Anne Barry

Opinion editor's note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here. A 1973 cover of Time magazine featured a picture of Gov. Wendell Anderson with the caption "The Good Life In Minnesota." When asked about the article four decades later, Anderson responded, "Two things stand out about what we did back then. We had a social conscience that led us to invest in the common good; things that benefit everyone.

As both a primary and secondary music teacher in Ireland for some 20 years, and now a college professor in Illinois, USA, a number of differences stand out between music education back home and here in the United States. Most striking is that the vast majority of schools in America have specialist music teachers.

It is often said that dangerous goods handling compliance becomes an issue only when a non-compliant situation is discovered. The better dangerous goods professionals perform, the less necessary they appear.