Media Literacy: 50 Talking Points for 50 Shades of Grey

Feb. 13, 2015 Talk about Angry Birds. Parents have been swept into the viral vortex of a gazillion ambient ads piling on to the relentless hype of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie opening today.From sex toys adjacent to kids' toothbrushes at Target (a big box blunder could be just a merchandising mistake, but shrugging it off  in "you do you" mode is a larger corporate gaffe, … [Read more...]

50 Shades of Disempowerment: Teach Your Children Well

 Feb. 12, 2015 “What people do in private is their own business.” But what happens when Hollywood makes a movie glorifying, promoting and normalizing violence against women and coerced sex? It becomes the business of everyone to examine the message our kids are receiving from it.Couldn't have said it better myself.Those are the words of Educate Empower Kids.org's Amanda … [Read more...]

Reading Between the Lines: A Media Literacy Education in Domestic Violence

Jan. 30, 2015 For the first time ever, the NFL will air a pitch perfect, poignant PSA by No More.org against domestic violence that resonates on multiple levels and can be used as a tool to uncork important conversations even in the classroom. Scripted with powerful realism, brilliant visual execution and based on a compilation of authentic 911 calls, this amazing PSA is a … [Read more...]

Circle of 6 Campus Safety App: What It is And What it Isn’t

Update: March 7, 2013 It's official! The President Signed VAWA! Feb. 28, 2013 Finally! The Violence Against Women Act has passed both the House and the Senate and is moving on for final signing by the President. To celebrate, you'll love this pop culture Taylor Swift style video send-up about the 22 who voted against VAWA. It's hilarious. Even though VAWA is no laughing … [Read more...]

Love Is Respect: Teen Texting Tools Aim To Dial Down Dating Abuse

Feb. 2, 2015 Update February marks the beginning of "Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month" and given the powerful PSA from "No More" on domestic violence in the Super Bowl yesterday that I wrote about extensively, I thought I'd add my own 'PSA reminder' that roots to unhealthy relationships can seed themselves early on, and diff forms of abuse definitely happen to TEENS.Please … [Read more...]