Short films by and about women
Four Women (a Tribute to Nina Simone) The Perfect Sacrifice Indiegogo Campaign Video African-American women supporting home birth InvisibleHeroes-African American Women in the Military Remuda Ranch - "African Americans and Eating Disorders" My biggest challenge was being an African American woman... I Run to Stay Alive Trying Breast Cancer in African American Women Women Who Change the World: Angela Davis Read More
Greater Washington Urban League: Help the Environment
wwww.gwul.org Read More
Speak carefully, your kids are listening
The other day I overheard my daughters arguing about the childish behavior of one celebrity. “Anybody can make a mistake!” one argued. “Yeah well he’s old enough to not be having a tantrum for all the world to see,” the other retorted. “Look I used to have tantrums…does that make me a bad person?” “Used to?” The conversation dissolved from there, but you get the idea. I was about to intervene until I realized they were repeating things I’ve said... Read More
Don’t be afraid to let kids fail
Teachers love it when parents are supportive and involved with their children’s schoolwork. It’s great to know there’s accountability and reinforcement at home because it helps us do our job. It also sends the students a message that their parents and teachers are on the same team. But when I don my parent hat, I wonder how much support is too much. I admit I’ve gotten a little too excited about a few projects over the years, before reminding myself I’ve already... Read More
Ms. Mom: Determined to Enjoy Every Stage
I was scrubbing black nail polish off my 11-year-old’s fingernails when it occurred to me that parenting has its joys at every age. Turns out she had polished her fingernails just before bed time and, of course, they got smudged while in the bed. She got up (mind you, not woke up) somewhat hysterical over the idea of attending school with smudgy polish. That’s a major crisis in the sixth grade. We were out of remover so I got my nail file and went to scrubbing. When I think... Read More
No Wimpy Parenting, Part III
Sometimes there’s not enough of something, like discipline or relationship-building, as discussed in the previous entries on wimpy parenting. But here’s a case where there’s too much of something in raising our children. The whole notion of “express yourself and share your feelings” has gotten out of hand. Where is the line between allowing kids to express themselves and teaching them to respect us as their parent? I think it might be getting blurry,... Read More
Affirming words can go long way
Clean your room. Study. Go to bed. Cut the drama. Hurry up. Why’d you get a C on that test? Clean your room. Study. Go to bed. Cut the drama. Hurry up. Why’d you get a C on that test? (I tend to repeat the same phrases when I talk to my kids). However, I’ve discovered that I often don’t repeat the phrases that should be repeated. Recently, someone told me that my older daughter doesn’t seem confident. I tried to figure out why. Then I thought about... Read More
Resist Spring Break Slowdown
It’s starting already. A few warm days is all it takes before the realization hits us: Spring is near! That’s when kids begin the Spring Break Slowdown. It’s hard to believe I’ve been teaching long enough to sense the change in atmosphere. I see it in my students and my own children. Something about the approaching warm weather causes kids to ease up at school. Suddenly, the work doesn’t seem as important. They struggle to turn in their assignments and... Read More
Children need to cope with variety of teachers
As a teacher, I promise you most of us don’t have time to sit around and think about how much we hate individual students. That’s not to say we don’ t enjoy teaching some students more than others, but I digress… As a parent, I feel your pain and frustration when it comes to teachers you don’t like or don’t understand. For parents who are inclined to think a teacher dislikes her child, consider it a teachable moment. When kids make this claim it’s often... Read More
Study habits take work
Go study. Just study. All you need to do is study. Good grades don’t just happen, you have to study. If I had a dime for every time I uttered some version of those words to a student or my own children, I’d have a nice little slush fund. The reality is most kids are not born with a study gene. I hate to admit that I’m having a bit of an epiphany. How many of us can say someone actually taught us how to study? I’m thinking back on my childhood and I’m sure no one took... Read More
