Month: March 2017

Reading

Good Night Guillermo del Toro 

MsConcerned

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Education, Politics, Reading

We’ve been relying on one another’s expertise

MsConcerned

Wiretapping, Healthcare, Lies, Journalism, talk, talk and more talk.  The radio, TV, Sirius XM, Twitter and Facebook are all alive and jumping from one Trump story to the next.  Between his Tweets and Fact Finding reality TV has become a thing of the past.  The question that is overwhelmingly  at the front of my brain is why do folks believe all the false statements and lies that  have been thrown at us.  Then I read the article below and #reasoning has been clearly defined.

It’s one thing for me to flush a toilet without knowing how it operates, and another for me to favor (or oppose) an immigration ban without knowing what I’m talking about.

Virtually everyone in the United States, and indeed throughout the developed world, is familiar with toilets. A typical flush toilet has a ceramic bowl filled with water. When the handle is depressed, or the button pushed, the water—and everything that’s been deposited in it—gets sucked into a pipe and from there into the sewage system. But how does this actually happen?

…“illusion of explanatory depth,” just about everywhere. People believe that they know way more than they actually do. What allows us to persist in this belief is other people. In the case of my toilet, someone else designed it so that I can operate it easily. This is something humans are very good at. We’ve been relying on one another’s expertise ever since we figured out how to hunt together, which was probably a key development in our evolutionary history.

… our dependence on other minds reinforces the problem. If your position on, say, the Affordable Care Act is baseless and I rely on it, then my opinion is also baseless.

 

 

New discoveries about the human mind show the limitations of reason.

Source: Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds

 

Veterans

Crackerbarrel

MsConcerned

Crackerbarrel

 

Cracker Barrel and Operation Homefront are partnering up in April to offer a wonderful event to our Military and Veteran Families! Cracker Barrel’s Easter Heat ‘n Serve Meals is coming to Concord, NC on April 14th! Families that register to attend the event will receive the following: You must register for this event to participate.

 

    • 1 Spiral Sugar Ham
    • 1 32oz Roasted Turkey Gravy
    • 1 Tray of Yeast Rolls with Butter Packets
    • 1 Pan of Blackberry Cobbler
    • 1 Gallon of Sweet Tea
    • 1 5lb-Pan of Mashed Potatoes
    • 3 Sides – Mac N’ Cheese, Carrots & Green Beans

 

These meal kits offer enough food to feed 6-10 people a wonderful Easter dinner. Before registering, please keep in mind that you must be able to go to the event location at your designated time on April 14th, in order to pick up your items.    No one other than the individuals registered can pick up your items for you. You also must bring valid ID. There will be no alternate date or time offered to pick up your meal kits. If you will be unable to pick up a kit on April 14th, please DO NOT register for the event.

 

In order to attend and receive a meal kit for your family, you must register at https://events.operationhomefront.org

 

  • Once there, please click on “Military Family Login.”
  • If you are a returning user, please enter your login information.
  • If not, please click on “Create New Profile” in the top right corner.
  • Once you have completed your family profile, you will be able to register for the event.
  • Log back into your “Military Family Login” and Click “My Registrations” to see the registration in the “Upcoming Events” section. Click “Register Now!” If the event is available in your area.
    Complete the registration form and click Submit

 

Reading

#IEP – Individualized Education Program

MsConcerned

Sample IEP

Discussion

If your child is receiving special education services, he or she must have a written plan known as an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP lists, among other things, annual goals for your child and the special education services that he or she will receive.

If your child is receiving special education services, he or she must have a written plan known as an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP lists, among other things, annual goals for your child and the special education services that he or she will receive.

You are a member of the team that writes your child’s IEP. As an IEP team member, you can ask that your child’s IEP be reviewed and revised, if needed. This part of the Parent’s Guide looks at writing a letter to request that your child’s IEP be reviewed.

Why might I ask for a review of my child’s IEP?

Some reasons for requesting an IEP review include:

 *Your child has met one, or several, of the goals written in the IEP.

 *Your child does not seem to be making enough progress toward one, or several, of the goals written in IEP.

 *You feel your child needs more services or other services in order to make progress.

 *You feel that your child no longer needs a service he or she is currently receiving.

 *Your child has experienced a major change, such as illness, injury, or surgery.

Write a letter here are a few tips

When writing any business letter, it is important to keep it short and to the point. First, start by asking yourself the following questions and state the answers in your letter:

  • Why am I writing?
  • What are my specific concerns?
  • What are my questions?
  • What would I like the person to do about this situation?
  • What sort of response do I want: a letter, a meeting, a phone call, or something else?

Each letter you write should include the following basic information:

  • Put the date on your letter.
  • Give your child’s full name and the name of your child’s main teacher or current class placement.
  • Say what you want, rather than what you don’t want. Keep it simple.
  • Give your address and a daytime phone number where you can be reached.
  • Always end your letter with a “thank you.”

What are some other tips to keep in mind?

You want to make a good impression so that the person reading your letter will understand your request and say “yes.” Remember, this person may not know you, your child, or your child’s situation. Keep the tone of your letter pleasant and businesslike. Give the facts without letting anger, frustration, blame, or other negative emotions creep in. Some letter-writing tips include:

  • After you write your first draft, put the letter aside for a day or two. Then look at it again and revise it with fresh eyes.
  • Read your letter as though you are the person receiving it. Is your request clear? Have you included the important facts? Does your letter ramble on and on? Is it likely to offend, or is the tone businesslike?
  • Have someone else read your letter for you. Is your reason for writing clear? Can the reader tell what you are asking for? Would the reader say “yes” if he or she received this letter? Can your letter be improved?
  • Use spell check and grammar check on the computer. Or ask someone reliable to edit your letter before you send it.
  • Keep a copy for your records.

Feel free to use the sample letter below

Model Letter for IEP

Source:  U.S. Department of Education

Good Night

Good Night Joni Sledge

MsConcerned

They were one of the most revered groups of the Disco Era, and she was at the center of all of their fame and great music.

We are sad to inform SoulTrackers that Joni Sledge, one of the incredibly talented sisters who created the legendary soul and dance group Sister Sledge, has died at age 60.

https://youtu.be/VB4JPQKr9bQ

 

Women's Issues

Judges Highlighted for Women’s History Month

MsConcerned

The stories of six federal judges, who overcame various obstacles on their paths to the bench, are highlighted as part of the U.S. courts’ observance of Women’s History Month.

In video interviews, the judges recount how they overcame challenges while growing up and then pursuing careers in the law. The videos are part of the courts’ “Pathways to the Bench” series.

The profiled ‘Pathways’ judges are:

An increasing number of women have joined the legal profession. Since 1992, women’s representation in law school classes has approached 50%. Despite record numbers of female judicial nominees and confirmations, the percentage of female federal judges, however, is far lower. It is of critical importance to increase the representation of women on the federal bench.

When women are fairly represented on our federal courts, those courts are more reflective of the diverse population of this nation and women, and men, may have more confidence that the court understands the real-world implications of its rulings. The increased presence of women on the bench improves the quality of justice: women judges can bring an understanding of the impact of the law on the lives of women and girls to the bench, and enrich courts’ understanding of how best to realize the intended purpose and effect of the law that the courts are charged with applying. For example, one recent study demonstrated that male federal appellate court judges are less likely to rule against plaintiffs bringing claims of sex discrimination, if a female judge is on the panel.

President Obama has appointed 138 female judges – more than any President to date. But to obtain true gender diversity, the number of women in the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court, must be increased.

  • Upon the confirmation of Associate Justice Elena Kagan in 2010, the Supreme Court counts three women among its nine Justices for the first time in history, still only one-third of the members of that Court.  Only four of the 112 Justices ever to serve on the highest court in the land have been women.
  • Sixty of the 167 active judges currently sitting on the thirteen federal courts of appeal are female (36%). When broken down by circuit, women’s representation on several of these individual courts is even lower than on the courts of appeals overall:
    • In particular, women are underrepresented on the Third Circuit (where they make up about 15% of judges) the Eighth Circuit (20%) and the Tenth Circuit (25%).
  • Thirty-three percent of active United States district (or trial) court judges are women.
    • There are still 6 district courts around the country where there has never been a female judge.
    • There are 4 district courts that have had a female judge, but do not currently have one.
  • For women of color, the numbers are even smaller.
    • There are 83 women of color serving as active federal judges across the country (only 10.5%) including 43 African-American women, 26 Hispanic women, 11 Asian-American women, one Native American woman, one woman of Hispanic and Asian descent, and one woman of Hispanic and African-American descent.
    • There are only 12 women of color on the U.S. courts of appeals (7%).  Five of those women sit on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, two sit on the DC Circuit, and one woman of color sits on each of the First, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh Circuits and Federal Circuit. Therefore, there are seven federal courts of appeals without a single active minority woman judge.
Education

Urgent!! News Release – Ben Carson is NOT the Problem

MsConcerned

Be very careful when you go out on the streets after dark.

Yesterday at around 8:30 p.m. a guy wearing a black hoodie pulled out a pair of scissors on me.

Luckily, I had enough agility and I pulled out a rock because if I would have pulled out paper… he would have won.

Good night and I’ll see you again….

Black History, Black Lives Matter, Mental Health

Ben Carson – Slaves and the Carnival Cruise Ship Filled with Hot Dying Men/Women and Children with Dreams and Aspiration of a Better Africa

MsConcerned

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dialectical Fluidity of Race —

Between self-definition and other-definition, between an individual’s chosen racial identity versus society’s imposed racial identity — facilitates an understanding of race as a social construction

Ben Carson – Slaves and the Carnival Cruise Ship Filled with Hot Dying Men/Women and Children with Dreams and Aspiration of a Better Africa

WASHINGTON ― Ben Carson made his debut as secretary of Housing and Urban Development Monday by telling agency employees about the virtues of the “can-do” American society. Carson said this value system was best exemplified by slaves, whom he characterized as immigrants who came to the United States with very little and worked very hard.

“That’s what America is about,” Carson said. “A land of dreams and opportunity. There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less. But they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons, great granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.”

By 1830 slavery was primarily located in the South, where it existed in many different forms. African Americans were enslaved on small farms, large plantations, in cities and towns, inside homes, out in the fields, and in industry and transportation.

Though slavery had such a wide variety of faces, the underlying concepts were always the same. Slaves were considered property, and they were property because they were black. Their status as property was enforced by violence — actual or threatened. People, black and white, lived together within these parameters, and their lives together took many forms.

Enslaved African Americans could never forget their status as property, no matter how well their owners treated them. But it would be too simplistic to say that all masters and slaves hated each other. Human beings who live and work together are bound to form relationships of some kind, and some masters and slaves genuinely cared for each other. But the caring was tempered and limited by the power imbalance under which it grew. Within the narrow confines of slavery, human relationships ran the gamut from compassionate to contemptuous. But the masters and slaves never approached equality.

View the Video Here

Black Group Identity

Work on Black group identity is not easy to characterize, in part because of relatively limited research on this issue, especially that which examines ethnic group differences (Porter and Washington, 1993). Typically, analysis highlights the influence of social class on identity (e.g., Landry, 1987; Farley, 1984). Some inquiry suggests that class is only a part of the puzzle. Broman et al. (1988) reveal that older, less-educated respondents in urban areas and highly-educated Blacks living outside the West were most likely to feel close to other Blacks. Gurin et al. (1989) show that identity, defined as common fate and as more Black than American, was not simply related to class. Males and those of upperclass status were more likely to feel a common fate with Blacks. Younger Blacks and those who did not work full-time were also more likely to feel more Black than American. Williams, T. K., & Thornton, M. C. (1998).

Introduction to the Subfield

The sociology of race and ethnicity began to take shape in the late 19th century. The American sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois, who was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. at Harvard, is credited with pioneering the subfield within the United States with his famous and still widely taught books The Souls of Black Folk and Black Reconstruction.

However, the subfield today differs greatly from its early stages. When early American sociologists focused on race and ethnicity, du Bois excepted, they tended to focus on the concepts of integration, acculturation, and assimilation, in keeping with the view of the U.S. as a “melting pot” into which difference should be absorbed. Concerns during the early 20th century were for teaching those who differed visually, culturally, or linguistically from the white Ango-Saxon norms how to think, speak, and act in accordance with them. This approach to studying race and ethnicity framed those who were not white Anglo-Saxon as problems that needed to be solved and was directed primarily by sociologists who were white men from middle to upper-class families.

As more people of color and women became social scientists throughout the twentieth century, they created and developed theoretical perspectives that differed from the normative approach in sociology, and crafted research from different standpoints that shifted the analytic focus from particular populations to social relations and the social system.

Note: Ben Carson you should take another look…

Source:  Huffington Post

Source:  The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography, George P. Rawick, General Editor, with A Comprehensive Name Index for The American Slave, compiled by Howard E. Potts and Subject Index, from Index to The American Slave, edited by Donald M. Jacobs, assisted by Steven Fershleiser.

Source:  PBS

Source: Williams, T. K., & Thornton, M. C. (1998). Social construction of ethnicity versus personal experience: The case of afro-amerasians. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 29(2), 255-267. Retrieved from http://nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/232586794?accountid=13217