weekly links (april 10th edition)

Stop Waiting For a Savior (NY Times)

On Teachers Calling Kids "Future Criminals" and the School-to-Prison Pipeline (Racialicious)

The Price of Choosing Jails Over Schools (The Root)

How the Racial Wealth Gap Hurts Children of Color (The Root)

The Link Between War and Big Finance (truthout)

Bolivia Enshrines Natural World's Rights with Equal Status for Mother Earth (UK Guardian)

Tony Porter: A Call to Men (TED Video)

On Diddy, Blockbuster and A Thing Called Karma (The Smoking Section)

"Don't Stop" and The State of the Supergroup (Passion of the Weiss)

Madlib's Trash is Another Man's Treasure (LA Weekly)

Janelle Monáe on Music and Being The Other (Racialicious)

weekly links (april 3rd edition)

The Straight Dope: Bill Moyers Interviews David Simon (Guernica Mag)

The US-Euro War on Libya: Official Lies and Misconceptions of Critics (Dissident Voice)

Phllly's Got Love for Students, Too (RaceWire)

Monopoly Was Created to Teach Capitalism (Capitalism Is Over If You Want It)

The Collapse of Globalization (TruthDig)

Cesar Chavez and Migrant Farmworker Rights (Sociological Images)

Garden As If Your Life Depended On It, Because It Will (Dissident Voice)

More Black Men Imprisoned Right Now Than Enslaved in 1850 (The Root)

Where The Wu-Tang Clan Meets Jazz (A Blog Supreme/NPR Jazz)

reimagining the education paradigm

for a long time, i'd casually dismiss schools as "more concerned with indoctrination than education." but after spending a little time with bronx high school students, i quickly realized that we are at a critical point in education right now. and the stakes are very high.

i've been grappling with what a "good education" could be. i have some thoughts on cultures, values and skills important to pass along to our next generation. and i'm exploring programs, resources and curricula to meet those needs. so solutions and alternatives are at the front of my mind whenever a critiques of standardized tests, No Child Left Behind, the school-to-prison pipeline, teachers unions or charter schools pop up. over time, i hope to sharpen those arguments and visions through this blog.

in the meantime, this RSA Animate video is one of the more provocative and original critiques of education i've seen.