Monday morning links

Should you have missed them over the weekend:

• You should read this great story from 1839 of how knowing how to read rescued a boy kidnapped into slavery. Also, I love that we have T&G reporters digging through the Worcester Historical Museum files! Nice work, Mr. Caywood!
• An important read on how the correlation between being married and avoiding poverty may well be for the reverse reason than is being forwarded.
• Matt Damon did an Ask Me Anything on reddit and tackled education policy. To wit: "We would never let businessmen design warheads, why would you cut out educators when you're designing education policy?" His mom is Nancy Carlsson-Paige, who we are fortunate enough to have as an early childhood ed advocate in Massachusetts, so he does know whereof he speaks. 
• There was a massive march at the North Carolina state capital on Saturday to support the Voting Rights Act, part of the "Moral Monday" marches that have been held there to protest an array of government actions, including some lousy education policies.
• I was saddened to learn that education advocate Ted Olsen of Oregon recently died. He was among the first to break publicly with Stand for Children when it became clear that they do not, in fact, stand for children. I share this column about his granddaughter's close friend and how our system continues to fail them in his memory. Thanks, Alain!
• OUR local education reporter, Jackie Reis, got a second place award  for education reporting in the 2014 New England Newspaper and Press Association awards.Congratulations, Jackie!
• Finally, more to come on this, but public comments on the  proposed changes to the charter school regs are due next week.