Children get turned off to science early, says Scientific American, saying, “Studies have found that children in kindergarten are already forming negative views about science that could cast a shadow across their entire educational careers. . . . Furthermore, even before first grade, fewer girls than boys say they like science.” One solution, from educational
Rosie O’Donnell’s new documentary A Family Is a Family Is a Family, premieres this Sunday, January 31, at 7 p.m. ET on HBO. I’ve seen a screener, and here are my thoughts. Overall, this is a great film, aimed at the elementary school ages, that focuses on children of various backgrounds speaking about their families.
Today kicks off No-Name Calling Week, “an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling of all kinds and providing schools with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their communities.” The event is organized by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), in partnership
Cate and Elizabeth Wirth, a lesbian couple in Vermont, were told by a Vermont district director of the Boy Scouts that they could no longer volunteer for their son’s Cub Scout troop after it became known that they are a couple. According to the Rutland Herald, Richard Stockton, Scout executive for the Green Mountain Council,
Last week, I wrote about the performance of a Tony Award-winning gay-themed musical by students at Massachusetts’ Concord-Carlisle Regional High School. Anti-LGBT group MassResistance was up in arms about a high school producing a “depraved homosexual musical” and was trying to use director Peter Atlas’ supposed friendship with Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education Kevin Jennings to
The drama group at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School in Massachusetts is performing William Finn and James Lapine’s Tony Award-winning musical Falsettos this weekend. That might seem to be of only local interest, except that the play is about a man who leaves his wife for another man, and the impact of that decision on his
Many of you followed last spring’s story about the uproar by some conservatives when the Alameda, California school board decided to adopt an LGBT-inclusive safe-schools curriculum. Now comes a new ruling stating that because the diversity curriculum doesn’t constitute health education, parents cannot opt their children out of it. Finally, a glimmer of understanding that
Protect Maine Equality has responded to Stand for Marriage Maine’s Prop 8 copycat ad I posted about last week. They now have two new ads out, one that directly addresses the allegations raised by the right-wing ad. In my previous post, I cautioned the Maine equality group against responding in the same way the No
“Stand for Marriage Maine” has just released “Everything to Do With Schools,” the latest TV ad in their campaign to revoke marriage equality. Some of you may recognize the name from an ad used during the Prop 8 campaign. As Jeremy at Good As You has pointed out, not just the name is the same—the
(I’ve been meaning to write about these books for a while, and back-to-school time is giving me the motivation I need.) Ongoing incidents of students (and teachers!) harassing LGBTQ students, students perceived to be LGBTQ, and children of LGBTQ parents are one of the scariest and most frustrating things for me as a parent. I
