Selma March: The Power of Empathy, Storytelling

Mar. 7, 2015 Selma March, 50 years later, commemoration of Bloody Sunday. #Selma50Anyone who has seen the movie "Selma" knows the split second power of media storytelling to jolt viewers into a visceral, emotional sidewinder.The teens on either side of me were wide-eyed, visibly shaken, and riveted as the dialogue shifted from children playfully bantering about hairstyles to … [Read more...]

Guardian Princesses: Prosocial Planet Protectors?

Sept. 1, 2014 I admit, my first reaction to The Guardian Princesses was wince-worthy...“Oh please, NOT more freakin’ princesses!”Followed by, “Here we go with the chocolate covered broccoli bit embedding a stealth health “better for you” media message into the junk food genre of princess pablum.” Finally, I settled into a more measured,“Well, if they're upending kid lit to … [Read more...]

Speaking Out: A Rainbow of Reasons We Need Diverse Books

June 26, 2015 Update Photo essayist/youth archivist Rachelle Lee Smith of visual literacy book Speaking Out will be in town signing copies at Reach and Teach San Mateo tonight 7-9pm. Apropos on this day of historic family diversity with the 5-4 Supreme Court decision ruling that gay couples have the right to marry, as her photos in the book point to the many youth voices not … [Read more...]

The Science of Character: Hosted by Shaping Youth and Reach and Teach

Mar. 20, 2014 Premiering worldwide! Attention students of life...“There are 7.1 billion people on the planet, and each one of us has a unique character,” opens The Science of Character filmmaker and digital innovation advocate Tiffany Shlain, renowned for her work unraveling the giant hairball of media messaging and technological shifts impacting humanity on a global scale. … [Read more...]

The Nature Principle: Experience the Earth Beyond Instagram

April 22, 2015 Update Recycling my resource roundup of eco-literacy quizzes on greenwashing, nature apps in a wired world, and games for good like TiltWorld that build on green media themes of kids' exploration and discovery (like TumbleLeaf to get kids outside) in order to add a very LOUD shout out to this poignant Richard Louv post about Hybrid Minds: (premise: The more high … [Read more...]