnedrnthere in 1964 to farm and to write.rnOur artist this month is H. WardrnSterett of Roscoe, Illinois. Mr. Sterettrnworks in a variety of media, includingrnsnow, and has participated in snowsculptingrncompetitions throughout thernUnited States, and in Sweden andrnSwitzerland.rnMichigan readers, take note: Chroniclesrncan be found at McLean & EakinrnBookseller, 307 Lake Street, Petoskey;rnPaperbacks Unlimited, 22634 WoodwardrnAvenue, Ferndale; Little ProfessorrnBook Center, 380 South Main Street,rnPlymouth; Borders, 5601 MercuryrnDrive, Dearborn; Borders, 30995 OrchardrnLake Road, Farmington Hills;rnBorders, 31150 Southfield Road, Birmingham;rnAndrew Spicer, 515 East LibertyrnStreet, Ann Arbor; Michigan NewsrnAgency, 308 West Michigan Avenue,rnKalamazoo; Waldenbooks and More,rnMadison Place, Madison Heights; andrnBarnes & Noble Superstore, 6800 OrchardrnLake Road, West Bloomfield.rnjiDABLErnKenneth McDonald, Keeping Canada Togetherrn(Ramsay Business Systems). A lesson in federalism,rnlimited government, and cultural continuity.rnDavid Hackett Fischer, Albion’s Seed (OxfordrnUniversity Press). The now classic account of thernBritish origins of America’s regional characteristics.rnFrancis Parkman, Pioneers of France in the NewrnWorld (University of Nebraska Press). A brilliantrnYankee eccentric wrote this masterful saga of the French in NorthrnAmerica.rnGeorge Washington Cable, Old Creole Days (Pelican) and ThernGrandissimes (Penguin Classics). Bittersweet novels of Creole societyrnin New Orleans.rnFrances Parkinson Keyes, Dinner at Antoine’s (Simon & Schuster).rnBest-selling mystery which takes place in New Orleans. Mrs. Keyes’rn(rhymes with eyes) house is now a museum in the French Quarter.rnChris Segura, Marshland Trinity (Win or Lose, Ink). Three awardwinningrnnovels (collected in one volume) of Cajun life constitute anrninformal social history.rnWalker Percy, The Moviegoer (Random House). Percy’s first and mostrnperfect novel, set in New Orleans in the 1950’s.rnJean Raspail, The Camp of the Saints (Social Contract Press). IngersollrnPrize-winning author’s grim fantasy of Europe overrun by Third Worldrnimmigrants.rnAPRIL 1998/9rnrnrn