Books: Andy and the Lion

February 3, 2010 | Books,Family,Iowa,School

For our next “Read a Million Minutes” installment, we read Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty. (Thanks, Magpie Musing!)

Books: Beth’s Job

February 1, 2010 | Books,Family,Iowa,School

For our next “Read a Million Minutes” installment, we read Beth’s Job by Carole Roberts and illustrated by Michael Garland. No magpies in this one, but I still say thanks for the inspiration to Magpie Musing.

‘School’s out’ gets illustrated

June 5, 2009 | Family,School,Stuff

I started singing Alice Cooper’s School’s Out for Summer when I did the last pickup of the school year. They asked to hear it on the radio. I said I’d find it on blip when I got home, and I did. We listened to the song (but didn’t watch the video). They all drew pictures.

This is Cooper with a “rock-n-roll guitar” raising the roof on the house.

This is Cooper singing.

This is the guitar.

What … no tasers?

October 3, 2007 | Journalism,Media,Race,Safety,School

A 25-year-old security guard at a high school in California forced a 16-year-old girl face down on a table, broke her wrist and then had her arrested. He then got hold of the 14-year-old boy who recorded the incident on his cell phone and had him arrested. Then he broke the wrist of another 16-year-old girl and had her arrested. The first girl’s mother was arrested, charged with assault and suspended from her job without pay. The security guard, whose name has not been released, was suspended with pay.

This is almost completely a “new media” story. It’s been covered by only four news outlets: 1) BET, 2) a local FOX station, 3) a local NBC station and 4) the LA Daily News, here and here.

Bloggers, however, have picked it up and run with it:

• Oh No a WoC PhD
• The Liberal Journal
• Fables of the reconstruction
• jasmynecannick
• badgermama
• Infowars.net
• Signs of the Times
• No One Gets Out Alive
• Vox ex Machina
• plime
• pudgyindian2
• Freedom Rider
• rustylime
• Our World in Words
• pop trash tart
• Present Progressive Mood … well, you get the idea.

What’s Going On? My apologies to Marvin Gaye, but maybe his line, “Simply because our hair is long,” should instead say, “Simply because our hair is nappy.” (The white security guard apparently called the black girl “nappy head.”)

Hat tip: ThinkGirl.net

End of a long week just got longer

August 23, 2007 | Getting sick,School

What’s worse than putting my babies on a bigass school bus at 7:30 every morning, the whole transition thing, crying, no more naps? Having them home tomorrow. Sick. I think I’m getting sick too. Good times.