World Read Aloud Day

Hello Family,

I hope all is well in the new year for everyone….

During last summer while attending the SOS Conference and March, I had the pleasure of meeting Ruby Veridiano; Lit Corps and Social Media Ambassador for an organization called Lit World.  She was a featured speaker at a conference session I attended on education and it’s role in world literacy. I felt an instant connection with Ruby. Her warm and personable demeanor made it very easy for me to engage in conversations going on during our conference session. I admired her passion and drive as she discussed her role in Girls LitClubs in NYC. I was just really impressed with her and the organization she represents. (oh, and not to mention; too, she told me she is a native of one of my favorite cities on the west coast (shout out to Oakland, CA) (smile)  Anyway, Ruby and I became instant friends….

 

The Question

It’s a moment all parents face…. and a few days ago I faced it for the first time… Nia comes home from school and begins telling me about all of her friends who are on Facebook! “Uh oh, here we go,” I said to myself.  Then came… THE QUESTION… “Mommy, can I have a Facebook account?”

 

Yeah, Technology Changes Lives…

Child using technology

(Original posting February, 2010)

Hello Family

I was on Twitter recently and I saw a tweet where someone asked the question, “Can social media be blamed for the lowering of achievement scores in today’s youth, especially in communities of color”?

I thought for a minute, I figured that most people would believe that although social media may not be helping the cause, it’s pretty much the prevailing view that the causes of  lower achievement scores among today’s youth in communities of color, was in existence long before social media and other new technologies of communication came into existence.

We know that social media is a widely used form of communication and entertainment for youth. Most kids have accounts at many of the major social media sites including Face Book, MySpace, Digg, Twitter and Reddit.  We also know many teachers, parents, mentors and community leaders have profiles on these same social media sites. Some of us use our accounts to teach and inform our youth, while others of us do not.

So then I went on Face Book to catch up with some friends.