Super International Jokes

On Super Bowl (U.S. football) Sunday, I'm reminded of the joke about the announcer who gave the ball scores but failed to tell what teams were involved in the 14-3, 21-10, 59-0 wins.

     Kids might like the following jokes attributed to countries around the world:

What do Japanese parents tell their children? You're allergic to bees. Only get A's on tests.

What does the Loch Ness monster eat? Fish and ships.

In Dublin an Irishman asks Paddy the quickest way to Cork.
 Paddy says, "Are you on foot or in a car?"
The Irishman says, "In a car."
Paddy responds, "That's the quickest way."

Why do Argentinians look up to the sky every time there is a lightning flash?
They think God is taking their picture.

What is the fastest country in the world? Russia.

And from THE OATMEAL website:
Who is a penguin's favorite relative:
His/her Aunt Arctica.

(Hope no one is offended by these jokes.)

Fashion As A Cottage (and Sustainable) Industry

Kids make beaded, rubberband, and knot bracelets at home. Adults make a living selling handmade wedding dresses, posters, furniture, and other items on the Etsy website (etsy.com).

     In Pakistan, a fashion house has revived the 18rh century European "putting out" process in which textile entrepreneurs brought wool and flax to rural families who supplemented their farm incomes by turning raw materials into yarn and cloth. Using air and courier delivery systems, Pakistan's Shubinak, whose parent company, Looptex, is certified as a Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) manufacturer, sends samples, embroidery thread, materials, and color swatches to rural artisans who return finished goods for sale online and through outlets in Pakistan and Canada. In a month, households earn anywhere from 51 to 205 British pounds. Shubinak also has plans that go beyond engaging its artisan suppliers in piece work. The company aims to provide 5000 artisans with entrepreneurial skills and to invest in healthcare and childcare facilities.

     Artisans trained in needlework and design by India's Self Help Enterprise (SHE) charity benefit from sales in London thanks to Buqa Woman, the not-for-profit unit of Buqa Couture. Money from sales of the SHE collection returns to India to fund women's education, village infrastructure projects, and welfare.

     Recognizing that women make up 80% of garment workers worldwide, GAP developed the Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement (PACE) program that involves women in a variety of leadership, financial literacy, and legal training modules. From its initial program at India's garment manufacturer, Shahi Exports, GAP has taken 25,000 women through the PACE program at its affiliated factories around the world. Working with CARE International and Swasti-Health Resource Center, PACE now has gone beyond factories and into communities in Cambodia and India. Next, the program is scheduled to expand into Bangladesh, Haiti, and Indonesia.

     By going to theguardian.com/sustainable-business/fashion, you can check up on fair business practices in the fashion industry and sign up to receive an exclusive member newsletter. You also can read about the Guardian's 2015 contest to find businesses that make a profit by helping people and the planet. Entry deadline is February 13, 2015.

   

   

   

 

How Do You Get Boys to Read (about the World)?

Since authors know girls like to read, one of the ways they lure boys to a book is by making their protagonists look just like them. Jeff Kinney's wimpy kid is Greg Heffley, and J.K.Rowling's young wizard is Harry Potter.

     Karen Katz uses the same approach in her new book, Roar, Roar Baby, for babies up to two year's old. She has a little boy looking for a tiger behind flaps that open to find  animals hiding all over the world. In Temple Run: Race Through Time to Unlock the Secrets of Ancient Worlds, Tracey West has a boy protagonist who finds clues that help him navigate safely through ancient civilizations. 

     Jon Scieszka, Stephanie Roth Sisson, and Brad Meltzer use a somewhat different approach to attract young male readers. In his series, Guys Read, Scieszka collects the true stories of adventure, sports, and male comedians that he knows little dudes would like.

     By presenting the true life stories of Carl Sagan and Albert Einstein, Sisson and Meltzer provide models of what boys can do with their lives. Sisson's book, Star Stuff, takes young men to the wonders of the 1939 World's Fair to illustrate what inspired Sagan to explore the mysteries of the universe. I Am Albert Einstein, by the historian Brad Meltzer, shows boys how ordinary people can change the world, even if they like to do things their own way, or maybe because they like their own ways of doing things. (Meltzer also has written a book about Amelia Earhart to inspire young girls.)

     Daniel Willingham, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, in his book, Raising Kids Who Read, urges families to let their children know, we are a family who likes to read because we like to learn (and share) new things. Kids who see adults and older siblings reading will want to imitate them.

Education for All or One?

Is it possible to reconcile the two approaches to education that are at odds these days?

     On the one hand, there is an emphasis on using standardized tests to evaluate students, teachers, and schools. Even writing assignments require a student to follow a standardized five paragraph format that begins with a thesis followed by three paragraphs presenting arguments to justify the thesis and a conclusion.

    The other approach to education recognizes everyone's need for decent housing, health care, food, clean water, a certain amount of sleep (See the blog post, "Sleep Deprived Test Scores."), and, yes, education. But this approach also sees individuals with different abilities and argues that setting the same goals for every student is a waste of time, money, and energy. It unfairly blames students for not working hard enough and/or not wanting success badly enough. Yong Zhao, a professor of education at the University of Oregon, also observes that what is not measured, such as creativity, sports ability, and music, unfortunately becomes unimportant.

     Researchers David Z. Hambrick, Fernanda Ferreira, and John M. Henderson point to skilled Olympic sprinters who were faster than competitors even before they were trained. They found the popular idea of a certain amount of deliberate practice only explained 26% of the variation in the skill of expert chess players and novices; 21% of variation in musical skill, and 18% of the variation in skill in sports. Genes could explain up to half the variations between experts and less skilled performers. Innate talent makes a big difference.

     In response to these differences, some have suggested engaging students in more project-based opportunities, where they can put their individual interests and talents to work creating products and services that satisfy particular needs. Through interactions with other cultures, students also can broaden their interests and discover they are good at foreign languages or new styles of painting, music, or dance (See the blog post, "Introduce Disadvantaged Kids to the World.")

     Recognizing the different abilities of students leads to the idea of evaluating students differently in ways that do not involve standardized tests. Software might be used to: 1) monitor day-to-day answers students give in math and reading assessments and in video games that test higher order thinking, 2) provide feedback, and 3) allow students to make corrections and proceed at their own paces.

     Findings that social and emotional qualities account for at least half of a student's long-term chances of success also suggest the value of learning to interact with each other during periods of undirected free play (See the earlier blog post, "Learning Can Be Fun,") and using something like the Gallup student poll to help each student understand how important his or her maturity is.

     Finally, standardized tests given on a few days during a student's education are no substitute for portfolios that look at multiple factors, such as a student's projects, group presentations, teacher-created assessments, and technology proficiency. Nor can an occasional standardized test measure the graduation rates, demographic information, and future student employment that indicate how well a school is accommodating various student abilities.

What's On the Big Screen?

Not just a jumbo tron at sporting events or a way to purchase plane tickets. New uses are being found for digital billboards and interactive touchscreens.

      Advertisers can provide health information, such as pollen counts for allergy sufferers. Missing children can be featured and found. Art can be displayed. Digital screens can raise awareness and provide early detection of childhood diseases. Newspapers have found a new media to publish weather reports, news, and travel information for visitors in real time or on a prescribed schedule.

     Some of the UK companies engaged in these new endeavors are:

• Outdoor Media Centre
• Art Everywhere initiative
• JCDeaux
• KBH On-Train Media
• Media Co Outdoor
• Manchester Evening News

Resolve to Help Kids Observe Their World

While I was picking up pine needles in the kitchen this morning, I knew our cat had brought them there on her feet from our Christmas tree in the living room. Observing this phenomena I thought how this kind of observation would illustrate, not just tell, kids how animals and birds around the world help spread seeds and bees provide the necessary function of pollinating the world's crops. (See the earlier blog post, "The Bees and the Birds.")

    Next time we go to an art museum, I mused, I should help kids observe why the light and subject matter in Italian paintings is different from that in British and Japanese ones.

     Watching a nature program on TV and taking a walk present opportunities to ask if Mexican children know what eagles are and if Chinese children have ever seen squirrels. (See the earlier blog post, "Talk with the Animals.")

     While I was waiting to pick up my granddaughter at school, I noticed how it was possible to see different wind currents by watching the way furnace smoke coming out of the school at roof level some times moved forcefully, but, at the same time, about twelve feet lower in front of the school, flags were moving very little. (See the earlier blog post, "Climate Control.")

     Seems there's a great many reasons to LOOK forward to 2015.