Wednesday, December 12, 2012
U.S. schools are dropping classic books from curriculum in favor of "informational texts."
I can remember the feeling of my world expanding as a student when I sat in a bright classroom and read Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. The discussions that unfolded about the wrongs of discrimination stayed with me to this day. Scout became my hero and my heart yearned to one day marry a man with the moral integrity of Atticus Finch. Young people today will no longer be given the opportunity to learn from the trial of Tom Robinson. To Kill a Mockingbird, and other American literature classics such as The Catcher in the Rye, are being dropped from classrooms to be replaced by manuals and plant inventories by the year 2014. Suggested non-fiction texts include Recommended Levels of Insulation by the the US Environmental Protection …
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Disconnecting from social media helped me reconnect with my children.
Being a Stay-at-home Mom can feel isolating, especially if you have young children at home with you. There was a time, when my youngest was a baby and my other son was no bigger than a grasshopper's hind leg, that I felt alone in a sea of diapers and burp cloths. The days would drag on between naps and nursing and I needed a network of people that I could reach out to. Enter Facebook. Social media became a lifeline for me at a time when I needed a connection. Between finding friends from my past, new friends, and eventually blogging friends, I felt a sense of community whenever I logged in. At first I only checked in when the kids were napping. Grabbing a handful of minutes to read everyone's updates to get a sense that I was an active …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
I'm proud to lead by example on Election Day.
Yesterday, on Election day, I had the privilege of participating in one my favorite voting activities, I took my 7-year-old son with me to the polls. He's come with me to vote many times and we've fallen into a nice ritual that unfolds as we drive to our polling station. The conversation starts in the car and the questions come at me one after the other from the back seat. His young mind is so curious to know more about the adult world. My hope is always to give him the most informed answers I can about the democratic process that America uses to elect representatives and make new laws. The night before an election, I find myself pounding away on my computer, refreshing my knowledge of American history so that I can give him an answer to…
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Intel stops donations until ban on gay scouts and scout leaders is lifted.
Financial supporters of the Boy Scouts of America have been under firm pressure by gay rights organizations demanding that companies take a stand against the youth organization whose policy discriminates against people based on their sexual orientation. The push might just be working. This week the BSA lost funding from their largest corporate funder, Intel, which reportedly gave the youth organization more than $700,000 in 2010. The move resulted from a campaign launched by Eagle Scout Zach Wahls, founder of Scouts for Equality, who started a campaign at Change.org. He urged Intel to pull funding for BSA after an American Independent report disclosed that the company gave large contributions to the organization. With the support of …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Local moms donate their time for good causes.
As a mom to young kids, I think it's easy for me to feel like the world only exists within the walls of my house. I think that it's important to look out beyond the haven of my home and reach out to others in need. It feels pretty amazing to make a difference in the world by doing something with my time other than wiping runny noses, although that's an important job, too. I recently learned that 780 million people lack access to an improved water source; approximately one in nine people. That's just staggering to me. So, I decided to use my blog Leigh vs. Laundry as a platform for change. I teamed up with Water.org and a whole team of fellow bloggers to help raise $2,500- enough money to bring clean, safe drinking water to 100 people for…
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Film pulls trigger on education reform.
Imagine discovering that an over-worked teacher locked your crying child in a storage closet at school as punishment for not following the rules. Scenes like this are getting the Hollywood treatment in the 20th Century Fox film "Won't Back Down," to be released in theatres on September 28. The movie touches on parent trigger laws, a takeover movement that grants frustrated parents the right to petition for sweeping changes in low-performing schools. The law is designed so that if 51% of parents in a failing school agree, they will be given the power to replace teachers, change curriculum, close schools, or convert to a charter school. Charters are publicly financed, independent schools that receive waivers from public school districts in …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Do children of this generation have it too easy?
I can remember it like it was yesterday. My dad would force us to look up from playing Atari so he could ramble on about the fact that when he was a child he only played with sticks and boxes. "We didn't have video game systems and we actually played outside!" he exclaimed. My brother and I rolled our eyes incessantly and returned to our game of Space Invaders. Now, I'm a mother and I find myself saying the same types of things to my children. The other day, my seven-year-old complained about having to do research for a homework assignment. I said, "When I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we needed to learn about a subject we had to go to the library or read an encyclopedia." Of course, I had to further tell him that an …
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Sites mock parents who share too much information about their kids on Facebook.
It's super exciting that your little toddler piddled in the potty for the first time and you want to share photographic evidence of the moment with all of your friends on Facebook. Well, you might want to reconsider before you hit the "share" button. There are a slew of websites these days dedicated to informing over-sharing parents that their childless friends are over reading about their kid's crap, literally. Take for instance, the blog ST*U, Parents, a submission-based "public service" blog that pokes fun at parents whose Facebook statuses have been hijacked with inane updates about their children. The author of the site, known simply as "B," created the blog in 2009 in response to annoying parental over-share posts that popped up in …
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Atlanta parents arrested for student's poor attendance.
School started recently for most counties in Georgia. While many moms were busy packing lunch boxes, two Dekalb County mothers heard deputies knocking on their front doors. Cheryl McCoy and Danelle Swanson were each placed in handcuffs in separate incidents and charged with educational neglect because both of their children had too many absences from school. The truancy round up came from a 2009 ordinance, which is now being strictly enforced. Atlanta parents could face a $1,000 fine, up to 60 days in jail, or be required to complete community service when their children skip too much school. According to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta has a troubling truancy problem. Almost 44 percent of high school students missed 10 or more…
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
New York City hospitals vow to quit offering baby formula to new mothers.
Breastfeeding a newborn can be challenging. Add to the mix, a well-meaning nurse who pushes formula, and it can be enough to make a confused new mom give up breastfeeding all together. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg believes moms need support and that having formula readily available at the hospital interferes with a woman's choice to breastfeed. So, he is inviting NYC hospitals to participate in the city wide initiative, Latch On NYC. According to a press release issued by the New York City Health Department, the program involves both a hospital commitment to limit infant formula promotion and a public awareness campaign on the benefits of breast milk. Hospitals joining Latch On NYC have agreed to: Twelve private New York City …
R++ - One of the famous "Dacula Crew"
9:40 pm on Sunday, December 16, 2012
But insulation is GREEN... more ›