My son is starting preschool in two weeks, and I’m viewing the event with a mixture of excitement and hesitation. As a reformed academic myself, who always saw September, rather than January, as the real start of the year, I can’t help thinking that he’s embarking on the first steps of an adventure that will […]
DVDs and videos such as “Baby Einstein” and “Brainy Baby” may hinder, rather than help babies acquire language skills, according to a new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics. The scientists found that for every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants understood an average of six to eight fewer words
Two articles caught my eye today, on two different issues. I was going to write about them separately, but then realized they in fact relate to the same matter—our identities as both LGBT individuals and parents. The first is an article in the Huffington Post by Evan Wolfson, head of Freedom to Marry. Wolfson says
My son’s new favorite TV show is PBS Kids’ Between the Lions, which teaches early-reading skills through the tales of a pair of lions and their cubs who run a library. It’s pedagogically one of the best educational shows around—though I’ll continue to save the top spot for the venerable Sesame Street. Between the Lions
(Originally published in Bay Windows, June 28, 2007.) Is your child’s school inclusive of LGBT families? If not, how can you improve it? Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Pride Coalition, recently spoke with me about their new interactive tool that helps parents answer these critical questions. What is the Rainbow Report Card (RRC)?
Garden State Equality reports an ultimately positive outcome to the tragic saga of Newark high-school student Andre Jackson and the photo of him and his boyfriend that was excised from the school yearbook. They explain in an e-mail: Newark Schools Superintendent Marion Bolden today attended the final graduation rehearsal at East Side High School in
A sobering new study of secondary schools in Britain concluded that homophobic bullying is “almost epidemic.” The School Report study, conducted by the Schools Health Education Unit for LGBT-rights organization Stonewall, found: 65% of young LGB people experience homophobic bullying in Britain’s schools. 97% of gay pupils hear derogatory phrases such as “dyke” or “poof”
Newark School Superintendent Marion Bolden apologized to student Andre Jackson for blacking out a yearbook photo of him and his boyfriend David Escobales kissing. She said the district would reissue an “un-redacted version” of the yearbook to any student at the school who wants one. Jackson is disappointed about the apology, however, since it was
A New Jersey High School has taken every copy of its new yearbook and blacked out a photo of a student kissing his boyfriend—even though it left photos of opposite-sex couples kissing. The photo appeared in a section of pages that students may purchase to fill with pictures of family and friends. NJ.com reports: Newark
Last Monday, I posted an interview with Tina Owen, one of the winners of this year’s Point Foundation scholarships. Today, the other Point Scholar who is also a parent, Utah resident Kim Hackford-Peer, gives us her thoughts on winning the scholarship, parenting, and education. Kim is pursuing her PhD in Education Culture and Society at
