Why the Numero Uno Trilogy?
Source: Excerpts from an article by Sam Sifton in the New York Times (published November 25, 2025)
School daze
The numbers are staggering.
Nearly one in four 17-year-old boys in the United States has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In the early 1980s, a diagnosis of autism was delivered to one child in 2,500. That figure is now one in 31. Almost 32 percent of adolescents have at some point been given a diagnosis of anxiety. More than one in 10 have experienced a major depressive disorder, my colleague Jia Lynn Yang reports.
And the number of mental health conditions is expanding. A child might be tagged with oppositional defiance disorder or pathological avoidance disorder. “The track has become narrower and narrower, so a greater range of people don’t fit that track anymore,” an academic who studies children and education told Jia Lynn. “And the result is, we want to call it a disorder.”
Why did this happen? A lot of reasons. Kids spend hours on screens, cutting into their sleep, exercise and socializing — activities that can ward off anxiety and depression. Mental health screenings have improved.
And then there’s school itself: a cause of stress for many children and the very place that sends them toward a diagnosis.
A slow transformation
In 1950, less than half of American children attended kindergarten. Only about 50 percent graduated from high school. After-school hours were filled with play or work. “But as the country’s economy shifted from factories and farms to offices, being a student became a more serious matter,” Jia Lynn writes. “The outcome of your life could depend on it.” College became a reliable path to the middle class.
Schools leaned into new standards of testing and put in place measures of accountability. The No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 made it federal law.
States rewarded schools for having high scores. They punished them for low ones. “Schools were treated more like publicly traded companies, with test scores as proxies for profits,” Jia Lynn writes. “Before long, schools had public ratings, so ubiquitous they now appear on real estate listings.”
And there were clear incentives to diagnose students with psychiatric disorders: Treatment of one student, especially a disruptive one, could lead to higher test scores across the classroom. And in some states, the test scores of students with a diagnosis weren’t counted toward a school’s overall marks, nudging results higher as well.
The metrics may have gotten many kids the support they needed. Either way, educational policymaking yielded a change: According to one analysis Jia Lynn found, the rate of A.D.H.D. among children ages 8 to 13 in low-income homes rose by half after the passage of No Child Left Behind.
The effect on kids
The pressures on students became extreme. In 2020, Yale researchers found that nearly 80 percent of high schoolers said they were stressed.
And that stress has trickled down to younger and younger kids. Kindergartners learn best through play, not through the rote lessons in math and reading that began to enter classrooms. Preschoolers are not predisposed to sitting still. And yet as they, too, now face greater academic expectations, many are being expelled for misbehavior.
Even the school day became more regimented, with fewer periods of recess — by 2016, only eight states had mandatory recess in elementary schools. Class schedules are packed. “You’ve got seven different homework assignments that you’ve got to remember each night,” one expert told Jia Lynn. “Think of the cognitive load of a sixth-grade boy. I challenge many adults to do this.”
It’s a vicious cycle, where bad outcomes lead to worse outcomes.
And Jia Lynn writes about that beautifully:
By turning childhood into a thing that can be measured, adults have managed to impose their greatest fears of failure onto the youngest among us. Each child who strays from our standards becomes a potential medical mystery to be solved, with more tests to take, more metrics to assess. The only thing that seems to consistently evade the detectives is the world around that child — the one made by the grown-ups.
Why the Swamp Thing Will Triumph book?
Source: https://soulistichospice.org/blog/the-importance-of-seeking-support-for-grief-and-loss
It’s an unfortunate fact of life that we can’t avoid loss. When someone you cared about is no longer around, it can leave a wound that seems like it won’t heal. Loss and the grieving that follows are a natural part of living, and everyone deals with it in different ways. While some may look inward for answers or comfort, others seek out these things beyond themselves. However you deal with loss, you should know that you don’t need to go through it alone.
Grieving and dealing with loss are intense, personal journeys, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t find help along the way. Asking for help through these difficult times will often benefit you more than shutting yourself away from the world. In this article, we’ll go over the importance of seeking support for grief and loss, so you can see why it might benefit you to reach out to others in your time of need. Remember that asking for help is not a sign of weakness but rather the strength of character to recognize when you can’t handle something alone.
Putting Emotions Into Words
When you have a support system for dealing with grief, the emotions you feel become more understandable. Often, we have trouble dealing with complex emotions, because we don’t fully understand what we’re going through when these feelings are running through our heads. This confusion that surfaces from not understanding them can exacerbate the feelings of grief.
It’s important to seek support for grief and loss because talking through what you feel can help you better identify what the issue is. When you can place the real problem, you can begin taking steps to alleviate the painful emotions that go with it. Without support, these feelings can sit unaddressed inside of us until they manifest in unhealthy ways. Emotions are complicated, but finding the words to describe how we feel can make the healing process a little easier.
Advancing the Grieving Process
No one’s grieving process is the same as someone else’s. You may have heard of the “five stages of grief” before: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Unfortunately, you cannot break down the grieving process in such simple terms. You may experience all those emotions but in a different order. You may go through only a few of them or even none. While many people experience the five stages of grief, not every grieving process fits in this box.
Even though the grieving process isn’t easy to define and categorize, everyone still goes through one. The problem comes from not addressing your feelings and staying stuck in the grieving stage from the beginning. A proper support system will help you come to terms with what you feel so that you don’t need to languish in sadness or anger. We can’t stay stuck in the past forever, and having a support structure in place can help move us forward when we can’t do so by ourselves.
Understanding That Everyone Grieves Differently
As we’ve said, everyone’s grieving process is different, but no one way is better than another. When you work within a support structure such as group therapy, you come to understand that the way that you wish to deal with your grief or loss isn’t any less valid than someone else’s. Some people can grieve quickly, while others can take a long time to deal with those emotions. While different, both of those groups are valid in how they deal with their grief.
Some people will feel guilty or upset over how long or difficult their grieving process is. The benefit of having a support system in place is having people who understand what you’re going through and who won’t try to push you beyond your comfort zone.
Reducing the Feeling of Isolation
Grief and loss have the unfortunate ability to make us feel isolated from those around us. Sometimes it’s because we feel like no one can fully connect with us over what we’re feeling. Other times, we might wish to withdraw into ourselves to deal with the painful emotions on our own. Feeling isolated from others, especially those we care about, can add to the pain that we already feel.
That’s why finding a source of support is so important. Even if you don’t feel comfortable finding support in your family or friends, there are other options that you can explore to find people who will support you. When you have people around you that can understand your struggles, those feelings of isolation and loneliness start to fade away. When we feel less alone, it becomes easier for us to heal.
Preventing Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Going through long periods of grief or great loss can seriously affect our mental states. In the worst cases, these periods can cause someone to make poor choices about how to deal with the emotions they feel. Some people will turn to substance abuse, such as drugs or alcohol, to cope with feelings that they don’t know how to handle. Other times, people might start to lash out at those they care about to release emotions that they have built up inside of them.
It’s important to seek out support when you start to realize that you aren’t feeling like yourself anymore or like you want to do something far outside of your character. The ability of support groups to ground you in the present and understand your feelings can help prevent you from making decisions that you might regret later. You don’t want to start relying on an unhealthy coping mechanism to help you get through grief or loss; it will only add to your problems later down the line.
Why the 365 Days to Creativity book?
Source: https://iste.org/blog/5-reasons-why-it-is-more-important-than-ever-to-teach-creativity
5 Reasons Why It Is More Important Than Ever to Teach Creativity
By Nicole Krueger
October 5, 2022
On the laundry list of skills and content areas teachers have to cover, creativity doesn’t traditionally get top billing. It’s usually lumped together with other soft skills like communication and collaboration: Great to have, though not as important as reading or long division.
But research is showing that creativity isn’t just great to have. It’s an essential human skill — perhaps even an evolutionary imperative in our technology-driven world.
“The pace of cultural change is accelerating more quickly than ever before,” says Liane Gabora, associate professor of psychology and creative studies at the University of British Columbia. “In some biological systems, when the environment is changing quickly, the mutation rate goes up. Similarly, in times of change we need to bump up creativity levels — to generate the innovative ideas that will keep us afloat.”
From standardized tests to one-size-fits-all curriculum, public education often leaves little room for creativity, says EdNews Daily founder Robyn D. Shulman. This puts many schools out of sync with both global demand and societal needs, leaving students poorly prepared for future success.
What can education leaders do about it? For starters, they can make teaching creativity a priority. Here are five reasons to encourage teachers to bring more creativity into the classroom:
1. Creativity motivates kids to learn.
Decades of research link creativity with the intrinsic motivation to learn. When students are focused on a creative goal, they become more absorbed in their learning and more driven to acquire the skills they need to accomplish it.
As proof, education leader Ryan Imbriale cites his young daughter, who loves making TikTok videos showcasing her gymnastics skills. “She spends countless hours on her mat, working over and over again to try to get her gymnastics moves correct so she can share her TikTok video of her success,” says the executive director of innovative learning for Baltimore County Public Schools.
Students are most motivated to learn when certain factors are present: They’re able to tie their learning to their personal interests, they have a sense of autonomy and control over their task, and they feel competent in the work they’re doing. Creative projects can easily meet all three conditions.
2. Creativity lights up the brain.
Teachers who frequently assign classwork involving creativity are more likely to observe higher-order cognitive skills — problem solving, critical thinking, making connections between subjects — in their students. And when teachers combine creativity with transformative technology use, they see even better outcomes.
Creative work helps students connect new information to their prior knowledge, says Wanda Terral, director of technology for Lakeland School System outside of Memphis. That makes the learning stickier.
“Unless there’s a place to ‘stick’ the knowledge to what they already know, it’s hard for students to make it a part of themselves moving forward,” she says. “It comes down to time. There’s not enough time to give them the flexibility to find out where the learning fits in their life and in their brain.”
3. Creativity spurs emotional development.
The creative process involves a lot of trial and error. Productive struggle — a gentler term for failure — builds resilience, teaching students to push through difficulty to reach success. That’s fertile soil for emotional growth.
“Allowing students to experience the journey, regardless of the end result, is important,” says Terral, a presenter at ISTE Creative Constructor Lab.
Creativity gives students the freedom to explore and learn new things from each other, Imbriale adds. As they overcome challenges and bring their creative ideas to fruition, “students begin to see that they have limitless boundaries,” he says. “That, in turn, creates confidence. It helps with self-esteem and emotional development.”
4. Creativity can ignite those hard-to-reach students.
Many educators have at least one story about a student who was struggling until the teacher assigned a creative project. When academically disinclined students are permitted to unleash their creativity or explore a topic of personal interest, the transformation can be startling.
“Some students don’t do well on tests or don’t do well grade-wise, but they’re super-creative kids,” Terral says. “It may be that the structure of school is not good for them. But put that canvas in front of them or give them tools so they can sculpt, and their creativity just oozes out of them.”
5. Creativity is an essential job skill of the future.
Actually, it’s an essential job skill right now.
According to an Adobe study, 85% of college-educated professionals say creative thinking is critical for problem solving in their careers. And an analysis of LinkedIn data found that creativity is the second most in-demand job skill (after cloud computing), topping the list of soft skills companies need most. As automation continues to swallow up routine jobs, those who rely on soft skills like creativity will see the most growth.
“We can’t exist without the creative thinker. It’s the idea generation and the opportunity to collaborate with others that moves work,” Imbriale says.
“It’s one thing to be able to sit in front of computer screen and program something. But it’s another to have the conversations and engage in learning about what somebody wants out of a program to be written in order to be able to deliver on that. That all comes from a creative mindset.”
Why the Just Because She Was a Dragon book?
Source: https://themotherco.com/2020/01/accept-love-difference/
Teaching Children to Accept (and love) Difference
Posted by Abbie Schiller
January 15, 2020
Some of the most wonderful moments for me as a parent stem from the innocent questions that my children ask me about the world around them. Questions about things I unwittingly take for granted, or often prefer not to think about. And by far, the hardest ones to answer are questions about the differences between people. Why are some people poor and some rich? Why do some people go to Church and some people go to Synagogue? Why is my skin this color and that person’s skin another color? When faced with these questions I am further awakened to the world around me and eager to delve in with my kids, but I often find myself stumbling. How can I give them the information they want without burdening them with my own judgements, and why do I even have these judgements? I want my children to accept people who are different from them. And not just learn to be tolerant, but loving and inclusive. This year, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I spoke with Dr. Christy Tirrell-Corbin – an expert in early childhood development and issues of race and culture – to find out how to talk to children about the various types of difference that surround us all.
-Julia Storm, Director of Production, The Mother Company
Most parents want their children to grow up to be not just tolerant, but also accepting of others. However, it seems like many adults are nervous to discuss the topic of diversity and difference with their kids. Why do you think that is?
Parents are nervous because they don’t have a lot of experience discussing diversity. Very few parents have experienced those discussions with our own parents. Growing up, I never talked with my family about differences in terms of race or ability. It just wasn’t discussed. The research shows that parents think that if they acknowledge differences they will promote discriminatory behavior, but the opposite is true. Fundamentally it’s a fear of being perceived as racist, homophobic, etc; a fear of not really knowing how to discuss the issue that causes parents to avoid such discussions.
For example, if a child says, “Why is that person in a wheelchair?,” we tend to “shush” them because we are embarrassed and probably are unsure about the best way to respond. But a child is observing differences all the time and from a very young age. When a child makes such an observation, a simple clear cut explanation is what is needed. For example, “that person is in a wheelchair because that person is either unable to walk on his own or has difficulty walking on his own and needs that chair to get around,” is the kind of approach that helps children to not be judgmental.
Is our children’s awareness of and reaction to differences in people a product of nature or nurture?
Children do notice the differences in people and they are naturally curious, but what they do with that in large part depends on how they’re socialized. So if there is a negative reaction to their observation of a difference, they’re going to think there is something wrong. Moreover if a child makes a negative comment about someone and the parent doesn’t address the comment–that parent is at least passively endorsing such behavior. We do know that children who are in more diverse schools are more inclusive. Children who have friends that are different from them – socio-economically, racially, religiously – those children are more accepting.
Is it ok to seek out people to bring into your life just based on trying to expand your child’s cultural awareness?
I would say no, it’s not ok to seek relationships with certain people in order to expand cultural awareness for your children. To broaden our own horizons and broaden our view of the world, to have more diverse friends and more diverse experiences can really be beneficial. But the idea of bringing more diverse people into your world for the sake of your child, which sounds like tokenism, that makes me feel uncomfortable. In those settings in which you make friends as an adult or as a parent, are there others that you might embrace so that your view of the world and their world expands? Maybe a better way to frame it is to think about ways to get out of one’s own bubble, to be more aware of and embrace differences, and in doing so you would model that for your child.
There’s a lot of news out there right now that relates to issues of racial conflict, immigration, differences in religious beliefs. Should we wait for our children to come to us with questions about difference or should we bring up the subject ourselves?
I think one should always look for opportunities to address the topic of diversity and tolerance. It’s important for parents to look to their immediate surroundings to expose children to diversity. When I think of diversity, I think of it very broadly defined — religious diversity, racial diversity, diversity in terms of ability and family configuration. For example, there are people with disabilities everywhere – there are no socioeconomic or geographic boundaries there. Talk about how some people are able to do certain things and others are able to do something else. Talk about religious beliefs – so and so believes this, our family believes this, but fundamentally we all believe x,y and z. In essence we should look for opportunities to call attention to the differences that do exist in a positive way. And then, which admittedly is more superficial, go to children’s museums, attend cultural festivals and events, and read children’s books where the characters are diverse.
Is there some way that a parent of a child who is a minority – or is different from her peers – can bolster her sense of identity and confidence?
Opportunities to try to expose your child to others who look like him or her or have the abilities or disabilities through multiple means is very important. As I mentioned earlier, the superficial method would be books, movies, tv shows, but promoting diverse friendships, as well as going to cultural and community events can also be really helpful.
If you look at the research, particularly on race, what we know is that by and large African American parents talk about race far more than white parents. This is because many of them have experienced racism and many are very concerned about how their children will be treated in the world. As a result, they call a lot more attention to race and racism and have discussions around the issue. I believe there is a lot other families can learn from that approach.
If your child is different or a minority in his environment, should a parent try to help the child to “fit in” with the majority?
Fundamentally we want to promote respect, tolerance and acceptance in our children. In addition to modeling those behaviors, parents should encourage and foster diverse friendships. One simple way to do this is to invite all the children in the class to your child’s birthday party. Another strategy is to facilitate play groups with other children who differ from your child as well as those who are more similar. If your child or your child’s friend brings up ways they are different, acknowledge (and celebrate) those differences in a respectful manner and encourage your child to do the same. Finally, ask your child’s teacher what he does to promote diverse friendships in the classroom.
What do you do if your child unintentionally says something wildly inappropriate or a hurtful comment in front of someone who is different than them?
The most important thing a parent can do is to respond in the moment and not shush or reprimand the child. If you say “don’t say that” then it implies that there is something wrong. Respond with an objective, calm, non-judgmental explanation.
If parents want to approach the subject of tolerance and difference with their children they really need to think through their beliefs and how they navigate this issue themselves first. Some of us may think we are tolerant of difference, but it may be that we don’t always behave accordingly. We need to ask ourselves, what is our comfort level in taking someone on? If you look at the research it’s very clear that if as an adult you allow people to say racist things or homophobic things in front of children then you are passively endorsing that behavior and those beliefs.
It can be a little scary to speak up to someone who is saying something offensive in front of our kids, especially if it’s someone you know and trust. What can we say without creating a scene or an uncomfortable situation?
One could say, “In our family we really work hard to show respect for everyone so please refrain from making such comments in my presence.” That way you’re not pointing fingers or labeling anyone a racist, you’re just stating your family’s position. Some people may get very defensive, but if you approach it in this way, people are more likely to be respectful.
Ultimately, there is no such thing as perfect parenting, but the idea really is to make the effort and to model this respectful approach to diversity. It is also important to acknowledge when you make mistakes. It’s even ok to say, “When I was growing up, no one ever talked to me about people who are different, but I want to do that differently. I want us to respect all people, I want us to be kind to others. Sometimes I’m not going to know exactly how to answer every question, but I’m going to try my best.”
In closing, the three most important things a parent can do are: model respectful and tolerant behavior, encourage questioning in our children and take a strengths based perspective when it comes to all discussions around differences.