Week 4 Friday 5

1. I read this article on yahoo the other day that shows some of the negative responses to Islamic immigration. My heart hurts for my fellow brother and sisters who have had their lives completely changed forever through no fault of their own. It angers me how innocent families, children who have just fled war have to then deal with ignorance. These children and their families still have to think about education, and as a Muslim parent I would be horrified sending my child to school in Germany given the current climate of hatred.

By HAPPIMADE

2. I made the above pendant after watching this video on youtube, the above stool as a housewarming gift for a friend after looking at this picture on pinterest. Its so interesting how I never saw the connection between me watching videos from people all over the world, then taking that knowledge and applying it to my craft here in Philly....amazing! I am wondering if there is a way to maybe work some of this into my project somehow...

3. I read Laceys' Blog the other day and had no idea what she meant when she mentioned the adult coloring craze.  I typed that phrase in google and burst out laughing reading about this new craze. Partly because I am sure we all have some sort of daily doodles or makings so this idea is not new. The other reason for my laughter was because something else from my childhood has now been made dirty by this phase....

4. A friend sent me this video that shows a mother forcing her daughter to apologize to a girl she bullied in front of the entire class. So, I agree with the mother, and appreciate
the teacher in allowing the apology to happen in front of the whole class. I can even admit that I would have probably responded in the same manner to some degree as the mother. No one likes a bully, however one could argue that the mother is bullying the daughter...

5. Finally, in an attempt to post something related to this weeks theme, play, I read this article on NPR. regarding kids and play. I found it interesting that the person interviewed has had issues regarding race with her older students. However I agree with a lot of what she says around the lack of play our kids receive and the implications. I also liked how  she states that we are forcing students to live in an adult world, but not respecting their ability to make decisions (she didn't say it in this order). I remember having this exact sentiment last year while assisting a teacher. She expected her students to think, be respectful, and a bunch of other ideals but she offered no opportunity for her students to practice this on their own. As a mom I think about this and came to realize, for me, that fear could maybe be the reason for not allowing these opportunities for students. What do you guys think?