children

5Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION, Journalism

Children Of Color Often Omitted From Sci-fi Books From The Future For Young Readers

While visiting an elementary school library in 2016 to count the fantasy books for a graduate class on fantasy literature, I noticed there were hardly any science fiction books for readers under 12. This discovery prompted me to spend the next five years researching the shortage of science fiction books for children in this age group. I reached two big conclusions. First, I found that adults often think that kids can’t understand science fiction – but they can. Second, I found that authors and illustrators are not depicting characters from diverse backgrounds in children’s stories about the future. As a researcher who specializes in children’s literature, these findings make me wonder if the reason there is so little diversity in children’s science fiction is because authors don’t believ...

Ayana Mathis Tells The Story Of The Children Of The Great Migration Through The Trials Of One Unforgettable Family

9Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BOOKS

Ayana Mathis Tells The Story Of The Children Of The Great Migration Through The Trials Of One Unforgettable Family

The newest Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selection. The arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction. A debut of extraordinary distinction: Ayana Mathis tells the story of the children of the Great Migration through the trials of one unforgettable family. In 1923, fifteen-year-old Hattie Shepherd flees Georgia and settles in Philadelphia, hoping for a chance at a better life. Instead, she marries a man who will bring her nothing but disappointment and watches helplessly as her firstborn twins succumb to an illness a few pennies could have prevented. Hattie gives birth to nine more children whom she raises with grit and mettle and not an ounce of the tenderness they crave. She vows to prepare them for the calamitous difficulty they are sure to face in their later lives, to meet a world...

Than Previously Thought Far More Adults Don’t Want Children

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Than Previously Thought Far More Adults Don’t Want Children

Jennifer Watling Neal, Michigan State University and Zachary Neal, Michigan State University Fertility rates in the United States have plunged to record lows, and this could be related to the fact that more people are choosing not to have children. But just how many “child-free” adults there are has been tricky for researchers to pin down. National fertility data provided by the U.S. Census and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lump together all adults who aren’t parents, making it difficult to understand how many people identify as child-free. As social scientists, we think it’s important to distinguish child-free individuals from those who are childless or not yet parents. People who are child-free make the conscious decision not to have kids. They’re distinct from childless...

Suicidal Thoughts In Black Adults And Children Linked To Racial Discrimination

5Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Suicidal Thoughts In Black Adults And Children Linked To Racial Discrimination

Janelle R. Goodwill, University of Chicago Frederick Douglass is regarded as one of the most prominent abolitionists the world has ever seen. Alongside his extraordinary contributions as an influential speaker, writer and human rights advocate, Douglass – who was born into slavery and gained freedom in September 1838 – also wrote openly about his struggles with suicidal thoughts. Douglass’ writings are both revolutionary and transformative, particularly when considering that he lived during a time when several anti-literacy laws prevented enslaved Black persons from learning to read and write. Douglass published his first autobiography – “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” – in 1845. In it, he boldly shared, “I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself...

Our Children Are Being Suspended For Petty Reasons – Forcing Black Parents To Take Off From Work And Sometimes Lose Their Jobs

24Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Our Children Are Being Suspended For Petty Reasons – Forcing Black Parents To Take Off From Work And Sometimes Lose Their Jobs

Journalism Charles Bell, Illinois State University When “Mike,” the father of a ninth grade student, got a call from his daughter’s school, the first thing he asked was: “How important is this?” “They said, ‘Well, it’s important,’” Mike told me during an interview for my research. When Mike went to his daughter’s school to see what was the problem, school officials told him his daughter was being suspended for giving a boy a hug. He ended up missing out on some of his hourly wages to deal with the situation. “I was like, ‘Nah. Not only am I missing out on some hours at work, I’m missing out on some important meetings, and also commitments that I have made, to come up here and talk about suspensions, a five-day suspension for giving somebody a hug,” Mike told me. “That’s one of the thi...

Would-Be Parents Can Lose Out On Having Children As A Result Of The Fertility Industry Being Poorly Regulated

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism, VIDEO REELS

Would-Be Parents Can Lose Out On Having Children As A Result Of The Fertility Industry Being Poorly Regulated

JOURNALISM'S Naomi Cahn, University of Virginia and Dena Sharp, University of California, Hastings When embryologist Joseph Conaghan arrived at work at San Francisco’s Pacific Fertility Center on March 4, 2018, nothing seemed awry. He did routine inspections of the facility’s cryogenic tanks, which store frozen embryos and eggs for clients who hope to someday have biological children. But what he found was not routine; it was an emergency. Almost all of the liquid nitrogen inside Tank 4 had drained out. Conaghan and his staff tried to save 80 metal boxes of frozen reproductive material, but it was too late. The contents had warmed, damaging or destroying 1,500 eggs and 2,500 embryos. Some belonged to a couple who traveled cross-country from their farm in Ohio, hoping to build their fam...

How Free School Meals For All Children Can Improve Kids’ Health

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

How Free School Meals For All Children Can Improve Kids’ Health

Matthew J. Landry, Stanford University Recognizing that millions of U.S. children are at risk of hunger, Maine and California have approved funding to offer free school meals to all students within their state. Meanwhile, a bill proposed in Congress aims to make free school meals a permanent fixture in all states. The Universal School Meals Program Act would provide free healthy meals and snacks to all children in public and nonprofit private schools regardless of income. Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has allowed school districts to provide meals free of charge to families during the pandemic. Previously set to expire in September, the policy has been extended through the 2021-2022 school year. This marks the first time in the 75-year history of the National School Lunch...

Lifting Children Out Of Poverty Today Will Help Them Tomorrow

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Lifting Children Out Of Poverty Today Will Help Them Tomorrow

As part of the latest COVID-19 relief package, the federal government has expanded the child tax credit and made it available to all families with children except those with the highest incomes. Families will get US$3,000 per kid ages 6 to 17, and $3,600 for younger children. The Internal Revenue Service will deliver half of this money as monthly payments of either $250 or $300 during the second half of 2021 and the rest as a lump sum during the 2022 tax season. If the government extends this benefit beyond the one year that’s currently funded, as many members of Congress and the Biden administration would like, this policy has the potential to dramatically cut child poverty by as much as 50%. This kind of arrangement is already the norm in many countries, such as Canada, Germany and the...

Parents Can Help Children With The ‘New’ Math – Here Are 5 Ways

2Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION

Parents Can Help Children With The ‘New’ Math – Here Are 5 Ways

In his March 2021 Netflix special, comedian Nate Bargatze complains about having to teach his kids a confusing “new math” based on standards known as the Common Core. “The goal of Common Core is to use one sheet of paper for every problem,” Bargatze jokes. He observes that this new math requires people to “keep breaking the problem down.” “You put the problem at the top, and it just keeps going,” Bargatze says. “And then what’s funnier is you see old math in the middle of it. As you break it down, old math gets in there and you’re like, ‘Oh, just do that at the top.’ I don’t even know what we’re doing.” Comedian Nate Bargatze tells a joke about Common Core math during his comedy special. Math worries Bargatze is by no means alone in his frustration. Since many schools went largely remote...

Shut Out From The Whitewashed World Of Children’s Literature – Black Kids Took Matters Into Their Own Hands

5Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Shut Out From The Whitewashed World Of Children’s Literature – Black Kids Took Matters Into Their Own Hands

Hanging on the wall in my office is the framed cover of the inaugural issue of The Brownies’ Book, a monthly periodical for Black youths created by W.E.B. Du Bois and other members of the NAACP in 1920. A newspaper boy hawks copies of the Chicago Defender. Library of Congress The magazine – the first of its kind – includes poems and stories that speak of Black achievement and history, while also showcasing children’s writing. Although much of American children’s literature published near the turn of the last century – and even today – filters childhood through the eyes of white children, The Brownies’ Book gave African American children a platform to explore their lives, interests and aspirations. And it reinforced what 20th-century American literature scholar Katharine Capshaw has descr...