My New Home in Montclair Part 3

Happy in Montclair

Before anyone says unhappy things about me, let me say right away that I’m very happy in Montclair! Despite the lack of parking places on the main street, Bloomfield Avenue, I find plenty to do!

But I did have an accident recently. I was coming out of the garage in the picture! I came too close to the pillar and couldn’t back up easily. So I ended up scraping the door! My insurance says it will cover the cost of the repair.

A few days ago I went to a jewelry store and bought a new chain for my necklace. It wasn’t the store I was looking for – that was at 231 Bloomfield Ave – but this was closer by about 2 blocks. I used an address I had pulled from my GPS app.

The man inside did his best. First was to try to repair the old clock, about 3 inches by 2 inches. He couldn’t get it to work. He tried everything but the inside clock mechanism was stuck. So I had loved that clock, given to me by Michelle as a board member of the YMCA in 2000 (I believe that was her name!). But I didn’t keep it.

But he did give me a chain for my necklace. This one is 20″ long so it covers my throat when I wear a turtle-neck. It cost $179 dollars, a hefty sum! I wish I could find the receipt from the store in Norwalk Connecticut, when I bought the original chain. But I can’t find it now.

I also tried two other jewelers, but neither was in. One said he had an appointment in the afternoon, the other was closed on Wednesday and Thursday. My daughter Beth reminded me about the Jewish holidays which were occurring for first days of the month.

Now that fall is truly here, and winter is coming, I think I’ll wear turtle-necks most of the time.

I also went to the dry cleaners, American Cleaners, but I won’t go back there. I’ve heard from Beth that they have ruined two of her sweaters. Kelvin promised to email me another address for a dry cleaners somewhere else.

I tried emailing the address for the German Tourist Office. I was hoping that they could give me an updated telephone number for the “Druckerei,” the printing and off-set work by Tilmann Riebe. He seems to have been the owner in 1993. Perhaps he still is the owner. I have no doubt that he will not remember the small photo, 2 and 1/2 inches by 3 or 4 inches, sent to my cousins and then on me in that year! But how can I describe it better?

I can say it is the photo of a woman, or a girl, maybe 16, maybe 20 or even 22 years old. She is wearing a tight-fitting, lace collar and a straight dress. I’ll take a picture of it to send. But so far, no luck with finding the old number!

Marginalized Students Less Likely to Place in Graduate Medical Education

I read this article because I found the title stimulating.

Crystal Gwizdala is the author. She quotes the principal researcher, Mytien Nguyen, and the other person, Dowin Boatright. They are responsible for submitting the research associated with the article. (Mytien is a woman, and Dowin is a man.)

JAMA is the Journal for the American Medical Association.

What I have gathered from reading the article carefully is that those who are underrepresented in medicine – the URIMs – sometimes undergo a lifetime of neglect.

Simply because they are Black or brown, they are automatically given a score of “less than.” They have to work very hard to overcome this discrepancy.

Then they are disadvantaged against the white students who are, in many schools, the majority of the class. Why? Because these students are primarily Black or brown, and they often need the financial assistance. And then the graduate management placement rates are skewed toward those who quality because of volunteerism, test scores, and awards, among others.

Nguyen and Boatright says these can be more balanced in the application process.

Nguyen and Boatright insist that improving GME [graduate management placement rates] for students who are disproportionately affected needs to happen intentionally at the structural level.

For residency programs, Nguyen recommends examining which aspect of an application is being prioritized — test scores, awards, publications, volunteerism, and so on — and giving more balanced consideration to all components.

Further Cause for Discrepancy

They cite the statistics of under-representation in elementary and secondary education. I know these are not true for everyone, but since they are present, I must include them.

With most schools still segregated, the students are already behind. Of course it makes sense that teachers are often placed according to the wealth of the parents, so the lesser teachers get the lesser schools.

And the better teachers get the better schools. It stands to reason, doesn’t it?

I think I would want my students in the better classes!

So it continues.