Weekly Open Thread with Tapestry
Hosting this weeks open thread is Carole King’s classic hit from the 70s. Please natter/chatter/vent/rant on anything* you like over this weekend and throughout the week.
* with a few netiquette exceptions
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Weekly Open Thread with May dancers
Please natter/chatter/vent/rant on anything* you like over this weekend and throughout the week, under the benevolent aegis of this week’s host, a group of children dancing around a maypole from nearly a century ago.
* with a few netiquette exceptions
...read moreCleveland Kidnappings, Rapes and Torture
The horrific stories of the abuse inflicted by Ariel Castro upon his victims Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina de Jesus for a decade of imprisonment have been this week’s big news story, and I know some of you will want to discuss it. Because of the potential for triggering, I’m giving it a thread of its own so those readers who want to avoid potential PTSD triggers can do so.
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Weekly Open Thread with a Thread and Nail Portrait
This closeup of an intricate thread and nail portrait is the host for this weeks open thread. Please natter/chatter/vent/rant on anything* you like over this weekend and throughout the week.
* with a few netiquette exceptions
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Weekly Open Thread with Toys in Trees
This week our open thread is hosted by these toys of mysterious origin which adorn a country road between Canberra and Bungendore. Please natter/chatter/vent/rant on anything* you like over this weekend and throughout the week.
* with a few netiquette exceptions
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Weekly Open Thread with a Yarn-bombed Willow
This week’s open thread is hosted by a yarn-bombed willow tree. Please natter/chatter/vent/rant on anything* you like over this weekend and throughout the week.
* with a few netiquette exceptions
...read moreToday in hyperventilation that a mouseclick could have prevented: Easter Sunday and Google
Knowing/caring that Chavez/Chávez is a very common surname in Hispanic cultures might have helped too.
A mouseclick instead of a kneejerk would have saved a lot of egg on a lot of faces.
...read moreThe Gender Education Achievement Gap: how it used to be, what changed, what “they” say, what researchers say, and the way forward
...read moreMany observers believe that boys’ lower engagement with school is a result of biological differences between males and females. They say that boys need to engage in rough and tumble play, get their hands dirty, build things, and read books about war, espionage and sports if they are supposed to learn. Boys fail, they claim, because schools do not give boys enough opportunities to do “boy” stuff.
We do not agree. Our research shows that boys’ underperformance in school has more to do with society’s norms about masculinity than with anatomy, hormones or brain structure. In fact, boys involved in extracurricular cultural activities such as music, art, drama, and foreign languages report higher levels of school engagement and get better grades than other boys. But these cultural activities are often denigrated as un-masculine by pre-adolescent and adolescent boys — especially those from working- or lower-class backgrounds. Sociologists C.J. Pascoe and Edward Morris relate numerous examples of boys who strive for good grades as being labeled “pussies” or “fags” by their peers.
Commentators who emphasize boys’ special needs usually propose that wemake schools more “boy-friendly” by offering single-sex classrooms where “boys can be boys,” by recruiting more male teachers, and by providing more rough and tumble activities. Our research shows that, contrary to what is rapidly becoming “conventional wisdom,” this is precisely the wrong strategy. Most boys and girls learn more in classrooms where girls are present. In classrooms with more girls, both boys and girls score higher on math and reading tests. And several recent studies refute the claim that teacher gender matters for boys’ or girls’ achievement.
Her name was Lucy Meadows
This is a signal boost for a gut-wrenching post on the F-Word Blog about the transphobic press campaign that drove UK teacher Lucy Meadows to suicide.
Comments will be closed on this post. Please just go read Sarah Noble’s article.
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Weekly Open Thread with Silk in a Market
This week’s threadly host is this bright display of silks in a Laotian market. Please natter/chatter/vent/rant on anything you like* over this weekend and throughout the week.
* with a few netiquette exceptions
...read moreThis is so the worst thing that you will read all day #steubenville
[Content note: rape culture, victim-blaming, slut-shaming]
Share your rage in the comments.
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