Monthly Archives: February 2017

Breastfeeding out and about gets a pretty bad image in the news. All we tend to hear about are stories of mums being asked to leave shops, restaurants, swimming pools, libraries, public transport and so on. BUT let's just consider for a moment why these stories make headlines. News events a) don't happen all the time b) are pretty much always negative and c) need to have a sensationalist angle to keep the readers interested. How many members of the general public would sit down and read an article about the millions of women who happily feed their babies in public with no issues whatsoever? Hmmmm. Exactly!

So, here are my top tips for shaking off any fear and confidently breastfeeding anywhere you wish:

1. Follow your heart - if breastfeeding feels right for you and your baby, then listen to that inner voice chiming away and go for it. You are nourishing and mothering your child in the way you have chosen to and that remains relevant wherever you happen to find yourselves.

2. Look around - the vast majority of people around the country will either not notice, not care (in the nicest possible way!), may smile at you, or even say something encouraging. You may be very pleasantly surprised!

3. Prepare a comeback - If you're worried about any potential negativity, it may help to mentally prepare how you would respond. Remember that when anyone is being rude, it is a reflection of who they are, not of who you are or of what you are doing. Try disarming them by flashing your biggest smile, thanking them for their perspective and if it really warrants it, maybe offering up a little sarcasm such as "your comment almost affected me". As they realise their ill-informed comment has not affected you (at least not on your steely exterior!), they will either back down or continuing trying to antagonise you. By maintaining your positive stance, you will show that you have the upper hand and you will be buzzing with a sense of personal empowerment afterwards.

4. Know your rights - you are protected by law to breastfeed anywhere in public where you personally have the right to be. If anyone in a position of authority such as a caf manager tries to tell you otherwise, you can accurately tell them that they can be prosecuted for their actions. True.

5. Think clothes - some mums feel happy to breastfeed by lifting their breast out over the top of their vest top, shirt or dress. However, for others, this can be a personal step too far. If you're concerned about having flesh on show, just take a moment to think about how your clothes will work for feeding. Aside from the obvious clothes marketed for breastfeeding, you will also find that many "normal" clothes work too. When I was breastfeeding, I used to live in stretchy vests and then any normal top of mine over the top. I'd pull down the vest, unclip my bra and then lift up my top. Tada! Nothing on show. For some great breastfeeding style inspiration check out @FeedinStyle on Instagram and The Baby Show at London's ExCeL next month.

6. To Cover or Not to Cover - it's entirely up to you. Some mums feel that using a breastfeeding cover draws in attention rather than deflects from it, can be an additional hassle to use and creates a rather stifling and dark environment for the baby. That said, they are absolutely right for some mums who may otherwise choose not to breastfeed if they weren't able to use one. They may be particularly useful if a baby is very distractible, takes a while to latch, or if a mum is worried about a very fast let-down and passers-by getting a surprise spray!

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Shaking The Fear Of Breastfeeding In Public | The Huffington Post - Huffington Post UK

My 8-year-old daughter recently became frustrated as she struggled with an assignment that asked her to memorize the location and spelling of all 50 states.

Why do I even need to memorize this? she complained. I can just Google the location and spelling of any state whenever I need it.

I paused for a moment, not entirely sure how to answer the question. She was right. She could Google this information; but there is a greater value to knowing the whereabouts of Americas 50 states. Would she know, instinctively, when it was worth the effort to Google something like the location of a state?

I replied, Anna, what if someone told you that Montana was located next to North Dakota. Would you believe them and simply take what they were saying as truth? Are you going to Google (i.e., doubt) anything anyone ever says to you?

She stared back at me, understanding that relying on Google to determine all facts from fiction quickly goes awry. Google is useful for some things, but isnt practical for all matters.

The question of course goes deeper than something as simple and easily answerable as geography. It becomes much trickier when we are asked to discern real from fake in areas as fuzzy as public sentiment, portrayals of historical events, and conclusions reached by a confluence of research studies.

iStock from Getty Images

How do I help my daughter to ask meaningful questions, seek multiple sources of truth, and acknowledge the real answer, ambiguous as it may be?

I suppose the conundrum is better phrased this way: How will my daughter know when a simple Google search is sufficient? When will she need to seek multiple sources and doubt even her own understanding?

At Yale University, my undergraduate alma mater, there was a popular slogan that read, Yale doesnt teach you what to think; Yale teaches you how to think.

That premise is critical in todays media environment, because rather than accepting what we are told, we need to teach our children to think critically about how to process the information that they hear.

Early Foundations of Knowledge

If we prioritize our childrens ability think critically, then we need to embed the proper building blocks in their earliest education. While they may seem pass and pedestrian, the basics of literacy and memorization are as paramount as ever.

At Istation, the education technology company where I work, we believe that the fundamentals of critical thinking begin with literacy. With the foundations of reading comes logic, memorization, conceptual thinking, and imagination.

UNESCO writes in its Education for All Global Monitoring Report, it is widely reckoned that, in modern societies, literacy skills are fundamental to informed decision-making, personal empowerment, active and passive participation in local and global social community (Stromquist, 2005, p. 12).

Alongside literacy come the basics of memorization. Memorizing the location of all 50 states may not count as true critical thinking, but it forms a building block of knowledge that allows far more challenging questions to be asked. Even the skill of memorization frees up other parts of the brain for more advanced processing.

The Guardian suggests that memorising facts and lists can build the foundations for higher thinking and problem solving. Effectively, we can draw on what we have memorized to create and grapple with more complex topics. For example, my daughter can use her knowledge of the geographical location of the states to begin to estimate if it would take longer to drive from Dallas, Texas, to Denver, Colorado, or to Portland, Maine.

Once one can read and retain knowledge, one begins to gain the skill of writing. Writing allows a person to express her own thoughts on a topic. We become more than just consumers of information; we become organizers of thoughts and ideas. If our writing resonates with others, we gain the important skill of influence.

iStock by Getty Images

For my 8-year-old, most truths remain simple. Eight times eight is 64, and Austin is the state capital of Texas.

As adults, real meaning and authentic truth become much more challenging to discern. What I hope for my daughter and for our nations children is that they learn how to think critically about the information that is given to them; that they understand the limitations of Google; and that they can embrace a narrative that is not one-sided but multi-dimensional.

In our family, we fully embrace the basics of reading and memorization. We read not just from one author, or one publication, or one geography, but try to embrace both our historical narratives and current events through the lens of multiple sources.

For my daughter, I will continue to encourage what may seem like basic skills of reading and memorization. It is not that I want or expect her to consider that a complete education; quite to the contrary: it is through the building blocks of reading and memorization that we begin to be able to question greater truths, recognize inconsistencies, compare disparate ideas and pursue deeper meaning.

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Teaching Our Kids Real from Fake - Huffington Post

Hannah Pepprock never thought she would be interested in boxing, a sport that is about as synonymous with testosterone as it gets. However, she was convinced by her roommates to try out Pink Gloves Boxing, an all-female physical fitness program hosted by the University of Montana that focuses on Olympic-style boxing technique.

Inside a sweaty gym on Valentines Day at the Campus Recreation Center, Pepprock and 15 other young women go through a circuit training regimen that includes shadow boxing, punching a heavy bag, jump-rope, a footwork ladder, and pad work with two women instructors who are teaching them uppercuts and jabs, among other techniques.

I had friends that had done it and it sounded like a lot of fun, Pepprock recalls. They convinced me and it sounded like a great way to get myself in the gym a couple times a week and also burn off a lot of anger or just good energy."

I like that its a good workout but its also just a really positive feeling, she said. When were in there, were just smiling and I feel strong. I feel like I know how to throw a punch, which is really cool. I always felt like I didnt know how to fight. Its just kind of an empowering feeling.

The class isnt focused on self-defense, according to instructor Vickie Rectenwald.

Its not something thats promoted, but if you know how to throw a punch correctly, you can throw a punch correctly, she says, grinning. The focus of the program is really two-pronged. The first part is a good technical boxing workout and a really positive challenging atmosphere."

She said nobody competes against the other people in the program. "Everybodys focused on being better than they were yesterday and never comparing themselves. You just push yourself harder.

Pepprock said that is a big part of the appeal for her.

You dont really feel intimidated by anyone, she said, wrapping her wrist in preparation for the class. Were all kind of on a level playing field. Theres no competition against anyone, except for yourself, which I think is really cool.

The energy of the class is palpable. Theres loud music playing, and the women seem to be bouncing on their feet and grinning for the entire hour.

Its really fast-paced and it really gets your cardio going, Rectenwald said. Its structured like a martial arts program, so you do challenges and test out to the next level. Theres specific goals and specific skills for you to master to get to the next level.

The Pink Gloves Boxing program was founded seven years ago in Montana by Garret Garrels and Nick Milodragovich, who were football teammates at Carroll College in Helena. They noticed that a lot of women in his boxing classes felt like they were being compared to men and competing instead of focusing on themselves, according to Rectenwald.

He found that was a common element that many women were searching for in their personal fitness classes, she said. Its definitely very focused on empowerment.

Now, the program has gone global, with its popularity exploding in places as far away as Sweden. Garrels came to give a demonstration class in Missoula a few weeks ago, and Pepprock attended.

I had only been in the class a couple weeks, but he said we were doing well, Pepprock said. I feel like Im learning a lot really fast.

Rectenwald was a student studying marketing at UM last year when she enrolled in the program. She said it helped her balance her huge 21-credit course load. She was so enthralled, she decided to become an instructor this year.

Co-instructor Emily Hamant said the program will allow more women to get into a traditionally male-dominated sport.

Because (the class is) all girls, she said. If you box with guys, its totally different.

Rectenwald says the response from students is overwhelmingly positive.

We get a lot of, I love seeing how much my body has changed over the course of the semester, and I love the positive atmosphere and the friends Ive made, and I love just coming here and having fun, she said. Theres camaraderie.

In fact, positive reinforcement is part of the mission.

One specific tenet of the program is you pay attention to everyone around you and compliment them and notice what theyre doing well so we have that positive feedback, she said.

The 14-week program is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays and costs $125 per semester for first-timers, which includes gear. Its only $75 for returning boxers. The class is only for students and staff at the University of Montana.

The rest is here:

Pink Gloves Boxing: Women's class focuses on empowerment ... - The Missoulian

The biggest and most immediate challenge government faced as it entered the democratic transition was the unacceptable high levels of poverty and inequality inherited from the apartheid government that still define the new South Africa today. The challenge was even complicated and compounded by the crushing high level of government debt that was sitting at just over 50% of GDP in 1995 and the unemployment rate that had risen to over 30% of the labour force (using the expanded rate). These massive macro-economic and fiscal limitations were at the centre of the complex and constraining reality that was inherited by the pot-apartheid government. They served to handicap options for policy innovation for the new democratic government severely.

The policy response to poverty and unemployment was obvious and urgent. No political democracy can survive and flourish if the mass of our people remain in poverty, without land, without tangible prospects for a better life. Attacking poverty and deprivation must therefore be the first priority of a democratic government. (The Reconstruction and Development Programme 1994).

This policy statement attests to the fact that the mass democratic movements went into the post-apartheid negotiations driven by a very high sense of consciousness for social justice. The current level and extent of the social wage package is very redistributive and forms the largest proportion of the national budget compared to other developing countries and is a direct policy response to this debilitating legacy of apartheid. The package is broad extending from social grants, free public health, no fee schools, water and electricity subsidies for the indigent at municipality level to free RDP hoses. However, for this to remain sustainable, the current size of the tax base must increase incrementally on the back of an increasing economic growth. Both of these conditions have not been met for almost a decade.

The policy conundrum arising out of this is that given the stubbornly high structural unemployment and wealth and income inequality, the economic trajectory we have chosen emphasizes high skills and technology rather than the labour intensity that is needed to absorb the high unemployment demographic that is under-educated and unskilled. It is instructive to observe that this capital and skills intensive growth translated into rising wages for the formal and increasingly regulated labour market and increasing profits for the owners of capital. The informal labour sector on the other hand has been decimated due to casualization and decreasing job opportunities. This is the situation and dynamic that is driving the increasing inequality and poverty.

The central issue and question is why is it that the current political leadership paid less attention to obvious strategies that could have made a significant impact on mass employment and growth. Why is it, for example, that criminal and gross incompetence was allowed to grow and erode the provision of quality education for all and the efficient implementation of the land restitution programme? These are the two key areas that could have driven personal empowerment and individual enterprise for many people. It is difficult not to conclude that the growth of corruption and selfish pursuit and abuse of political power have replaced the virtue of consciousness for social justice that motivated the mass democratic movement at the beginning of the democratic transition.

The crisis in education is especially worrying as an area of spectacular policy failure. A little less than 50% of the population is under the age of 25 and just over 20% are between the ages of 15 to 24. Despite the promise of a better life for all various forms of inequalities continue to hobble their opportunities for upward social movement. The barriers that were created during the apartheid era continue to exist well into the democratic era in education, employment, business opportunities, land and housing.

The strong correlation between wealth and education means that in general poorer learners, who generally receive poor quality education, perform worse academically and get trapped into intergenerational poverty. And, the painful fact is that the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) is heavily complicit in efforts to undermine the pursuit of accountability in teaching. SADTU is a key member of COSATU in the governing Tripartite Alliance. The conclusion that the level of consciousness for social justice is waning in the governing party is unavoidable.

Quality education can indeed become a revolutionary and transformative force for a society characterised by high levels of income and wealth inequality and that is also in a democratic transition. It is therefore not unreasonable to conclude that the disruptive efforts of SADTU neatly qualify them as a counter revolutionary force

This is a very worrying picture but there is emerging optimism in the fact that the improving level of competitive electoral politics is accelerating and that a new political order may be emerge in the 2019 national elections.

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Transformation of South Africa needs high sense of consciousness for social justice for success - Thought Leader