One of my students, a Yakama child, had to write an essay today about what his three wishes could be if he could have anything, “”I wish I could help people. I wish for nice people. I wish for the whole world to be nice.”
I didn’t get a chance to take of picture of his second wish because we ran out of time, but his second wish was “that all children in the world could go to school so they can eat, play, and learn”.
Today we are playing outside with toys that are going camping. LB is gathering things in the garden for the “campsite”. We talked about what is edible and what isn’t. LB gathered sticks for the campfire and I showed them how to build a good campfire. LB also gathered plant fibers to weave a blanket. These are fun, and somewhat affordable activities to do with kids that actually teaches them about wilderness survival.
LB is my eight year old child, who a year ago, wasn’t reading. LB could recognize cite words but wasn’t interested in reading but rather being read to. A stroke of luck happened last year when I was at LB’s school’s book fair. I found My Little Pony comic books and because they had a love for the show and it’s merchandise I bought them. That night LB started reading, out loud, and beyond their reading level! I took this picture today, at the beginning of March, a year later, and LB is now reading two levels above their desired reading goal for their grade level. I am posting this to encourage parents and educators to find out the interest of the child and if you are able to find a book, comic, graphic novel, etc, with loved characters or favorite things. These loved characters might act as a bridge to reading.
( also I am the parent of this child and am allowed to share this photo and story)
Do you ever question Western-European Educational Institutions?
I want my child, Little Bear, to have friends and learn appropriate social skills of course, but everything about school bewilders me. They are going to be away from me for how many hours? Six, eight? Why aren’t they home learning what they actually need to know, how to maintain a garden and farm, how to cook and preserve foods, how to sew clothing, how to make toys, jewelry, baskets, etc, how to take care of their family member’s needs.. Why are our children at school?
“Exploring Hoosier Minority Groups: Indiana’s Native American PopulationRachel Strange
Geodemographic Analyst, Indiana Business Research Center, Indiana University Kelley School of Business
Indiana’s population has become increasingly diverse in terms of race and origin. Results from the latest census count for 2010 provide us with a rich set of information from which to gain insight into our population diversity. This article is the last of four InContext articles to provide demographic snapshots of our minority population. Native Americans comprised 0.3 percent of Indiana’s population in 2010 and will be the focus of this snapshot. (View the articles on Indiana’s black population, Indiana’s Hispanic population and Indiana’s Asian population.) The overview that follows focuses on population, household formation, income and education."
These are statistics that Indigenous people in Indiana, USA, are experiencing. Very relevant to all of us.
“What the diagram points out is that not only are white and Indian values different and often conflict, but that the values of an ethnic group essentially determine that group’s educational system. When the two systems are merged together, or one system dominates, the result is poor performance by the Indian child, or the child whose ethnic group is in the weaker position within the school system.” ~Thomas Davis and Alfred Pyatskowit
What New Stats Show About The School To Prison Pipeline For Black Girls Is Worse Than Anyone Could Have Imagined
Judging by the statistics, the national focus on the troubled plight of Black boys with initiatives like President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper may be missing a real crisis that’s hidden in plain sight: Black girls are treated even more harshly in American schools than Black boys when compared to their white counterparts—leading to them now being the fastest growing population in the juvenile justice system.
The numbers are jarring: Black girls across the country were suspended six times more often than white girls, compared to Black boys being suspended three times more often than white boys, according to the
U.S. Department of Education’s analysis of the 2011-2012 school year.
Only 2 percent of white females were subjected to exclusionary suspensions, compared to 12 percent of Black girls.
Because males are suspended in greater numbers than females, the
harsh treatment of Black boys tends to draw all the attention. But a new
report by the African American Policy Forum and Columbia Law School
called “Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced, and Underprotected”
shines a spotlight on Black girls in public school, playing particular
attention to what happens to them in the New York City and Boston school
systems.
Racism is many things. It is a system of domination and exploitation based on the idea of race. Racism has been around a long time and is alive and well today. It is perhaps the single most influential social force shaping American life. It is woven into the economic, political, and social fabric of our country. Here’s a simple way to define racism: prejudice plus power.
roots and Wings: Affirming Culture in Early Childhood Programs, by Stacey York, 2003.
Waldorf on theReservation I have a need to share this story, because I have such deep respect for what the people of the Lakota Waldorf School have accomplished over the years…
if you don’t think this carries an important message about our society then you are what is wrong with human society today
And this is why when you see a post empowering and uplifting black women, do not invade it with “don’t you mean all women.” No, because this is not the reality of “all women.”
Also: this isn’t brand new, these results were first found by a study done in 1947 with dolls by Kenneth B. and Mamie P. Clark. Little has changed.
