Tolu's picture

Does Nigeria Value Its Youth?

“Africa will only remain when it realizes that the future remains with the youths.”—Oby Ezekwesili

Throughout our near-50 years as a free country, all indications that Youth play a part in sustaining and safeguarding the fundamental foundations of our democratic experiment have been validated time and time again. And there’s little doubt that the concern for the future of young people is of top priority with elected officials.

Giuliana's picture

Missing women: 520 aboriginal women missing or murdered

I don't normally post or advertise my students' work- but I am very proud of this short piece produced by Aaron Lakoff , an  undergraduate student in my sound production class at Concordia University.

Aaron decided to create a one minute verbal piece on the 520 aboriginal women missing in Canada. You can read more about the missing aboriginal women by clicking here.

Click here to listen to Aaron Lakoff's project.

 

Shirley Steinberg's picture

Claude Levi Strauss Dies at 100

 

Joe and I were so informed by Claude's work, what a intellectual heritage he has left us.

Shirley Steinberg's picture

Documents, Docudrama, Documentary: Film as Truth and Text

I don't think I could have predicted that at the mainstream AMC Cinema in Montreal, on a given day, that three (count em), three documentaries are being shown.  Along with the new romantic comedy tripe, the blood and guts scream screens, and the trivial kid stuff, we are able to screen Taqwacore:  The Birth of Punk Islam, It Might Get Loud, and The September Issue.

Carolyne Ali Khan's picture

Demonized and disposable youth...yet more on this. Runaways and resistance.

Working with "at risk" Urban Youth in schools I am constantly struck by the amount of strength they display in a world that so often (and so deeply) abandons them. For one thing love and compassion are not easy to hold on to, particularly in difficult times, yet I have seen so many youth who have been pushed so far yet retain dignity and care as core values. As Giroux, Joe, Shirley and many others note this is not the story of teens we see in the press. In the media they seem to exist as only victims or victimizers or recipients of someones saving. These two links (one from this weeks NYT ) speak of so much more, of quiet bodily harm and quiet strength.

lizjmeyer's picture

High school teacher suspended after assigning an article on homosexuality in animals

Yesterday, Mr. Delong, a 10th and 12th grade Honors English teacher in Piasa, IL was suspended for assigning an article about homosexuality in the animal kingdom to his students. You can read the full article here. The local paper reporting this story quoted the teacher saying, "I have been suspended, but not without pay," Delong, of Carlinville, said Wednesday.

Myloeg's picture

Psychology & Law: Analysis of USA Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor @ UC Berkeley University Comment

Analysis of Sonia Sotomayor’s @ Berkeley University Comment:

“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life”.                                   

adarder's picture

My word for the day is Disgusting

 

My word for the day seems to be DISGUSTING! Check out the image that sat on RNC's facebook page for six days! It oozes hatred right off the damn page! How the hell can folks of color ever sense that we genuinely belong in a society where this kind of blatant racism remains everpresent?!

Tolu's picture

Sarah Kruzan: When Lady Justice Rewards a Pimp and Punishes His Victim

I was browsing the web a few days ago when I ran across the following headline: "16yr old gets life in prison for killing her pimp." Perhaps my considerable awareness of the way the internet works--Shock and Awe = Traffic--was what led to initial skepticism; but once I clicked the YouTube video link, all ambiguity vacated.

Passionate Pedagogue's picture

When did Television Become a Bad Word?

The advent of television in the first half of the 20th Century revolutionized media.  The first mechanical television broadcast took place in select cities across the United States in 1928.  The diffusion of television brought into the homes of citizens across the world access to local broadcasting.  With the advent of satellite communications this access became national and then international.  The “tube”, as it is affectionately called, allowed people across the globe to become more attune to their communities, neighborhoods, countries and the world at large.  Television has brought with it the ability to laugh at some of the pas

Greg Rodriguez's picture

Saw VI and Healthcare: A Movie-Review-Blog

[warning: this entry may spoil the new Saw VI movie for you]

I caught the latest film in the Saw series this weekend – Saw VI. I liked it – well I appreciated it, at least. For those unfamiliar with Saw, I would recommend you watch the previous Saw films before you watch the latest feature – the story will make a lot more sense this way. I couldn’t help but feel that for many people at the theatre, the story seemed disconnected or lacked cohesiveness. Unless one is simply a fan of horror film gore or bizarre and intense jaw-clenching torture scenes, the story and background to the Saw characters are necessary to enjoying the film.

lizjmeyer's picture

Scholastic censors same-sex families from book fairs

 According to the School Library Journal, Scholastic books is asking Lauren Myracle, the author of the new book "Luv Ya Bunches" to rewrite her story to exclude one of the character's parents because they are gay. The author is willing to clean up some of the "objectionable" language (words like "crap" and "sucks"), but refuses to de-gay the story since it reflects modern families. I'm so proud of Ms.

Shirley Steinberg's picture

Thanks for Nothing Arne....Obama, You Blew that Appointment

http://www.wesh.com/education/21386667/detail.html

I am so not impressed with Duncan's assessment of teaching.  I agree that most schools/faculties of education are falling short...but not because of his short-sighted, ignorant assessment.  Duncan contends that the "cash cows" of universities, teacher prep programs, are not preparing teachers to enter the classroom, that new teachers do not know how to "manage" their students.

Teaching and Reading Henry Giroux PowerPoint

The text for Reading and Teaching Henry Giroux came after our long-term use of Henry’s most significant material. After the book was published we had key insights and concepts from this work in an organized fashion and therefore it was a helpful tool in our classes and discussions with students. The impetus for developing this PowerPoint presentation came with the need to have various quotations and references in a ready-made package. This is where Samir Muhaisen came to the rescue.

Paul R Carr's picture

Is it now time to seek... justice? Give peace a chance (with Cuba)

There has been a broad and comprehensive media blockade on any news related to five Cubans unjustly charged and convicted in Miami in 1998, who have been held since then in US prisons for... ,essentially, fighting illegal and nefarious acts within the Miami Cuban community against Cuba.

Tolu's picture

When Will Adults Take Responsibility For Youth Violence?

A couple of weeks back, Attorney General Eric Holder, responding to the horrific caught-on-tape death of 16-year-old Chicagoan Derrion Albert, hoped it would serve as a "stark wake-up call to a reality that can be easy for too many to ignore as they go about their daily lives." More importantly, Holder poignantly explained why the ongoing onslaught of Youth-on-Youth attacks must be understood within a universal context: "Youth violence is not a Chicago problem anymore than it is a black problem, a white problem, or a Hispanic problem. ...

Shirley Steinberg's picture

Bending Over and Picking Up the Soap Opera

If you meet anyone who denies knowing a thing about soaps on tv, I think they are lying.  Soaps are the middle class dirty little secret.  Soaps somehow engage the viewer in the best and worst of life.  But alas, I come not to praise the soap, but to expose it.  It is obvious that soaps reflect a notion of the middle/upper class in North American society...the repetitive themes of romance, death, quest, riches, poverty...these come honestly from the notion of plot in fiction.  What I find compelling, is that even in 2009, the dominant discourse makes no apology for existing...in fact, if you aren't in that discourse, you are not compensated for your marginalization, and with each piano riff, the non-belonging viewer is sentenced to more exi

Venus Evans-Winters's picture

What truthtelling looks and sounds like: Dr. Julia Hare

Steve Sharra's picture

What Would Gandhi Do? Zimbabwe, Neo-imperialism and the Lessons of Nonviolence

 The theme for this year’s Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA) annual conference, held from October 8 to 10 at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, could not have been more apropos. Phrased as “The Power of Nonviolence,” it compelled me to think about the ways in which Nonviolence theory and praxis could be brought to bear in the search for solutions to one of Africa’s most intractable puzzles, the case of Zimbabwe. No sooner had the conference ended and we had all returned to our respective bases than Zimbabwe shot up onto the world headlines once again.

clardoyle's picture

Early Thoughts on Youth in a Suspect Society

 Early Thoughts on Youth in a Suspect Society:

Henry Giroux does a grand service by not limiting the call for transforming the economic system, but shows that it is essential that there be educational, cultural, and political transformation as well. In Youth in a Suspect Society Giroux is not content to name the blame, but points to possibilities that are ours to fashion and make real.

lizjmeyer's picture

Call for editors and reviewers for next volume

SPRINKLE needs YOU!  Application deadline: November 15, 2009

Sprinkle is currently recruiting editors and reviewers for its next publication.  The following positions are available:

Carolyne Ali Khan's picture

Material clothing, immaterial history and a passion for necrophilia

An article in the Wall Street Journal this week proudly announced, "Designers Mine Heritage for Rags and Riches - Why Old-Timey fashions - Even Torn Overalls Offer Reassurance in These Times."  And here we have it, literary connections to curdle the blood: The Grapes of Wrath is the new inspiration for fashion houses like Ralph Lauren. http://www.momgenerations.com/blogs/audrey/index.php/2009/10/01/ralph-la...

Andrew Churchill's picture

The Post-Racism World???

Today's CNN Headline:

Justice stands by refusal to give interracial couple license to wed 

CNN, predictably, is not outraged (just reporting the facts), which, according to the interviewed justice, are:

Tolu's picture

Cornel West On Youth Violence: "We Have To Give A Priority To Young People"

What are your thoughts on the recent caught-on-tape death of the young Brother, Derrion Albert, especially in light of the violent tendencies that framed part of your childhood? And do you share any worries that, unlike your loving parents, some adults in our communities are increasingly giving voice to draconian, militarized measures to reform misbehaving youth of color?

Passionate Pedagogue's picture

“I Want my MTV” – A Tangent

When I set about to write this blog I was initially going to write about the role of hip-hop culture and MTV on urban youth.  While brainstorming a title for my blog the Dire Straits song, “Money for Nothing,” came to mind because I thought I could use its refrain as a catchy title.  The problem, however, was that I remembered the chorus, “I want my MTV,” but little else.  I knew that the song had been a big hit in the 80s and vividly recalled listening to it over and over again on the radio back in the day, so I looked up the song lyrics to try to trigger the context of the song and was aghast at what I found.

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