COVID19 has presented challenge after challenge. (And let’s not forget that our ever-more evil POTUS knew about its threat and had options to minimize its impact, but chose to ignore them.) For a blog post here, I wanted to briefly discuss homeschooling. I see post after post from people with children–who normally attend public schoolsContinue reading “Notes on: Homeschooling”
Tag Archives: children
Olive Garden’s Promotion of Racism, An Open Letter
Dear Olive Garden, On Friday, October 5, 2018, at 11:21 AM CST you shared the following post and picture from Courtney Ruth Pedigo. For perpetuity, the original post–and picture–are located below, too. Tonight my family and I went out to Olive Garden for dinner, and per Harlynn’s usual she did everything but sit in her high chairContinue reading “Olive Garden’s Promotion of Racism, An Open Letter”
Real Problems Under Cloaks of Success, or How Polk Elementary Handles Bullying
I attended Gladys Polk Elementary in Richwood, Texas, from August 1992 to May 1999. It was a huge part of my early life (and some bad memories, discussed here), and I continue to keep track of what is going on at Polk–thanks to the Internet. This past December, I read through its 2016-2017 Campus ImprovementContinue reading “Real Problems Under Cloaks of Success, or How Polk Elementary Handles Bullying”
Review of Aaron Alon’s BULLY (2017)
From its directorship by Dr. Aaron Alon, its powerful story line and unforgettable thirteen original numbers written and composed by Alon, its cinematography, its sound, and its talented cast of performers and singers, Thunderclap Production’s latest release, Bully (2017), is a highly-original masterpiece about bullying, depression, gender, queerness, and suicide. In the space of 58 minutes, this musical pushes viewersContinue reading “Review of Aaron Alon’s BULLY (2017)”
Walt Disney and the Acceptance of Authoritarianism
While eating my supper of crackers, deli turkey, and strawberries, I had a question: What is the relationship between Disney’s children’s movies (and alphabetic fairy tales) and the current–baffling–acceptance of authoritarianism in the United States? Why are people–who proclaim to love the United States, their country, and their freedom–still supporting the Republican party at all?! ThinkContinue reading “Walt Disney and the Acceptance of Authoritarianism”
Creating and Omitting History, Fundamentalist Nationalism, and the A Beka History Textbooks
I first started officially drafting this article on August 7, 2015! During the past two years, I have constantly struggled with how to approach the issues raised in this post. I am always interested in how different institutions teach History, and a while back, I discovered that the A Beka History Textbooks are very problematic. AtContinue reading “Creating and Omitting History, Fundamentalist Nationalism, and the A Beka History Textbooks”
Exploiting Kids On and Off Stage: Labor and Fiction
I often think about important ways in which the children who become star singers or become star actors or actresses in various television or film productions are exploited–exploited by their families, agents, colleagues, and audiences. Kids in such positions receive far too little critical academic attention. The Kids Who Work Historically, child labor has notContinue reading “Exploiting Kids On and Off Stage: Labor and Fiction”
Screaming But Nobody Can Hear Me
It was Wednesday, September 6, 2000, sometime late in the morning. I was in the intensive care unit following major surgery (surgery #2 of 5 for Neurofibromatosis, as of June 2017) and screaming for help. I was screaming because every tiny little breath hurt like fire and nails. Every tiny millimeter I moved or turnedContinue reading “Screaming But Nobody Can Hear Me”
Dr. Andrew Joseph Pegoda 