Category: News

Six years ago, a high school student named Christopher Justice eloquently explained the multiple problems with flying the Confederate flag. A video clip of Justice’s truth bomb has made the viral rounds a few times since then, and here it is once again getting the attention it deserves.

Justice doesn’t just explain why the flag is seen as a symbol of racism. He also explains the history of when the flag originated and why flying a Confederate flag makes no sense for people who claim to be loyal Americans.

This high school student, Christopher Justice, does a great job at explaining the Confederate flag and its problems.pic.twitter.com/CcOXHCB8GQ

— ud835udc0bud835udc1aud835udc27ud835udc1cud835udc1e ud83cudff3ufe0fu200dud83cudf08 (@ud835udc0bud835udc1aud835udc27ud835udc1cud835udc1e ud83cudff3ufe0fu200dud83cudf08)
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But that clip, as great as it is, is a small part of the whole story. Knowing how the discussion came about and seeing the full debate in context is even more impressive.

In 2015, a student at Shawnee Mission East High School outside of Kansas City came up with the idea to have student journalists document students engaging in open discussions about various topics. In support of this idea, history teacher David Muhammad helped arrange a debate about the use of the Confederate flag in American society in his classroom.

According to the Shawnee Mission Post, Muhammad had prepared a basic outline and some basic guiding questions for the discussion, but mainly let the students debate freely. And the result was one of the most interesting debates about the Confederate flag you’ll ever see—one that both reflects the perspectives in American society at large and serves as an example of how to hold a respectful conversation on a controversial topic.

The full discussion is definitely worth a watch. Justice had quite a few Confederacy defenders to contend with, and he skillfully responded to each point with facts and logic. Other students also chimed in, and the discussion is wildly familiar to anyone who has engaged in debate on this topic. For his part, Mr. Muhammad did an excellent job of guiding the students through the debate.

“I had Chris in class, so I knew he was super intelligent and that he read a lot,” Muhammad told the Shawnee Mission Post in 2018. “But that really came out of left-field. He was never out there very much socially, so I didn’t expect for him to want to speak in front of a crowd like that.”

(In case you’re wondering, according to LinkedIn, Christopher Justice is now studying political science at Wichita State University after switching his major from sports management. David Muhammad is now Dean of Students at Pembroke Middle School and also serves as a Diversity Consultant.)

Thanks, SM East, for documenting and sharing such a great discussion.

This article originally appeared on 08.05.21

Parents, do you think your child would be able to survive if they were transported back to the ’70s or ’80s? Could they live at a time before the digital revolution put a huge chunk of our lives online?

These days, everyone has a phone in their pocket, but before then, if you were in public and needed to call someone, you used a pay phone. Can you remember the last time you stuck 50 cents into one and grabbed the grubby handset?

According to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, roughly 100,000 pay phones remain in the U.S., down from 2 million in 1999.

Do you think a 10-year-old kid would have any idea how to use a payphone in 2022? Would they be able to use a Thomas Guide map to find out how to get somewhere? If they stepped into a time warp and wound up in 1975, could they throw a Led Zeppelin album on the record player at a party?

Another big difference between now and life in the ’70s and ’80s has been public attitudes toward smoking cigarettes. In 1965, 42.4% of Americans smoked and now, it’s just 12.5%. This sea change in public opinion about smoking means there are fewer places where smoking is deemed acceptable.

But in the early ’80s, you could smoke on a bus, on a plane, in a movie theater, in restaurants, in the classroom and even in hospitals. How would a child of today react if their third grade teacher lit up a heater in the middle of math class?

Dan Wuori, senior director of early learning at the Hunt Institute, tweeted that his high school had a smoking area “for the kids.” He then asked his followers to share “something you experienced as a kid that would blow your children’s minds.”

A lot of folks responded with stories of how ubiquitous smoking was when they were in school. While others explained that life was perilous for a kid, whether it was the school playground equipment or questionable car seats.

Here are a few responses that’ll show today’s kids just how crazy life used to be in the ’70s and ’80s.

First of all, let’s talk about smoking.

u201cMy high school had a smoking area. For the kids. Whatu2019s something you experienced as a kid that would blow your childrenu2019s minds?u201d

— Dan Wuori (@Dan Wuori)
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Mine too. Up until my senior year. Also, my biology teacher smoked in the classroom. We used to tell time by how many cigarettes she had in her ashtray.

— rbe (@perdidostschool) April 24, 2022

We made clay ashtrays as gifts for Mother’s Day…whether moms smoked or not!😂

— Mark (@coach_mark1) April 24, 2022

We had a smoking room IN our high school. We also had cadet training and a shooting range in the basement of the school. We had Latin as an option and could drop math in Grade 10! Also in the « good old days »: we could smoke in class at Carleton, at the movies and on airplanes.

— 🇨🇦Jacques Leger🇺🇸 (@jacquesleger17) April 24, 2022

I grew up in a rural area. It wasn’t unheard of for guys to have a shotgun in a gun rack in their trucks, parked at school. Could also carry large knives and openly chew tobacco in school. They don’t allow any of this now, which is good.

— High Plains Grifter (@Too_Grizzled) April 24, 2022

Want to call someone? Need to get picked up from baseball practice? You can’t text mom or dad, you’ll have to grab a quarter and use a pay phone.

My high school had pay phones.

— Mark Angres (@AngresMark) April 24, 2022

Using a pay phone that was outside the school gym to call my parents for a ride home from practice. But calling collect and saying “pick me up” and hanging up before getting charged. 😂

— Stacy Kratochvil 💟 (@StacyKratochvil) April 24, 2022

People had little regard for their kids’ safety or health.

I slept in the back window of the car when the family went on vacation!

— CJFuemmeler (@fuemmelercj) April 24, 2022

We stared Death in the eye every day. pic.twitter.com/zWHh5bvUym

— Ed Lettis 🌻 (@edbobgreen) April 24, 2022

Car seats that just hung over the front seat. Hang on, kid! pic.twitter.com/2DdCoXhqmf

— Bluenoser Forever (@long17_de) April 24, 2022

I have heard stories of country schools in the 50s (which are now urban schools) having boys swim naked in PE (that’s just how they did it in the country). Van Horn High School in Independence MO.

I use this example any time people lament the changes from the “good ole days”.

— Matt Parker (@DrMattParker) April 24, 2022

Also, in Driver’s Ed. We warched this film, “Blood on the Highways.” 45 minutes of unedited film of fatal highway accidents. This was mostly before mandatory seatbelts. 45 years later, I remember the rear view mirror that split a guy’s skull, imbedded in his brain.

— some call me Tim 🇺🇦 🌻 MAT Elem. Educ. (@realtimaier) April 24, 2022

Large fry as your entire meal in middle school. It was the most popular item too. Literally as it sounds. Just a large basket of French fries for lunch.

— Monique (@LivAnotherDay) April 24, 2022

Truck with gun racks/rifles in the HS parking lot.
(DFW too not a small town) pic.twitter.com/RnWiKQwKB7

— FortWorthPlayboy (@FWPlayboy) April 24, 2022

You could buy a soda in school.

Vending machine in the cafeteria to buy sodaaaaa 🥤

— Anna Sutter (@AnnaMSutter) April 24, 2022

Things were a lot different before the internet.

If you wanted to listen to a particular song, you had to call the radio station (and hope you got through) and ask them to play it for you.

— Sarah (@sarahbschaefer) April 25, 2022

Remember pen pals?

I wrote letters regularly to a penpal from a different country and then saved them all in a shoebox. Then in college I flew to “meet” her for the 1st time to participate in her wedding ❤️ But now we connect on FB 😂

— Ms.Teach (@MidwestTeach14) April 24, 2022

A lot of people bemoan the fact that the children of today aren’t as tough as they were a few decades back. But that’s probably because the parents of today are better attuned to their kids’ needs so they don’t have to cheat death to make it through the day.

But just imagine how easy parenting would be if all you had to do was throw your kids a bag of Doritos and a Coke for lunch and you never worried about strapping them into a car seat?

This article originally appeared on 06.08.22

Sometimes we’re not in the mood to be touched, and the same goes for our pets. While cats are notorious for snubbing humans who dare to touch them without explicit affirmative consent for exactly 3.5 pets, dogs are different. Dogs like to get head scratches, butt pats and for some reason slapped on the ribs somewhat aggressively. I don’t know why dog owners do the last one but I’ve seen it enough to think it’s a thing that dogs enjoy.

The point is dogs generally want you to pet them as often as humanly possible and until it feels like your arms are going to fall off. They try to climb up on your lap because being as close to your cornea as their snouts will allow is comforting to them. But apparently, dogs also get into moods where they don’t want to be touched by their humans.

Weird, right? A chocolate lab on TikTok is simply not in the mood for pets and his reaction to his owner attempting to pet him has commenters in stitches.

The dog, Colby, looks as if he’s trying to relax when you see his mom’s hand reach out to pet him. He doesn’t break eye contact with his human, Morgyn Seigfried, as he gently pushes her hand away with his back foot. She tries several times, and each time Colby has the same response.

“Let’s not make this more embarrassing than it has to be,” one commenter wrote.

“He said pet me…WITH YOUR EYES,” another person said.

While some were imagining what the dog was saying internally, others just found it hilarious, especially because he uses his hind leg to reject the affection.

“Such a boss move to use the back leg and not the front paw,” someone wrote, complete with a crying laughing emoji.

“The fact that he used his rear leg makes the exchange even better,” another commenter said.

Colby is clearly over Seigfried’s need to touch him, as you can see for yourself below:

@morgynseigfried

looking me dead in the eye too 🥲 #dogsoftiktok #dogs #dogvideos #labsoftiktok #chocolatelab #labrador #dogsoftiktokviral #doglover #doglovers

This article originally appeared on 5.5.23

The Las Vegas Raiders took a surprising 17-7 lead into halftime on Christmas in Kansas City after their defense scored touchdowns on back-to-back Chiefs turnovers in the second quarter.

First it was Bilal Nichols scooping up a fumbled exchange between Isiah Pacheco and Patrick Mahomes and then it was Jack Jones picking off Mahomes on the sideline and taking it back for six. Many folks paid attention to Jones giving Mahomes the business as he ran into the end zone, but the clip the league posted to social media cut out before his true villainy kicked in as he went full Grinch on Christmas by reaching the ball out to a kid wearing Chiefs gear, pulling it back as the kid reached out for it.

It’s some incredible heel work from Jones, who was extremely amped up for the game, as evidenced by the next drive after his pick-six when he was jawing with seemingly everyone on the Chiefs offense and had to be pulled over to the Raiders sideline by his head coach, Antonio Pierce. Jones will be hoping to send every Chiefs fan home unhappy by helping hand Kansas City a loss on Christmas, but at the very least he ensured one young Chiefs fan had their hopes of getting a ball dashed.

It was a slow first quarter from the Chiefs and Raiders in the first of the NFL’s Christmas day games, as the Chiefs had negative offensive yardage in their first three drives and Vegas could only manage three points to capitalize on Kansas City’s slow start.

In the second quarter, the game came to life entirely with the Chiefs offense on the field, first with Kansas City’s offense springing to life with a touchdown drive they capped off with a tremendous trick play design that got Isiah Pacheco into the end zone untouched as the Raiders had eyes on a fake reverse to Patrick Mahomes.

However, on the next Chiefs possession they went back to the well on some direct snap trickery and had disastrous results, as Pacheco and Mahomes fumbled an exchange and Bilal Nichols scooped it up for a Raiders touchdown.

The Raiders dropped the snap on the ensuing extra point, making it just a two-point game, and the wild sequence continued on the very next play as Mahomes threw a dreadful pick-six to Jack Jones along the sideline — who then let Mahomes know all about it as he ran into the end zone.

Vegas would then go for two and get it to make it a 17-7 game thanks to two defensive touchdowns in seven seconds of game time, as the Chiefs went from up four to down 10 without the Raiders offense doing anything. Things only got weirder on the Chiefs next drive, as they stalled out at midfield but picked up a fourth down conversion on a fake punt pass from Tommy Townsend to Justin Watson.

It was a truly wild sequence that set the stage for a fascinating day of Christmas football.

Teachers are almost always teaching even when it’s not in their lesson plan.

Those that were born to be teachers find teachable moments everywhere and one woman found herself in one of those moments. Though this one was likely just a bit more personal than she probably would’ve liked.

Emily Elizabeth posted a TikTok video about how she found herself in a predicament in front of her classroom full of 10 and 11-year-old kids. The teacher explained that she was noticing a lot of commotion and whispering among the little girls in her class while she was wearing white pants. After reminding the girls to stay on task, the whispering continued, prompting Emily to be more direct.

That’s when one of the girls asked to speak with her privately dropping the bomb that no one that gets periods wants to hear in public.

“She goes, ‘I’m sorry Ms. Emily, but I just want to let you know that I think you might have got your period,'” the teacher recalls.

But instead of freaking out or being flustered, Emily decided to swallow her embarrassment and use the moment as a teachable experience. She promptly told the concerned girls that it was fine and that she had a change of clothes that she could wear. Just before excusing herself, the boys noticed something was wrong so they curiously asked. Emily informed them that she had gotten her period and while she was annoyed, she was perfectly fine.

One of the boys even sent her an email double checking that she was okay in a less public way. The sweet reaction from her class warmed her heart and the hearts of viewers.

“That boy who emailed…his parents must be incredible,” one commenter says.

“You set an excellent example! And to not hide it from the boys who asked because that would have spoken SO LOUDLY to the boys and girls about normalizing periods,” another writes.

“The email, you sound like an amazing teacher with an amazing group of kids,” someone says.

You can watch Emily tell the entire story below:

@emilyelizabeth.w

Let’s normalise talking about periods for girls AND boys … trying to find the silver lining 😅 #fyp #melbourneteacher #teachersoftiktok #teacherlife

This article originally appeared on 10.2.23

When your toddler has a meltdown, it’s perfectly natural to want to fly off the handle.

There’s nothing more infuriating than a small human repeatedly demanding something that’s physically impossible for you to give them, or wailing because you had to punish them after repeatedly telling them to knock it off.

“I CREATED YOU, YOU LITTLE MONSTER. I CAN DESTROY YOU,” you might want to say (though you never would). You love your kids — of course you do — but damn if they aren’t the best at pushing you to your breaking point.

As tempting as it may be to raise your voice, yell, and keep ramping up the punishment to ridiculous levels, some parenting experts say there’s a much better option.

Vanessa Lapointe, a mom and professional psychologist, suggests something called “discipline without damage.”

Lapointe defines this practice, sometimes called “compassionate parenting,” as an intervention that reinforces connection, not separation — in other words, staying calm and kind while setting firm boundaries for kids in a way that doesn’t dampen their spirits or preach obedience above all else.

This isn’t just some new-agey, feel good stuff: Lapointe says it’s all based on science and the way children’s brains develop.

“Our job as parents is to grow up children who are hardy. Not children who are hardened,” she explained in an essay for The Huffington Post. “Children who are hardy can weather the storms of life. Children who are hardened cannot, and instead tend to shut down and have ineffective coping strategies.”

Lapointe recently released a nifty “Discipline Cheat Sheet” that offers some simple changes to the words we use when faced with a meltdown that can completely change the tenor of the situation for the better.

Here’s how this technique might play out.

Say your toddler colored on the wall with bright green crayon.

Instead of screeching something along the lines of “What were you thinking?!??!” Lapointe recommends using a kind and compassionate tone and saying something more like, “You know I don’t want you coloring on the walls. We need to get this cleaned up.”

“No!” your kid might respond, with a stomp of a tiny foot. “I don’t want to!”

“Come on,” you say, keeping your voice calm. “I’ll show you where the cleaning supplies are and help you get started.”

Now, ideally, that would be enough. Your toddler would calm down and gladly help you clean the walls. When it comes to toddlers, however, parents know things are rarely that easy.

What if by then he’s too upset and has thrown himself to the ground in protest, banging fists against the floor? Instead of finally breaking and losing your temper, it’s time to try a different tactic from the cheat sheet.

“I can see this is tricky for you. We’re going to solve this later. Let’s get a drink of water,” you can say.

He may agree or not. But eventually, he will calm down (every parent knows that they always do), and you can show him how to get the crayon off the wall.

When the wall is finally clean, turn to him and say, “Let’s find a better place to keep your coloring supplies so this doesn’t happen again.”

The whole conflict may take a while, and you may have to go back to the cheat sheet to try many of these different techniques, but in the end, you get what you want (a clean wall) without yelling at, frightening, or physically forcing your toddler to clean it up. At the same time, your kid learns that their actions have consequences.

The reality is that most toddlers are nearly psychologically incapable of impulse control. No amount of yelling or being a strict disciplinarian can change the wiring of their brains. And though the phrases in the chart above are best for young children, the same principles of compassionate parenting apply to older kids, too.

The chart has been shared far and wide across the web, though Lapointe’s approach isn’t without its critics.

Some parents worry that her recommendations feel an awful lot like “helicopter parenting” and isn’t strong enough to teach kids about independence and feeling the consequences of their actions.

Lapointe says these people are missing the point. She spells out the difference:

“The hoverer is worried, nervous, and uncertain, and prevents their child from ever having to come to terms with the things in life that simply cannot be. The provider is confident, all-knowing, and in charge, and supports the child in regulating around their upset in coming to terms with the things in life that cannot be. “

She urges parents to remember that kids are kids and not to expect them to understand the world as adults do.

Compassionate parenting is more than just a few handy phrases.

The phrases on Lapointe’s cheat sheet are a great first step for reframing the way we react when our kids start misbehaving, but they’re not the only tool a compassionate parent can keep in their back pocket. For parents looking for an alternative to punishment and escalating behavior, however, Lapointe’s cheat sheet could be just the help they need to stay calm in the face of a toddler tornado.

Though easier said than done, a simple, “Come here, I’ve got you,” could be exactly what your kid needs to hear.

This article originally appeared on 07.21.17

The Detroit Lions came into Sunday afternoon with a chance to win their first division title since 1993 (back when they were in the NFC Central) if they could beat the Nick Mullens-led Vikings in Minnesota.

Early on it looked like they might cruise, as Mullens had a dreadful start to the game with a number of turnovers, but he would lead the Vikings back to the lead in the second half with some big time throws and help in the form of incredible catches by Justin Jefferson and KJ Osborn. Detroit would reclaim the lead and make it a 6-point game in the fourth quarter, but Mullens had a chance to play the hero on the final drive.

A strip sack almost ended the drive before it ever really got started, but instead of falling on the ball, Lions lineman John Cominsky opted to try and scoop the ball up, only to kick it into Jefferson’s hands to keep Minnesota’s hopes alive. On the very next play, Mullens just threw it up to Jefferson in double coverage on third and a mile, and the All-Pro somehow brought the ball in for a first down.

It really was an unbelievable catch and, when followed by a long pass to Brandon Powell, the Vikings were well into Lions territory with a minute to play.

Unfortunately for Minnesota, the bad version of Mullens reappeared at that point, as he stepped up to try and hit an open Jefferson running across the middle and threw up an absolute duck that got picked off to seal the Lions win and a division crown.

It’s about as bad of a pass as you’ll see from an NFL quarterback not being pressured, as it just fluttered out of his hand, well behind Jefferson and into the waiting arms of the safety. It was Mullens’ fourth pick of the day, as he had 411 yards and two touchdowns, but the turnover problems were just too much to overcome. The win moves Detroit to 11-4 and clinches them a playoff berth, where they’ll look to get their first postseason win since 1991.

The dominating force at the theaters this year was concert movies. Both Beyoncé and Taylor Swift’s respective documentary pieces cleaned up at the box office. In 2024, musicals are some of the most anticipated works (coughs, Mean Girls). Another feature film theatergoers are excited to see is Wicked, starring Ariana Grande.

Yesterday (December 23), the picture’s co-star, Cynthia Erivo, dropped by The Late Show starring Jimmy Fallon to tease viewers with what’s in store for the two-part adaptation. When the host asked Erivo about working with Grande, she replied, “The connection we’ve made is really special. She’s got a family member [in me] for life now.”

Erivo continued to gush over her soon-to-be onscreen nemesis: “I don’t know that we realized that our voices would fit so well together. Our voices are very, very different, but when we sing together, it just works. [Ariana] calls it worming. I don’t know why. I guess [because] we sort of find each other.”

Despite the strikes that eventually shut down production, Ervio told Fallon that her time on set has been amazing. “I’m so excited. We’ve had a really good time on set, and it just is a wonderful, wonderful vibe. We’re working really hard,” said the entertainer.

Watch the full interview above.

Wicked is slated to hit theaters on November 27, 2024. Find more information here.

Chance The Rapper has been riding on the high of celebrating the tenth anniversary of his groundbreaking mixtape, Acid Rap. However, the “Yah Know” musician isn’t ignoring fans’ requests for new music. Yesterday (December 23), Chance revealed that his long-teased sophomore album, Star Line Gallery, has a tentative release date.

“My album’s coming out next spring,” yelled the entertainer during his Instagram Live broadcast.

When asked by his friend in the room if it was an exclusive announcement, Chance joked that there weren’t many people to share the news with. “It’s cool; there are only 500 people in here. No one logs on when I’m doing good work,” laughed the rapper.

In June, Chance discussed the forthcoming project with Audacy’s Check In podcast host, Julia. “It’s one of my proudest projects in terms of writing and artistic vision. There’s an immense amount of work to be done with it,” said Chance.

He went on to add, “But it’s cool ’cause I feel like with the love and intentionality that goes into making each physical art piece gives me an opportunity to show people in these museum spaces what I’m working on as I go, the highs and the lows, kind of like a preview to the project.”

Chance The Rapper’s debut album, The Big Day, was released in 2019.