Category Archives: women

Turkey, Syria, and Armenians

by

It’s really depressing that Turkey has apparently supported the violence in Syria.  More detailed report here.  (hat tip to Jared Leto).  I pretty much ignore the WSJ piece, given the bias of Rupert Murdoch.  It starts off with the Canadian Ambassador for Religious Freedom protesting Turkey…and yet my blogs on the Canadian gov’t treatment of First Nations people smacks in the face of that.

For those who don’t know, the Armenians suffered through a massacre a hundred years ago.  A survivor of the massacre tells her story.

Another tragic story of survival here. 

French mayor pushes for Turkey to recognize the genocide.   Others join in.

My past blog on Syria here and here. Bishop Desmond Tutu on Syria here.

Fred Klonsky’s blog on helping in Syria.

 

 

 

Rahm Emanuel, Propaganda, and CTU

by

You would think that Rahm Emanuel would think twice before messing with Karen Lewis, but he apparently hasn’t been, um…schooled.  (sorry, bad pun I know)

She once again delivers a smackdown of the mayor by calling him on the divide-and-conquer politics.

Be sure to click on the links to Fred Klonsky’s blog, which also gives some insight to what is going on in Chicago.  What goes on there, is most certainly going on around the country.  Bless Karen Lewis.

 

New SAT any value?

by

Diane Ravitch has a post up on the “new” SAT.  I haven’t seen the test, so I have to go by what Diane is describing.  I do know that I when I first heard of the “new” SAT, I was sure there was some connection to the brainless Common Core.  Yep.

It’s troubling that the writing section will be optional.  Being able to write well-constructed sentences is an art.  It should be a part of the test.

Diane quotes Superintendent Cohen, whom is critical of the “new” SAT:

Nowhere in our new, vaunted Common Core State Standards are teachers told to be concerned with nurturing young people’s imaginations or their original thoughts about the books they read, about the way nature works, about whether our government’s policies are good or bad, about whether the Pythagorean theorem could be used to help design a better bridge over the Hudson river, or whether “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Nor will the “new” and “fairer” SAT ask students to write about such matters.

~~~~~~~~

Absolutely.  Spot on.   It’s not enough to be able to repeat what another wrote–but to be able to interpret what they wrote and take it beyond that to expand the dialogue.  Or to offer another point of view and facts or theory to back what you’re saying.

As I’m reading the article, I thought about when I took the SAT’s in high school.  It was a gamble on my part, because I did not take the college-bound courses offered.  That was the time that my Mom was pouring cheese soup over crackers for dinner sometimes….college seemed like an unreachable dream, so I took the easier courses offered.  Personally, I don’t think those courses should have been an option–all the students who were capable should have been in the college courses.  One really can’t know their potential until they are tested.  And when you’re young and unsure of yourself, being tested means taking a risk–putting yourself out there for possible failure.  Teenagers would rather die than face what they perceive as humiliation (when in fact it is a growing moment that should be supported, and not humiliated, as some like to do.)  And when you’re poor, your options become even more limited because taking a risk could mean consequences for the family (if one risked going to college, and failed, that money spent on tuition is lost.)

I did pass the SAT’s, and was admitted to Indiana University but on a probationary status.  I ended up not going because of being unsure of myself (probationary status to me meant “failure”) and interference by someone else.  Being supported would have made all the difference at this point in time–maturity, too.

I’m telling this story because I had some rough years in middle school and high school.  My grades reflected that.  But they didn’t reflect my potential.  As you know, I went on to college and graduated much later.  It illustrates how badly misguided the Common Core and Race to the Bottom are–we are who we are at any point in time, but who we might grow to be is not measurable by any human tool.

 

 

 

Canada’s Spy Agency and the First Nations

by

The Canadian gov’t  was vewy vewy skeered of those pesky indigenous whom honor their traditions and refuse to be completely assimilated.  Good Grief.  They act like these people have tanks, helicopters, drones, etc….like it’s a freaking war.  Who…or What are they fighting against…?

And the quote that CSIS would not be involved if there wasn’t sufficient threat…who are they kidding?

My other posts:

Here we have a First Nations woman removed from a public meeting for…well, we don’t know because she wasn’t doing anything.  Her mere presence, apparently, made her “guilty” of a crime.

First Nations protests

Setback for First Nations protestors.

First Nations continue to stand up

Finally, this celebration on sacred Native American grounds that Mall of America was built on.

 

 

Dear White People… **edited

by

DN! has a piece up today on a documentary entitled “Dear White People…”

We need the conversation to begin, so I’m glad that they are taking it on…but as I viewed the excerpts, I started to get that feeling of dread.  Because a young African American woman states that we (black folks) are all different and another clip one states that because she is the person of color in the room, suddenly she becomes the “voice” of the African American community.  But it seems lost on the black community that perhaps whites feel the same way?  We don’t all think alike and because one treats you badly or is prejudiced does not mean that we all agree with that person’s actions.  Most white folks have good hearts but don’t realize some of the stuff that is said and done is hurtful (as the producer of the documentary states.)

During the interview with “Reggie” –he talks about his personal life and how he lived on an all-black floor in college.  He said it helped to be with his “people’ after having people touch his hair and professors say “stuff” to him….my thought was:  doesn’t he think some white people could understand that?  Again, it is a block put up to sharing a common bond.  White people whom have been bullied, put down, ostracized can all understand how being singled out feels.  They may not understand how it is to be black, but they can understand pain.

And the tipping thing?  Hello! Women are also stereotyped for being bad tippers.  A long time ago, when I had a life, I sat in a restaurant and waited while the white waitresses were gossiping for twenty minutes until one finally came over to take my order.  And it was cold when she brought it out.  And yeah, I left a penny tip.  Screw that.

In other instances, I would leave 15% tips when the going rate was 10%.  Sometimes the service warranted that, but most times it was just okay, but I left the bigger tip because of the prejudice against women.

As far as his admission that black folk use their blackness as a tool sometimes to navigate the world…but it creates barriers. As I experienced in Ft. Wayne, an African American guy had created a serious problem for the entire building that could have meant injury or death for the residents.  When one of the white fire fighters said something to him because he was yelling at them to shut the alarm off (they could not do that–it was a door alarm and they had the door open to let all the smoke out)** edited, he immediately blamed it on racism.  He went on and on about it instead of taking a step back and realizing HE was the problem, not his skin color.  And this is not a condemnation of the guy–he wasn’t a bad person, but had a screwed up view of the world.

It’s funny that this came up today, because when I was getting dressed this morning, I thought about seeing the Light in others.

Buddhists popped into my head –the Buddhists don’t believe in a God as one Supreme Being, but that God resides in each of us.  Their greeting “Namaste” means that they recognize God within you and within themselves.

Even if one doesn’t believe in the Buddhist religion, if we could stop looking at each other’s skin color…or anything physical…and recognize the Light within the other, we could move past the prejudice.  Our hearts involved in decision making instead of just our heads…

**edited for link to DN and further explanation above.

Wall of Women stand opposed to Kinder Morgan

by

First Nations and Greenpeace women stand together against pipeline expansion…

“We’re standing here together to link arms to build the wall of women to say no, we do not want that in our communities, we will not accept this in our communities, we want better,” said Nahanee. “Canada has a responsibility to protect their communities, we have the right to live in healthy environments— healthy environments to raise our children, to take care of our grandparents, to drink healthy water, to eat healthy food. It’s basic human rights.”

– Mandy Nahanee

~~~~~~~~~~

Who would have thought that we would actually have to protest keeping our water clean and healthy??

Good on the women standing together, protecting the Earth. She needs us.

Linda Darling Hammond testifies

by

Diane Ravitch has a post up on Linda Darling-Hammond testimony at the Vergara trial.  She outlines the criteria for evaluating teachers for tenure and helping struggling teachers:

“Well, it’s important both as a part of a due process expectation; that if somebody is told they’re not meeting a standard, they should have some help to meet that standard.

~~~~~~~

Absolutely.  If a teacher is abusive or grossly inadequate, you want them out.  But if a teacher is good in some areas, but needs help in others, by all means, they should get support and encouragement in those weak areas.  In any line of work, you would expect some guidance from those more experienced.  Why should the teaching profession be any different?

More:

And the third reason is that when you create a system that is not oriented to attract high-quality teachers and support them in their work, that location becomes a very unattractive workplace. And an empirical proof of that is the situation currently in Houston, Texas, which has been firing many teachers at the bottom end of the value-added continuum without creating stronger overall achievement, and finding that they have fewer and fewer people who are willing to come apply for jobs in the district because with the instability of those scores, the inaccuracy and bias that they represent for groups of teachers, it’s become an unattractive place to work.

~~~~~~~~

Word.

This comment by Teacher Ken gets at the heart of teaching and tenure:

I have been the cooperating teacher for five student teachers from the University of Maryland at College Park, three from the undergraduate program and two from the masters’ program. The only one who failed to ‘make it’ was a 4.0 student who refused to listen to the notion that he had to meet the kids where they were in order to be able to inspire/entice them to move further. He dropped out before doing his full load of student teaching.

I have been a building union rep and have served as an informal mentor to both beginning and struggling experienced teachers. I have helped some turn around and have counseled others out of the profession. I have as a union rep helped remove a tenured teacher (who never should have gotten tenure) who was not merely ineffective but a danger to students.

We have those who should never go into teaching – they don’t like kids.

~~~~~~~~

This can’t be stated enough–the pro-Charter, anti-public schools, anti-Teacher’s union mob would like to play on people’s emotions and say that bad teachers get a free ride once they get tenure.

As Diane has stated in the past, tenured teachers are not guaranteed a job, per se, but are guaranteed the right to a fair hearing if charges are made against them.  That seems reasonable to me.

However, I have heard of instances of bad teachers being kept on because the principal was afraid to confront them.  They feel they had to have mountains of evidence to get rid of a bad teacher. It might also be just a clash of personalities…where the child is better suited for another teacher.  The teacher isn’t necessarily bad and the kid isn’t necessarily bad, but they just butt heads.

On the other hand, I would not want to see a teacher sacked over gossip (lack of solid evidence)…because I’ve seen that happen, too, where some big mouth started a rumor and the good teacher left.  He was one of those teachers that really connected with the kids, too.  The gossipmonger was probably jealous of his ability to connect and the resulting popularity.

And Teacher Ken’s point about the 4.0 teaching student is spot on.  You can be the smartest person in the room, but if you don’t like kids and can’t get down to their level to help them learn, you’re in the wrong profession.  (Gee…why does this describe Bill Gates to a “T”…??)

Terry Richardson Assistant Identified

by

Leslie Lessin has been identified as the assistant to Terry Richardson.  My prior blogs on him here and here.

She is apparently the one who was allegedly cheerleading/cajoling the young women into whatever Terry Richardson wanted.  She tried to smooth things over (and what sounds like brainwashing) in a cab ride home with one of the young women.

It’s nice to hear from the guys about the stories of the women. 

“I felt that to dignify [accusations] with a response was a betrayal of my work and my character”

~~~~~~~~

Richardson is concerned about his character? Really?  How dignified is it to having your member photographed while a woman performs a sexual favor? Because I don’t see a lot of dignity in that.  Nor in putting a woman in a garbage can, or calling her a slut.

“I collaborated with consenting adult women who were fully aware of the nature of the work,”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Nature of the work”…what does that mean, exactly?  Do you tell them you are going to whip your member out and make demands that they perform sex acts?  Is that in writing? Because if it isn’t in plain language in the so-called “release” then you have no freaking case.

These accusations have been occurring over years and nothing has been done. 

Women are apparently sick of it and are boycotting anything connected with Richardson to make their voices heard. 

 Indeed, gaslighting is classic tactic of an abusive personality. Richardson insists that it is an ill-informed, pitchfork wielding internet leading the charge against him while subtly failing to address the fact that these allegations have come from multiple sources, repeatedly and over a number of years.

But if the allegations are true, then Richardson isn’t just undermining his victims by questioning the credibility of their accusations – he’s further abusing them by attempting to erase them from the situation altogether.

~~~~~~~~~~

And as each of them have stated, they were intimidated at the time…so for them to come forward is a brave thing to do.  It gives their testimony more weight because they have a lot to lose (not working again is a big incentive NOT to say anything).

Richardson’s involvement with Miley Cyrus’ vulgar performances (Wrecking Ball, for one; and Blurred Lines, for another) speaks volumes.  He’s a creep who loves to degrade women.

There is a positive sexuality and a dark, negative sexuality.  Terry Richardson is dark and devoid of any conscience, in my opinion. 

 

The youngest victims at Auschwitz

by

City Jackdaw has a sobering post up on a young Polish Catholic girl, Czesława Kwoka, that perished at the German prison camp.

I wanted to re-post in memory of her, too.  And the other children. And the gypsies.

Be sure to click on the link to her biography.

It’s important to note that these are the poor.  The wealthy could flee the country until the war was over.