Karuna. Freeform.

11:54 23rd Oct 2011

Notes: 1204

Tags: race segregation jim crowe politics education photos

A lone African-American student waits for class to start at a newly integrated high school. Photograph by Robert W. Kelley. Clinton, Tennessee, 1956.
(via legrandcirque)

Two thoughts: 1. What courage. 2. I wish we still dressed like that. SMH @ my head.

A lone African-American student waits for class to start at a newly integrated high school. Photograph by Robert W. Kelley. Clinton, Tennessee, 1956.

(via legrandcirque)

Two thoughts: 1. What courage. 2. I wish we still dressed like that. SMH @ my head.

10:56 28th Sep 2011

Notes: 6

Tags: History education race civil rights kids testing

Many states have turned Dr. King’s life into a fable, said Mr. Bond, who now teaches at American University and the University of Virginia. He said his students knew that “there used to be segregation until Martin Luther King came along, that he marched and protested, that he was killed, and that then everything was all right.

—

Sam Dillon

(Reporting for the New York Times)

THEN EVERYTHING WAS ALRIGHT.

See also: why white Americans start with the assumption that we AREN’T racially-biased instead of the more historically-accurate assumption that WE ARE RACIALLY BIASED.

Also of note:

“Over the past decade, students have performed worse on federal history tests administered by the Department of Education than on tests in any other subject. On the history test last year, only 12 percent of high school seniors showed proficiency.”

Doomed to repeat, but also, how can they possibly understand the meaning of current events without knowing the context out of which they come?

22:26 19th Oct 2010

Tags: education kids wow

"We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special, so aren't we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation, rather than memorization, for creativity, rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still."

Coxsackie-Athens High School’s Valedictorian Erica Goldson criticizes the US educational system during the graduation ceremony (June 25, 2010)

(alternate link to the full speech)

13:22 15th Oct 2010

Notes: 131

Tags: funny funnneeeeee education evolution

11:40 13th Oct 2010

Reblogged from moreapologies

Tags: Rosa's Law education equal rights r-word reform free the girls

A 9-Year-Old's Victory: Stamping Out The R-Word

moreapologies:

A 9-year-old girl’s fight for respect made it all the way to the White House this week, where President Obama made it official: no more R-word.

Here’s the law:

“S. 2781, the “Rosa’s Law,” which changes references in many Federal statutes that currently refer to “mental retardation” to refer, instead, to “intellectual disability””

Amazing.

22:18 8th Sep 2010

Reblogged from iuwaehfoaiuwhefoiaulfjqn

Tags: grammar info graphics ux life education

blackenedbutterfly:

These are simple things. Now you have no excuse, save ESL.

She says it so I don’t have to.

(Source: iuwaehfoaiuwhefoiaulfjqn)

14:18 22nd Feb 2010

Tags: olivia children's books parenting education positive discipline

Page from the original Olivia, by Ian Falconer.

Olivia: (looking at a Pollack in a museum) “I could do that in about five minutes,” she says to her mother.

As soon as she gets home she gives it a try.

11:57

Tags: parenting kids education discipline positive discipline

When Positive Parenting Goes Too Far

I have two amazing kids. They are gorgeous, smart, funny, and from time to time, total fucking assholes.

In some ways, I believe that it’s a child’s job to be an asshole. They need to push limits, to lash out against boundaries to see where the walls are. My role as a parent sometimes feels like part-zookeeper, part-adoring fan/cheerleader, part-cuddlebunny.

It’s the zookeeper part I wanna talk about.

Today, a mom on one of my mommy email groups posted this article listing some positive alternatives to time-outs. Since my son spent 20 minutes in a time-out this morning, I was keen to get some new ideas.

“Parenting coach” Amy McCready’s #1 suggestion on the list — as an alternative to time-out — is:

1. Give a Giant Hug – Do the unexpected! When your child misbehaves he’s waiting for the hammer, instead, do just the opposite of what he expects. He’ll be thrown completely off-guard!

Cute, ineffective idea! To me, this is the opposite of…parenting. Let me explain.

My goal as a parent is to raise loving, socially-conscious children who take responsibility for their actions and make good choices. This means my kids need to feel connected to people in a positive way (the hug part), but they also need to understand that how they choose to behave will shape the way people perceive and behave towards them.

Bad behavior gets negative reactions. Period. Learn something from it, and then make a different choice next time.

To do this, some of the tools of Positive Parenting are needed, but so is the collective wisdom of the ages, or at least of behavioral psychology. BF Skinner showed us that positive reinforcement encourages the reinforced behavior. For example, if my son throws his sippy cup across the room because he’s done with it, and doesn’t feel like walking to the table, what message am I sending him by giving him a hug at that moment?

Please Do That Again! That was awesome! Wow, what a strong throwing arm you have!

The list exemplifies the problem I have with child-centered, “Positive” parenting. The underlying philosophy in this parenting style is non-violence, which I am definitely cool with. But. It also advises parents to go down a path that puts the responsibility for irresponsible, undesirable and completely unacceptable behavior squarely on the shoulders of…the parent.

Ignoring, deflecting or denying bad behavior might work for toddlers, but beyond that, parents need a more sophisticated, more flexible & inclusive group of discipline & teaching tools in our toolboxes.

After reading the list, I stand by the time-out my little guy got this morning. My response was quick, appropriate and resolute. After he’d done his time, we talked about the context to make sure he was clear on what behavior I’d reacted to. “Throwing my cup,” he said. Next time, he is to place the cup on the table, or ask for help.

In this case, none of the “10 alternatives” was appropriate, because his Throwing Stuff habit needs to be stopped, NOW. Directly. Immediately. There may be other times when some of the “10 alternatives” will be appropriate, but to call time-out “as dated as MySpace” is an unrealistic and unhelpful judgment that underscores the problem with interpreting “positive discipline” as “discipline without consequences”.

In my experience, that is no kind of discipline at all.

16:28 19th Feb 2010

Tags: smiles alma mater smith college women education

Smith President Carol Christ announcing that Rachel Maddow will deliver this year’s Commencement Address.

13:14 11th Jan 2010

Tags: girls,education parenting body image texting violence

A Girl’s Life

I watched “A Girl’s Life” last night with my husband, and it really opened our eyes — us, the self-identified street-smart parents who didn’t think we were letting anything slip by. Turns out, the issues I dealt with as a girl are magnified 137,000x for girls today.

The documentary is divided into stories of four girls (and an intro). The whole thing runs a little less than an hour. The stories cover just four of the many issues confronting girls today: body image, cyber-bullying, violence between girls and the opportunities offered by single-sex education.

Each story is compelling, surprising — and familiar. We’ve been there or know girls like this, or had an idea that it was like this, but didn’t know the details. This documentary gives us the chance to know girls’ truths from a respectful distance.

The show may still be airing on some PBS stations, but it’s streamable and they offer a DVD for purchase, all from this link:

http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisinggirls/girlslife/

If you have a preteen or teen girl in your life, you need to watch this one. Raising confident, happy girls starts with awareness. Raise your awareness today.