December 2011
42 posts
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Keeping College Students From the Polls -... →
mcdevinpants:
ladyprincessgeek-nerd:
comfortableandkind:
tinaalsgirl:
The Republicans are taking this way too far. They’re just scared because all their candidates suck a—.
What. Is. This. Crap. It isn’t going to work, guys. It’s not just college students that are going to vote against those nutballs. Oh, but we vote with our feelings instead of our experience. Ugh, this makes me...
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Check to see if AAA is offering free towing... →
Blogs to Watch:
I reblogged that last resource from titotito, who is an absolutely amazing Tumblr to watch for anything related not only to sexuality and gender but also race, class, mental health, and social justice on a whole.
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Rainbow Resources - a resource for working with... →
genderqueer:
Submission from immeljacket:
Here’s an amazing resource made by some of the very talented people at IFM-SEI, dedicated to working with kids under thirteen on topics of gender and sexual identity. Rainbow Resources contains activities for educators trying to work on their own gender/sexuality knowledge, as well as fun activities to do with young participants.
This has a wealth of...
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A great envelope to come home to:
A lovely holiday card from monasequeda! Thank you! I didn’t expect a photo compilation and everything — it’s up on my shelf with my tiny pine tree and a three-legged pig. Place of honor right there.
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Respecting Kids' Bodily Boundaries and Teaching... →
misterjmasters:
thefremen:
Most of us can remember being pressured to just “suffer through it” from our own childhoods. Who doesn’t recall being forced to kiss “Great Aunt Edna” as a kid, or getting scratched by Uncle Bob’s beard as he leaned in for a squeeze? Or, being told to just ignore the teasing and roughhousing of our cousins?
As a mother, I can relate to the embarrassment that a...
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Excerpt from a Philanthropy News Digest alert in...
California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Washington will receive grants ranging from $50 million to $100 million to develop new approaches to creating a more challenging educational environment at early learning centers and help close the school readiness gap. Among other things, the funding will enable the states to work to align and...
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Shape futures
positivelypersistentteach:
I just wanted to let you know that I got the post cards and leaves! Thank you so much! They were a bright spot on a stressful week (observations + moving across town in 2 days). I brought the leaves to school and my kids loved them! I am at the Airport and this is the first chance I got to say thank you. Big hugs!
That really makes my morning! I was starting...
Food Stamp Etiquette: Human Kindness
tangledupinlace:
by DRESDEN on NOVEMBER 9, 2011
This is now officially the first month in two years that my family has not been depending on food stamps to feed ourselves. The moment that I realized that I no longer qualified for these benefits was incredibly triumphant for me. Within the same moment of celebrating I also felt so incredibly thankful. I have no idea how my family would have...
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H.O.P.E. House: A Trans Safety House and... →
artoftransliness:
Looks like a great cause to support or a great resource for those out there who have been kicked out of their homes.
If you’re anywhere near Phoenix, AZ, this is a great resource to keep in mind if this happens to one of your students, though I hope it never does.
On top of this, this org also has online, phone, and faith-specific support for the trans community; a...
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Reforming education dos & don'ts
itsthemusicpeople:
by Scott McLeod based on a recent article from Alberta Views and the new book Surpassing Shanghai
What the U.S.A. does that doesn’t/isn’t/hasn’t work/working/worked:
‘market-based’ reforms (the application of ‘business insights’ to the running of schools)
emphasize standardization and narrow curriculum;
extensive use of external standardized assessment;
foster choice...
None of the gender-related picture books I was...
It’s a small library and they’re very good with interlibrary loan — I’m requesting them ASAP — but it means I won’t be able to post about them until after the new year.
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Another Job Alternative for Field-switching... →
Every once in awhile I post a job description that might be something satisfying to someone who, for whatever reason, needs to leave the teaching field.
Child life specialists are trained professionals with expertise in helping children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events.
Armed with a strong background in child development and family systems, child life...
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A district further south that is for many reasons...
I told some people I was going to apply.
The first words out of the mouths of two people who are familiar with teaching in this area were “They make very good money there.”
For some reason that made me uncomfortable and I’m not sure why.
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"It's OK to be Neither" →
brennando:
ftmjourney:
This is a wonderful article written by a 1st grade teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin about how she taught the concept of gender to her class and about how some early education can help children become more accepting of gender variance in our society.
It also links so some great books about being different and breaking down gender norms that are for young children!
What...
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mcdevinpants asked: I advise against doing anything. Budgets are written in such a roundabout way that anything could be going on. If you report it to the wrong person in the company, you could find yourself with blame pinned on you.
I’ve confirmed with some partners in the organization I’m serving, after sitting down for nearly two hours of a private information session with a stack of budget paperwork, that someone is funneling funds away from the core service arms of the organization.
Who, we don’t know — it’s not even clear who made the budgets to begin with. How, we don’t know. Into...
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When dumbasses volunteer to read in class and they... →
funniest10k:
And you’re just there like..
This is absolutely not funny at all. I applaud students with difficulties reading aloud who volunteer to do so anyway — in the face of attitudes like this. You can help them by supporting their efforts respectfully.
Calling your peers derogatory terms because they are of a different skill level academically is mean, ableist, and...
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Pew Research Center releases new report, "Teens,... →
This is a massive study, but even if you don’t have the time to read through the nearly ninety-page report you should take a look at the first nine pages, where it summarizes much of the resulting data.
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Wellness Wednesday
positivelypersistentteach:
firstclassroom:
Wear comfortable shoes. The heels might look cute and professional, but a good pair of supportive dress shoes will do wonders. I personally like Clark’s, and many coworkers have agreed. I’ve also seen an equal number of coworkers in sneakers!
Oh, and wear sunscreen :)
I liked Clarks before my surgery, but now it just doesn’t fit my foot right...
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Teaching Learning: Feeling accomplice to child... →
positivelypersistentteach:
teachingtoday:
Actually this is still legal in many states in the US. However, there is always a professional and moral line when it comes to corporal punishment in schools. (I mean legally, in my book there is no line). If you feel it goes beyond that line, as a mandated reporter, you could make a call.
novicephoenix:
Wait. This can’t be legal. I don’t know...
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Over lunch I'll be posting another lesson plan... →
Need to check my email at least once during the...
Bolted to the school to be sure I gave as much time as I could.
Organized books.
Stayed until the last minute and sprinted down the block to the office (people look at you strangely around here if you’re running; Colleen says they probably worry you’re being chased).
Got up the stairs.
Meeting room was dark. Meeting was canceled.
Whoosh… (the sound of me losing all...
It's been a while since I checked in with you all,...
What brought you here?
What would you like to see more of?
How was your day?
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When it rains, it pours
This is some very pleasant rain — well, the metaphorical rain, the real rain around here soaks right to your bones — but it’s also been keeping me from making any thorough original posts.
Work required on my current projects has intensified. There’s research to summarize for local elected officials; there’s a new library to push for; there’s a newsletter and a...
Social Justice is not a trend.
It is not a way to be fashionable, hip, or internet famous.
It is not the new handbag or the designer jeans.
It is not something one reblogs and tacks onto in order to make one’s self look aware of the world.
It is not a semantics game.
It is not a way to one-up other people.
Lately I’ve been seeing, both on the internet and in real life, a disconcerting regularity in discussions...
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J.K. Rowling, don't steal our imaginations -... →
rachellovesmosteverything:
shapefutures:
girlwithalessonplan:
thedisgruntledgradstudent:
The author of this op-ed is an asshole.
I don’t think so. He’s essentially getting to the root of reader response theory, which most high schools loosely operate upon with literature:
But Rowling seems determined to be the wellspring of outside-the-text facts about Harry Potter’s world, which cuts...
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J.K. Rowling, don't steal our imaginations -... →
girlwithalessonplan:
thedisgruntledgradstudent:
The author of this op-ed is an asshole.
I don’t think so. He’s essentially getting to the root of reader response theory, which most high schools loosely operate upon with literature:
But Rowling seems determined to be the wellspring of outside-the-text facts about Harry Potter’s world, which cuts off the kind of imagining that is usually...
“‘Fat’ is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants...”
– J.K. Rowling (via beyourimage)
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“If you’re gonna have pizza with someone else, what do you have to do? You gotta...”
– NY Times: Teaching Good Sex (via ffolkthepainaway)
A metaphor about pizza and sex? Perfect!
(via dreadhawkedmuckaround)
so much perfect in this. i was just re-reading it [i read it before when i was giving a few of my friends a crash course in sex edu. a bit ago] and he is just filled with so...
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I'll tell you what...
Being in a school, even for just one hour in the morning, even just recording lexile numbers into chapter books without any actual interaction with students, makes a whole day brighter no matter what else happens.
With the exception that one incident, I have been walking on sunshine all day. I missed it.
xxgracielou answered your question: Just had a long conversation with a much older colleague about an area in Western Mass affected by gang violence, with high poverty and high school dropout rates.
Where in Western Mass out of curiosity? I’m from there so I’m jw.
They were talking about Springfield and Holyoke; we work out of Franklin County.
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Ah jeez all
I was so caught up in trying to figure out how to put these lesson plans up that I completely forgot to plan any resources for you all for World AIDS Day. I am so sorry. If anyone still wants some resource suggestions — including a service learning project — to use in the classroom regarding AIDS and HIV, comment or drop me an ask and I’ll pull them out and post them.
Also,...
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Just had a long conversation with a much older...
She has some interesting opinions and some good points, but then it sort of degraded and I don’t know how.
Points at which I wanted to shake her:
when she said that she grew up in this area and turned out fine
when later she told another colleague about how when she was younger a certain part of the area where she and her friends wandered around was very nice and safe and rather upscale
...
