Reading Roundup 2013.05.17

Some fun reading this week.

Say Hello to the 100 Trillion Bacteria That Make up your Microbiome, New York Times (May 15, 2013)
A must-read by Michael Pollan. Print and save.

How to Tell a Story, Crafting Connections (May 13, 2013)
Storytelling tips from Sparkle Stories' David Sewell McCann!


Brenda Chapman, 'Brave' Creator, Calls Merida's Makeover 'Atrocious', Huffington Post
(May 13, 2013)
Gross.

Disney Princess Makeover Sparks Outrage: Merida Petition Goes Viral, Yahoo! Shine,
(May 10, 2013)
Despite 200,000 signatures, Disney carries on, saying it's a "limited run of merchandise." Also check out the slideshow of current toy makeovers at the bottom.



Chores Without Threats or Bribery
Attachment Parenting International
May 15, 2013

Reading Roundup 2013.05.10

Here are some things I looked at this week....

Cyberparenting and the Risk of TMI, NYT Motherlode (May 3, 2013)


Female Purity is Bullshit, Jezebel (May 8ish, 2013)
"This entire 'conversation' is just an effort to rig a system in which men get to determine female worthlessness no matter the input."


5 Things to do when you feel your temper rising, Aha Parenting (April 24, 2013)
"You notice what you're feeling, you breathe your way through it, and you DO nothing.
When our temper rises, we all feel an urgent need to DO something, anything. But that's our emergency response system operating. And parenting, despite how it feels, is not usually an emergency. "

Structure: Why kids need Routines, Aha Parenting (May 13ihs, 2013)
Structure and routines teach kids how to constructively control themselves and their environments. 

I love this Rita Pierson video on what teaching really is about.

Reading Roundup 2013.05.06

Hope you are enjoying your Screen Free Week! (Hey, what are you doing here?)

Dear Less-Than-Perfect Mom, Huffington Post (Apr. 30, 2013)


Playgrounds with Natural Elements Offer More Benefits for Children than Traditional Parks, Inhabitots
(Apr. 26, 2013)

The Play Date Gun Debate, NY Times (Apr. 29, 2013)
Talking about guns with other parents

Willie Nelson Turns 80: One Person Carrying a Message can Change the World, April 29, 2013
Singing: Angel Flying too Close to the Ground (H/T Don Winslow)
Democracy Now!

Grading Writing: The art and science — and why computers can't do it, Washington Post Answer Sheet (May 2, 2013)

The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries, NY Times, (Apr. 30, 2013)

How I became a hipster, NY Times (May 1, 2013)
Very funny story about being hip in Brooklyn.

Reading Roundup 2013.04.26

Another big reading week. Enjoy!



Watching Movies with the kids is a mixed bag, New York Times, (Apr. 19, 2013)
Still another reason why Starboy doesn't watch TV or movies.


Do e-readers inhibit reading comprehension? Salon (Apr. 14, 2013)


Standardized test questions kids have to answer that don't even count, Washington Post (Apr. 23, 2013)


How my job went from great to infuriating, Washington Post (Apr. 21, 2013)

New Standardized tests feature plugs for commercial products, Washington Post (Apr. 20, 2013)
It was only a matter of time. Bastards.

NCTE Position on machine scoring of standardized tests, National Council of Teachers of English (Apr. 2013)
Hint: They don't like the idea.

5 Benefits of Sportscasting your Child's Struggles, Janet Lansbury (Apr. 25, 2013)
Lovely article. H/T to The Thumbstumbler

10 Things that are More Important than Discipline, Positive Parents (Jul. 19, 2011)
In case you need one more "do this" article on parenting.

What pro-spanking research misses, The Attached Family, (Oct. 2, 2012)
""Spanking kids does not deter behavior. Like beating a dog, it just makes them mean. "



The Curse of Fertilizer, National Geographic (May 2013)

Commuting Wild Dogs on the Subway, The Sun, (Jan 12, 2011)
Totally random.

Vivian Maier documentary in the works, Messy Nessy Chic (Feb. 18, 2013)

Reading Roundup 2013.04.19

Big wordy week! Here are a few things that caught my eye. Happy reading!

In Time of Tragedy, Look to Yourself First, Bonnie Harris Connective Parenting (Apr. 16, 2013)
Really great article about refusing to let fear overtake your parenting in these sometimes disturbing times.

What if Everybody Understood Child Development?, Huffington Post (via Not Just Cute)
(Apr. 5, 2013)
"Most people, I imagine, would be surprised to learn that understanding child development is not one of the standard requirements to become a teacher. Or maybe not. Maybe most people, including those who decide what teachers need to know, are unaware of the incontestable connection between how children develop (not just cognitively but also socially, emotionally, and physically)and how they learn."

Lessons in Domestic Diplomacy, New York Times (Apr. 12, 2013)
How to argue more effectively, with less drama

Good Teachers are a Flaw in the System, Teacher Tom (April 15, 2013)
"How does anyone expect teachers to work under these conditions?"

Six Vintage-inspired Animations on Critical Thinking (Brain Pickings)
Great graphics

How Nature Makes Kids Calmer, Healthier, Smarter, Aha Parenting (Apr. 15, 2013)

Exercise, friendships, and puzzles beat back dimentia, NPR (Apr. 15, 2103)


My So-Called 'Post-Feminist' Life in Arts and Letters, The Nation (Apr. 29, 2013)
Hat tip to Scott Lewis Photography
"...Nearly every review refers to me as a stay-at-home mom. One such article is entitled "Battlefield Barbie," which calls me a "soccer-mom-in-training." ....The general consensus is that the book is good, but I suck. ...Talkasks if I'm worried I'll be labeled a slut. I object to both the word and the question; the journalist prints them anyway.Brill's Content and The Women's Review of Books insinuate that I brought on my own rape and various other crimes that I experienced at the hands of men—armed robbery, a knockout blow to the skull from a crack addict.Salon resorts to slut-shaming and libel. New York thinks I'm an insult to feminism for having left a promising career behind."

Reading Roundup 2013.04.12

Here are some stories I found interesting this week.

Wow, don't miss this version of The Cure's "Lovesong" from this week's American Idol. Chills.

How can you set limits if you don't use threats to enforce them? Aha Parenting (Apr. 2, 2013)
Boy am I ready for these reminders.

Where ideas come from, Starlighting Mama (Apr. 3, 2013)
Hint: not from screen time.

10 Tips to raise a persistent child, Aha Parenting (Apr. 8, 2013)

Cursive handwriting bill passes the NC house, News & Observer (Apr. 4, 2013)
Hooray! I didn't realize Common Core has no cursive requirement. I guess you can't bubble-in to test it.

Creating fear in children with lockdown drills, Motherlode (Apr. 8, 2013)

Dutch kids get "driver's ed" for bikes at age 12, FreeRangeKids, (Apr. 8, 2013)
I love the common sense, and the absolute lack of faux terror that we propagate here.

"Glass Gem Compilation," Play at Home Mom (Apr. 10, 2013)
A great round-up of activities you can do with light tables and glass gems. Good resource.

Johnny Cash Columbia Catalog—63-disk box set, NPR (Apr. 10, 2013)

Glee

I'm disgusted with last night's Glee episode. I could just spit.

A faux Sandy Hook-style plot shows ten harrowing minutes of terrified students and teachers, who believe a shooter has entered the school and fired two shots. The choir room locks down. Students text, weep, profess their love for each other and their families, and especially worry about the friends out of the room. A SWAT team explores the building.

The next day the school is set up with x-ray machines and scanning wands. No one complains about this.

What benefit could this type of story on this type of entertainment show possibly offer, only four months after so many families were devastated?

How is it that that horrible tragedy can be reduced to a 40-minute script?

In the end, it's revealed that Cheerio Becky has brought the gun to school. "I was scared, Coach, about graduating, being out in the real world. With no one to protect me. I wanted to be prepared and protect myself. I need help." The gun goes off and Sue Sylvester protects her by claiming the gun is hers, which costs her her job (but somehow she's not arrested).

"The safety net of the public mental health system is gone. Parents with troubled kids are too busy working three jobs to look after them," Sylvester says.

Because there wasn't an actual shooting and no one was shot, the plot line is supposed to be "okay"—it all was just a misunderstanding, right? But what about the harm to our understanding of society, of each other? Why are we all okay assenting to the creation of a culture of fear with shows like this—such that an innocent like the character of Becky feels that the only tool she has for protection is her dad's gun, which she doesn't even know how to use?

It's no wonder that people who watch more television are more likely to be fearful of the world around them. When television offers a menu of fear, and without offering solutions to combat it—and when you consider Americans spend 34 hours per week in front of the tube (maybe more if you factor in the Internet), what else would people think? (Incidentally, children under age two average 53 minutes per day of television. Why not indoctrinate into the fear culture early?)

Aren't our real lives filled with stress enough? Why should we allow our escape time to magnify the worst moments our community can create—and with little commentary or solution? Glee's episode last night dangles in two salient points, but allows them to flutter away quickly:
(1) Kids are scared. Scared of how big the world has become. (You know, that world we adults have created and supported, and propagate in the media and television, and socially, by not allowing kids to walk to school alone, or play in the yard unsupervised.)
(2) Our mental health system is challenged and overloaded.

However, the show spends so much time focusing on the terror of the students, that their fear is glorified and made as an acceptable part of high school life. Is this really the picture we want to create of school culture, something that just happens one day then in the next episode, is forgotten? Maybe we really will homeschool, after all.

It's not Glee's responsibility to offer an idealistic school environment to aspire to, obviously. It's an entertainment show, not a parenting class or local government. But as a culture, why have we embraced fear to such an extent—given away our personal power—that tragedy and trauma are offered as the fabric of our daily lives? Or is that the commentary Glee offers, through Becky's fear?

We need to actively focus on building our own supportive communities, both locally and at large. Each of us. In our homes, in our neighborhoods, within our favorite small groups. And I would guess this was one of Glee's intents, in the episode, to show the support of friends within the choir group. We all need to empower our children to feel secure with themselves, to give them the judgment skills to both avoid tragedy and to endure it.

But just a blink of an eye after an entire community was under siege, first graders slaughtered within their safe school community—this show comes on too hard, too soon.

This episode of Glee underscores one of the reasons why we haven't offered TV to Starboy at all. (All he has seen has been in restaurants and Target, where it's impractical for him to wear a bag over his head to avoid it.) We want his stories to come from his imagination, rather than adult-written scripts that can gloss over solutions (or offer impractical ones), while focusing on fear and tragedy. That offer stereotyping, both new and stale. We want to focus on problem-solving rather than victimization. We want to offer Starboy security and a solid foundation of real skills—not snappy comebacks—to handle tough situations with grace and courage.

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts—about the show, about the media, about community building.

Reading Roundup - 2013.04.05

Here are a few articles that caught my eye this week:



Introverted kids need to learn to speak up at school, The Atlantic (Feb. 7, 2013)
I totally agree with this—with the caveat that scaffolding and support is offered to teach speaking up, rather than demanding it.

Family Inc., Wall Street Journal (Feb. 10, 2013)
Run your family like a business, with a mission statement. Sorry I'm not sure if the link will work.

What does an iPad do to a child's mind? New York Times (March 31, 2013)

The opposite of play isn't work, Teacher Tom, (Apr. 5, 2013)
Discussing the effort of the de-professionalization of teachers

Parents talking about their own drug use to children could be detrimental, EurekaAlert (Feb. 22, 2013)
via Attachment Parenting International

Atlanta test cheating: tip of the iceberg? Washington Post Answer Sheet (Apr. 1, 2013)

If you don't support breastfeeding in public, you don't support breastfeeding, Huffington Post (Apr. 1, 2013)

The new kindergarten: Kids write 'informative' reports, Washington Post Answer Sheet (Apr. 3, 2013)

Is organic milk healthy? Homemade Mommy (Dec. 4, 2012)

Today's quote, via Literate Kids on Facebook:
"The problems many children have are actually generated by too much time spent in environments in which children are expected to "behave." When a restricted environment isn't balanced out by an hour or more a day when children can run hard, laugh hard, wrestle, be daring, and engage in spontaneous play, the strain shows in their behavior." —Patty Wipfler, Hand in Hand Parenting

Reading Roundup 2013.03.22

Not a lot of great reads in the last few weeks, but here are a few I thought were interesting.

6 Ways to help children cope with frustration, Everyday Family (March 6, 2013)

Reading, Writing, Video Games, New York Times Opinion, (March 15, 2013)
"A 2012 report by the New Media Consortium identified "game-based learning" as one of the major trends affecting education in the next five years." Ugh.

Minecraft spawns classroom lessons, Washington Post (March 14, 2013)
"Mr. Lanphier said the reason that we're using this is because it's an accurate way to build things without just having to write down all this stuff," [one student] said.

The Family Stories that Bind Us, New York Times (March 15, 2013)
"Children who have the most self-confidence have what's called a strong "intergenerational self." They know they belong to something bigger than themselves....The bottom line: If you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family's positive moments and your ability to bounce back from the difficult ones. That act alone may increase the odds that your family will thrive for many generations to come."

Should machines be used to grade student writing? Inside Higher Ed (March 15, 2013)
So not only is your child going to spend more than ten hours on this one state test, which will be administered on computers that your school does not have funding to maintain, but also this information —which is supposed to gauge roughly where your student is in his learning—is going to be used in some states as a graduation requirement, but will be graded by machine.

We can do better for our students, and we must.

I am not your wife, sister or daughter, The Belle Jar (March 18, 2013)
"This device....is reductive as hell. It defines women by their relationships to other people, rather than as people themselves. It says that women are only important when they are married to, have given birth to, or have been fathered by other people. It says that women are only important because of who they belong to."


Some really great parenting reminders, all by Aletha Solter, who founded the Aware Parenting Institute. You may have seen her work in Mothering magazine:
Why do Children Misbehave?
Twenty Alternatives to Punishment
The Disadvantages of Time Out
Weekly Family Meetings for Conflict Resolution

Daily rhythms

Waldorf has such nice ideas about rhythm and routine for children. When kids know how and when things are going to happen, they can spend their energy growing, rather than worrying what's coming next, the theory goes. From a Montessori perspective, a chart can allow a child to become more independent. And I would have to think there are mathematical benefits to learning a one-to-one correspondence between the task item on the board and the task you have to do—and not to mention language arts benefits about sequencing and storytelling: first, next, last.

I love this idea of simple rhythms, but have been too undisciplined so far to really follow it. Even though I know Starboy really would benefit. So, to get started, I decided to try a daily chore chart. I got inspiration from Play at Home Mom, Homeschool Harmony, A Kid's Day, Playful Learning, and more. If you don't feel crafty enough to create your own chart, check these out (and Google more), as some of them are downloadable or for sale.

Morning tasks: Brush teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast (pic is of eggs), potty

I wanted to make this interactive using magnetic morning birds and evening stars, but the chart was becoming too big. I'd have to find a place to store all five birds (I have to add "take vitamins"), and seven stars at the bottom of the wood board, before moving them into place when the task was completed, and I couldn't make it work on this small board. So I decided not to let "perfect" be the enemy of "good." They all are glued in place.

Evening tasks: Put dirty clothes in hamper, set out clean clothes for tomorrow, take a bath

The stars are wooden and the birds are chipboard. All have scrapbooking "stacks" paper glued on with white glue/water, and are shellacked with the same glue. The drawings were done with a fine Sharpie. The board is a wooden craft board with scrapbook paper glued on and shellacked with white glue/water. A string handle allows us to hang the chart on his bedroom door.

Right after I hung the chart up, I remembered I was going to make a vertical tree, so that the chart would not stick out the side of the door. So. Consider yourself warned, you non-planners.

Evening tasks: Put on PJs, brush teeth, potty, bedtime stories and songs

Now when we talk about getting ready in the morning, I ask Starboy, "Have you done all of your birds? We can't leave until we do all the birds." At night, we "do our stars." Sounds so much better than "chores," or "grooming." And it is helping a little with getting out the door.

Reading Roundup 2013.03.08

Mud and Sticks and Real Paint, Teacher Tom (March 2, 2103)
On: why TV/i-gadget time should be limited for small children

The Rhythm of the Home spring edition is up!

In a fast moving world, we could all do with a roll of 36, Vince Laforet (Mar. 7, 2013)

A day in the life of the growing Frontal Lobe

How do you wear your rose-colored glasses?

I just about peed my pants reading Jason Good's essay 46 Reasons My Three Year Old Might be Freaking Out (sample: "A balloon he got six months ago is missing."). There are literally 500 comments, and some of them are even funnier than the original post, beginning with the grandma "Omabird," who wrote, "Perhaps it is why God, in his great love and mercy, made old people deaf."

A related Slate article reveals the brain science that routinely changes your three-year-old into Sybil. If your child is three, or ready to turn three, I implore you to read this article, and post it on your fridge. This simple story has offered new levels of patience to me that are literally saving my bacon. It seems that an undeveloped frontal lobe (no sense of time, planning, logic or patience), a constant fear that their parents will abandon them, and under-stimulation from the natural world all conspire to create meltdowns where you least need them, according to the article by Melinda Wenner Moyer. And let me add: Fatigue. God help you if you push the window at 4pm on a no-nap day in store.

Doesn't that sound a lot more reasonable than, "OMG he just freaked out over nothing!"

I'm a fairly paitient person, but the constant meltdown/negotiation/resolution process has been wearing  a bit. I mean, really? Does every effing thing require a full, screaming meltdown? Especially from my usually calm, reasonable boy? A couple of days ago Starboy had a freakout at the fabric store that involved crying, hitting, flinging his shoes in different directions, taking off running (with other shoppers quietly pointing out where he was for me), and crawling around on the filthy floor. Ultimately I had to carry him out (and then back in again, and out again, because they didn't validate my parking. $%@!).

Why the high drama?  Because he did not want the mice printed on the fabric to be separated when our yardage was cut. He wanted the mice all to stay together smoothly on the bolt.

Yeah.

And that's what I get for fabric shopping at 4pm on a no-nap day. And parking in a lot with a one-hour free parking limit, at a store with glacial customer service.

Inspired by my utter misunderstandings of the Age Three Experience, I kept track of a day's worth Starboy's issues on a recent low-meltdown day. That's right, this was one of the easier days lately. Each instance resulted in some amount of crying or drama, up to kicking and boneless body-planting in place (and most involved some level of negotiation/problem-solving to resolve):

Wants another half bagel for breakfast.

Wants both bagel halves on the plate at the same time.

Doesn't want water to drink.

Doesn't want to rinse jam from bagels off hands.

Wants to hear a Martin and Sylvia audio story, not Junkyard Tales.

Doesn't want to leave art class, which has ended.

Wants a "special" food (read: a sweet or a muffin) before leaving art class.

Wants a "special" toy (read: new, or one saved for restaurants) to hold on the way home.

Doesn't want to get out of the car at home.

Wants orange melon (which Techman and I had finished b/c he didn't want any).

Wants to eat his snack in back yard, not front yard.

Doesn't want "only cheese" for his snack (hardboiled egg is on plate with "only cheese").

Wants to wash hands at the kitchen sink, not the bathroom sink.

Wants me to flush the toilet together with him.

Did not want me to actually flush with him when we counted to three.

Wants Daddy to help him in the bathroom, not mommy.


There have been few times in my life that I have reached 9:30 in the morning and thought to myself, "You know, a beer would be pretty good about now." I don't even really like beer. Of course, at this rate, I'd be drinking a six a day, so I've been keeping it to root beer and Cokes. But I may be moving on to earplugs.

What hard-to-understand logic has your preschooler offered up lately? What helps you get through it, and keeps your child feeling secure?

Reading Roundup 03.01.13

Here are a few things I've been reading this week.

When Seth MacFarlane is a Complete Ass and You Don't Even Notice, Jezebel, (Feb 26, 2013)
A must-read.

How to Make Better Teachers, Teacher Tom (Feb. 25, 2013)
Great article on what really matters in teaching. "As Lois Weiner, professor of eduction at New Jersey City University puts it:  '(These initiatives are) part of this global project to deprofessionalize teaching as an occupation . . . the thinking is that the biggest expenditure in education is teacher salaries. And they want to cut costs . . . that means they have to lower teacher costs. And in order to do that, they have to deprofessionalize teaching. They have to make it a revolving door, in which we're not going to pay teachers very much. They're not going to stay very long. We're going to credential them really fast . . . We're going burn them up. They're going to leave in three, four, five years. And that's the model they want. So who is the biggest impediment to that occurring? Teachers' unions. And that is what explains this massive propaganda effort to say that teacher's unions are an impediment to reform. And in fact, they are an impediment to the deprofessionalization of teaching . . . It's a disaster for public education.'"

Yahoo's Blow to Work-Family Balance, NYT Motherlode (Feb. 25, 2013)

Why does my kid freak out? The science behind toddler tantrums, Slate (Feb. 27, 2013)
Very Relatable

46 Reasons my Three Year Old Might be Freaking Out, Jason Good (Dec. 13, 2012)
Classic. I may have posted before. Still funny.

Sugar is Toxic, NYT (Feb. 27, 2013)
Another must-read. But I bet you'll be hearing a lot more about it in the coming months.

Reading roundup 02.22.13

Here's some stuff I've been reading lately. Apologies that sometimes these Friday posts go up so late.

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food, NYTimes Mag (Feb. 20, 2013)
This is going to be a big talker.

Still Lonely in a World with More 'Onlies', NYT Motherlode (Feb. 17, 2013)
An only child is wistful for the siblings she never had.

Strange Adventures, Teacher Tom (Feb. 17, 2013)
About the anchor of home. This one struck a chord with me.

Building Strong Boys: The Meaning of Manhood, Not Just Cute (Feb. 20, 2013)

Reading Roundup 2013.02.15

A few things I've been reading lately.

Why parents need to let their children fail, The Atlantic (Jan .29, 2013), via Not Just Cute

Frustration and Rage, Conscious Transitions (Jan. 14, 2013)
Really great article on patience and parenting with little ones.

Why introverts shouldn't be forced to talk in class, Washington Post
Great article, with teacher tips on other methods of group participation besides raising your hand and giving a verbal answer.

Reading Roundup 2013.02.08

A few things that caught my eye this week.


Five alternatives to yelling, Awesomely Awake (Feb. 1, 2013) (via Not Just Cute)

43 Chores young children can do, parenting Squad (Mar. 10, 2011)

Something is Rotten in the State of Maryland, Washington Post Answer Sheet (Feb. 4, 2013)

Scarlet Fever Probably Didn't Blind Mary Ingalls, NY Times (Feb. 4, 2013)

Reading Roundup 2013.02.01

I didn't find much of interest this week. The news these days seems to be blah blah education blah blah testing blah blah editorial standing up against blah blah GUNS GUNS GUNS blah and so forth. I didn't see all that much that was new.

Ordinarily I'll save the post for next week unless there are at least three items, but this way at least you know I'm thinking about you. A little.

A Reprieve for the Gnomes of Oakland, We Bloom Here (Jan. 29, 2013)
Painted gnomes keep turning up at the bottom of Oakland's telephone poles. PGE finally gives up asking them to be taken down for "safety" and they are allowed to stay.

Great Parenting Advice, Babble (Jan. 30, 2013)


....Wait, here's a third one:

Emails link Jeb Bush foundation, corporations, laws and ed officials, WashPost (Jan. 30, 2013)
Shocker.

...Oh, right. And actually this one is a can't-miss. Even though I missed it five months ago. That dang Pony Express...

Trampire: Why the public slut shaming of Kristen Stewart matters for Young Women, HuffPost (Sept. 4, 2012)

Free Sparkle story and links to help heal after tragedy *

SparkleStories.com has posted a free story to help parents and children cope today, after unfathomable tragedy in Newtown, Conn. The story is advertising-free and copyright-free.

"We wanted a story that addresses loss and tragedy, but that leaves children with a sense that the adults in their world love them, and are keeping them safe, and are doing everything they can to ensure that it never happens again."

You may read their explainer and listen at this link to decide whether the story is right to share with your children, or just listen yourself.

This is a free story about a young girl named Lee, who loves her little black dog Prince.  But one day, Prince is suddenly killed by a speeding car.  The girl not only has to come to grips with the abrupt loss of her dog, but she also manages questions like “Who was it?  Why didn’t they stop? How could they do it?” And the ultimate message from her loving parents is this:  "We love you.  It is OK to be sad.  We are holding you.  And we will do everything we can to prevent this from happening again."

Attachment Parenting International sent out an email blast with links to help parents. "What do I say to my children?" Here are some of the articles they recommend:

Helping Children with Scary News, PBS Parents

Helping Children Heal, Attachment Parenting International (lots of tips for families with very young children)

How to Talk with Kids about Tragedy, Aha! Parenting

Talking with Children about Upsetting News Events, Massachusetts General Hospital

Helping Your Children Manage Distress in the Aftermath of a Shooting, American Psychological Association

*This article was updated to include article sourcing and fix text viewing issues.

Reading Roundup 2012.12.07

Here are a few things that caught my eye this week. Lots of brain candy this week, with a few gems.

A 'value-added' travesty for an award-winning teacher, Washington Post Answer Sheet (Dec.3, 2012)
This value-added baloney just drives me stark-raving mad. If you ever thought for a moment that this was a good idea, please read this article.

When Relatives Criticize, The Attached Family (Oct. 2, 2012 and reprinted Dec. 4, 2012 in their newsletter)
Wow, is this a great article for difficult families. Highly recommend.

Books do furnish a mind, Roger Ebert's Journal (Nov. 14, 2012)

ID required to buy microwave pudding at Tesco Express, Daily Mail Online (Nov. 30, 2012)
Because a child might burn himself with the molten chocolate. Seriously.

Treasure Maps, The Story (Dec. 5, 2012)
A really wonderful audio story about a stunning cache of historic maps, and how the LA Library acquired them.

Story of a guy who found $175k worth of pot in his backyard, via LA Observed (Dec. 6, 2012)

Take Five on ukulele, LA Observed, (Dec. 6, 2012)

Reading Roundup 2012.11.09

Here are a few things I've been reading lately. Some are from last week; the post didn't go up. Oopsie.

How to avoid GMOs (for real), MamaNatural (31 Oct. 2012)
I've been reading a bunch on GMO lately and it's all so depressing I can barely lift my head up to comment.

What's the difference between these two brains? Telegraph UK (28 Oct. 2012)
A vote for attachment parenting.

Broken Spelling Theory LAObserved (16 Nov 2012)
On the Petraeus affair

Back when a chocolate puck tasted, guiltily, like America, NYT (16 Nov 2012)
I was a Ding Dong or Cupcake girl myself. But in Florida they called them Ring Dings.

Interview with Lisabeth Sewell McCann of Sparkle Stories, ErinGoodman.com (13 Nov 2012)

The Hater's Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog, Deadspin.com (13 Nov 2012)
Wherein we learn that raising chickens is jumping the shark, right. Now. My favorite comment: "I am admittedly a shameless foodie douche sometimes but screw you, my omlettes are foodgasms."
File under: First World Issues.