Feminism benefits men too – and it’s vital we bring our boys up to be more than victims of gender On 24 May at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, a short distance from where he once governed, Tony Blair resurfaced for a public discussion. Having arrived on an overnight flight, he looked drawn and puffy-eyed but soon warmed to his theme: a robust defence of liberal globalisation. He admitted, however, to bafflement at recent events in the world. "I thought I was pretty good at politics. But I look at politics today and I’m not sure I understand it." Blair lost power in the summer of 2007. His standing is likely to diminish further when the Iraq inquiry report is published on 6 July. Former leaders can ordinarily rely on their parties to act as a last line of defence. Yet outside of the Labour leadership, Blairism endures in notable and often surprising forms. In their defence of the UK’s EU membership, David Cameron and George Osborne have deployed arguments once advanced by New Labour. Among SNP supporters, "Blairite" is the pejorative of choice.
How Girls Really Feel About Gender Roles and the Rise of Pro-Female Advertising | Adweek What do you get when you talk to a group of teen and tween girls about gender roles and stereotyping? A lot of surprisingly insightful opinions. This past spring, in the midst of heated public debate surrounding Sheryl Sandberg's "Ban Bossy" campaign, women's lifestyle site SheKnows released a video asking 9-year-old girls what they think bossy means. It was fresh and inspiring, and became the impetus for SheKnows' latest project, called Hatch—a program that empowers kids to use media and technology in positive ways. SheKnows just released the video below, featuring girls talking about gender roles and the pro-female advertising movement and what all of that means to them. The video is fun and endearing, but also full of great little insights. • "I think most toys are geared towards girls or towards boys. In an interview with AdFreak, Samantha Skey, chief revenue officer of SheKnows, explained the motive behind creating these kinds of videos. "Why do they think science is for boys?
The 5 Biases Pushing Women Out of STEM By now, we’ve all heard about the low numbers of American women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Some argue it’s a pipeline issue – that if we can interest more young girls in STEM subjects, the issue will resolve itself over time. But that’s not convincing. After all, the percentage of women in computer science has actually decreased since 1991. Another theory is that women are choosing to forgo careers in STEM to attain better work-family balance—rather than being pushed out by bias. My own new research, co-authored with Kathrine W. We conducted in-depth interviews with 60 female scientists and surveyed 557 female scientists, both with help from the Association for Women in Science. Pattern 1: Prove-it-Again. Experimental social psychologists have documented this type of bias over and over again in college labs, but this is the first time someone has taken that experimental literature and asked women whether it describes their experience in actual workplaces.
Training the Brain to Listen: A Practical Strategy for Student Learning and Classroom Management Image credit: iStockphoto Editor's note: This post is co-authored by Marcus Conyers who, with Donna Wilson, is co-developer of the M.S. and Ed.S. Brain-Based Teaching degree programs at Nova Southeastern University. They have written several books, including Five Big Ideas for Effective Teaching: Connecting Mind, Brain, and Education Research to Classroom Practice. During the school year, students are expected to listen to and absorb vast amounts of content. Explicit instruction on cognitive strategies that can help students learn how to learn may have a positive impact on both academic performance and classroom management by emphasizing that students are in charge of their own behavior and learning. Learning to listen well is a prime example of a skill that many assume shouldn't need to be taught. From a developmental perspective, this Common Core standard is interwoven with the acquisition of verbal and social skills that are critical for students' success across many contexts.
Why Today presenter Karl Stefanovic wore the same suit for a year Karl Stefanovic in his Burberry knock-off with co-host Lisa Wilkinson. Angered by the sexism he saw being heaped upon his female colleagues – and attempts to downplay it – Karl Stefanovic decided to conduct an experiment. He wore the same blue suit on air, two days in a row. Now, a full year has passed – and he is still wearing the same cheap Burberry knock-off, every morning, on Channel Nine's Today program. Karl Stefanovic wearing the suit in July 2014. Not a single audience member has asked about it, he says. Advertisement Yet co-host Lisa Wilkinson still receives regular and unsolicited fashion appraisals, as she revealed in her well-received Andrew Olle lecture last year. "No one has noticed; no one gives a shit," Stefanovic tells Fairfax Media. "Women are judged much more harshly and keenly for what they do, what they say and what they wear." His frustration at this, he says, sparked his experiment. "She's a mate and she was hurt by that," Stefanovic says, shaking his head. DailyStyle
Gender Roles and Expectations Many people don’t know the difference between gender and sex. Sex is anatomical and biological. Gender roles are expectations of how a person should act, dress, and talk based on our sex. It’s obvious that there is no clear, solid line between masculinity and femininity, but not for the media. As we grow older, both sexes endure an incredible amount of pressure from the media to fit into their gender roles. Can we as a whole stop this? Diversity/Multi Cultural with Language-Literacy Updated January 2013 Some languages have more than one word for what English speakers think of as a single entity. Since ice is so important in their lives, the Inuit people reportedly differentiate among the various kinds, from slush ice to black ice. Have children choose something important to them – stickers, ice cream or ???– and MAKE-UP WORDS for different kinds. Nodding the head to signify “yes” is not a universal gesture. Each family has its own folklore, a set of beliefs, myths, tales and practices. Regularly READ STORIES that feature other cultures. MAKE “THE CRAYON BOX”... With a black marker on white paper- Draw a large CRAYON SHAPE and make copies for the children to use...Or you can download the pattern Here What You Do: Read the following poem to your students. THE CRAYON BOX THAT TALKED Poem by: Shane DeRolf While walking into a toy store the day before today I overheard a crayon box with many things to say "I don't like Red!" WOULDN'T IT BE TERRIBLE...? PEN PALS!!!
Anorexia and other eating disorders - Family Lives Understanding eating disorders "Food can become the new four letter word when your family is affected by an eating disorder," says Mary George of beat (the Eating Disorders Association). "To your child, food is the enemy." Contrary to popular belief, eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia have nothing to do with wanting to be thinner or a size zero, says beat. "An eating disorder is a serious mental illness - not a fad or a diet gone wrong," says the charity's Mary George. "With all eating disorders, food is used in some way to control or block out difficult thoughts and feelings." Research suggests that more than one million people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder, but only a small percentage will have been diagnosed to receive appropriate treatment. We've called on the expert knowledge of beat, to give you details of different types of eating disorders, and the signs and symptoms to look out for if you’re concerned. Types of eating disorders Anorexia nervosa Bulimia
Having a working mother works for daughters Negative perceptions around women who combine paid work with parenthood have been comprehensively demolished in a major study by Harvard University, which shows the daughters of working mothers enjoy better careers, higher pay and more equal relationships than those raised by stay-at-home mothers. Using data from 24 countries including the UK and US, the Harvard study says that while working mothers “often internalise social messages of impending doom for their children”, the reality is that their sons and daughters appear to thrive, with daughters benefiting most from the positive role model of a mother with a career. Harvard Business School professor Kathleen McGinn, lead author of the study, noted that the effect on daughters’ careers of mothers working was particularly marked in the UK and US, where public attitudes to career equality could be more of a barrier than in some European countries such as Finland and Denmark.
Why Teach Multicultural Literature? | The Huffington Post iStockphoto.com I have taught literature at the college level for almost a decade and at as many as six different campuses. These have mainly been classes that were focused on non-western writing. Why teach U.S. students literature from different countries? Here is the video that set this off, followed by the student’s letter and my response: About the Adichie talk at the TED conference. The problem with these kinds of conversations is that you have to be really careful about how ideas are presented and in particular how things are worded. In my opinion, Adichie perfectly typifies what you could call the ugly side of multiculturalism. Any time we start talking about the “dominant” culture, unless you are very careful and explicit about your terms, it starts to become clear that what is being talked about is white culture. I would have been fine if Adichie kept her discussion to the concept that diversity is good and how lack of it can lead to stereotyping and in the worst case racism.
Smoking 'may play schizophrenia role' - BBC News Smoking could play a direct role in the development of schizophrenia and needs to be investigated, researchers say. The team at King's College London say smokers are more likely to develop the disorder and at a younger age. Published in the Lancet Psychiatry, their analysis of 61 separate studies suggests nicotine in cigarette smoke may be altering the brain. Experts said it was a "pretty strong case" but needed more research. Smoking has long been associated with psychosis, but it has often been believed that schizophrenia patients are more likely to smoke because they use cigarettes as a form of self-medication to ease the distress of hearing voices or having hallucinations. The team at King's looked at data involving 14,555 smokers and 273,162 non-smokers. It indicated: The argument is that if there is a higher rate of smoking before schizophrenia is diagnosed, then smoking is not simply a case of self-medication.
DJ Stephanie Hirst returns to air after gender change - BBC News A DJ who underwent gender reassignment is returning to mainstream radio after a year-long break. Stephanie Hirst, formerly known as Simon, hosted the commercial Top 40 show nationally between 2003 and 2006. The Barnsley-based DJ left Capital FM Yorkshire and television channel Gold last June after confirming her gender change. She will join BBC Radio Manchester for a weekly show, saying she "wanted to ensure that my return is gentle". Numerous sources told BBC News last year that Ms Hirst was suspended by bosses at Global Radio when she disclosed that she wanted to be a woman. The company said at the time: "Hirsty made the decision to take time out to focus on the process he was going through. When asked about claims that she was treated wrongly by her former employer, Ms Hirst said last October: "Everyone was supportive. Ms Hirst, who has won three Sony Radio Awards, said her new role "allows me time to grow into a broadcaster as Stephanie".
Multicultural Fiction for Teenagers | Madison Public Library The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. 2007Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. 2006Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation. Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins. 2010Two Burmese boys, one a Karenni refugee and the other the son of an imprisoned Burmese doctor, meet in the jungle and in order to survive they must learn to trust each other. Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez. 2002In the early 1960s in the Dominican Republic, twelve-year-old Anita learns that her family is involved in the underground movement to end the bloody rule of the dictator, General Trujillo. Down to the Bone by Mayra L.
'Laughing gas' teenager dies after party in Bexley - BBC News A teenager believed to have taken so-called laughing gas at a party in south-east London has died. The 18-year-old was taken to hospital after collapsing in a street in Bexley, shortly after 23:15 BST on Saturday. He died two hours later. The Metropolitan Police said he was believed to have been drinking alcohol as well as ingesting legal high nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. Seventeen people in the UK died between 2006 and 2012 after taking the drug. The teenager's next of kin have been informed. "At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained pending the findings of the post-mortem," a Met spokesman said. The government plans to ban the sale of legal highs, which would include nitrous oxide. The gas - inhaled using a balloon - can make people feel relaxed, euphoric and giggly, which has led to its nickname. But abusing nitrous oxide can lead to oxygen deprivation, resulting in loss of blood pressure, fainting and even heart attacks.