Articles and news stories are constantly pushing me to consider something new, broaden my perspective, or change the way I look at an issue. My husband likes to joke that my brain explodes with something new on a daily basis. These articles – and the brain explosions that result from them – are so beneficial for me that I wanted to create a place where I could share them, in case you might want to read them, too. Learn more about Things that Made My Brain Explode – and see past posts – here. 

Here’s a recent batch of Things that Made my Brain Explode:

• I’m not sure what we did to deserve Laurie Halse Anderson, but I sure am glad she’s around. I’ve Talked With Teenage Boys About Sexual Assault for 20 Years. This Is What They Still Don’t Know. (If you haven’t read Anderson’s groundbreaking novel, Speak, go do that now.)
• “How are we going to maintain those positive things, the compassion, ethics, good social skills and intimate relationships, if we’re teaching them to live in a world that doesn’t look like the world they’re living in? […] We spend their entire lives teaching them how to share, how to get along. The alternative is throwing 20 kids into a room, locking the door, and saying don’t worry, they’ll end up hugging. That’s kind of what we do when we put a hormonal prepubescent on social media for the first time.” Forget Screen Time Rules — Lean In To Parenting Your Wired Child, Author Says. It’s not just great advice for parents. Because of the amazing leadership of our Computer Science Coordinator and Innovation Coordinator (hi, Kim and Michele!), this is what we teach our students and their families. I’m grateful to be a part of it.
• “Service to our nation and cleanliness are important parts of Islam. We could not sit idly by as our national parks collected trash. We will lead by example and dispose of this garbage appropriately and invite all Americans to join us in these parks and others across the nation.” Muslim youth group cleans up national parks amid government shutdown.
• Three cheers to Jay-Z for opening up about his journey with therapy, the stigma against it, and the power of therapy in schools. Seriously awesome. JAY-Z Says We Need More Therapists in Our Schools and He’s Absolutely Right.
• “Despite what self-help gurus or motivational speakers might tell you when panhandling their e-books, hard work is not the key to success. It’s certainly not the determining factor in whether or not someone is able to pay their bills or land their dream job.” Hard Work Does Not Equal Success.
• “Are you a doctor?” The unchecked racism faced by physicians of color.
• In Oregon, a school board voted to make a statement: All children are welcome here. Parents debate whether book about transgender child should be on school reading list.
• School asked for 50 male mentors. 600 showed up. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
• “Much of the institutional response to intimate partner abuse has focused on women experiencing physical violence. Financial abuse has rarely been a consideration, despite the fact that money itself is often a tool of abusers. Since the 1980s, scholars have repeatedly found that women stay in abusive relationships longer because they can’t afford the cost of leaving. They’ve also found that abusers use money to control their partners — from sabotaging their jobs to withholding rent money or cash.” I had no idea – what an eye-opener. She Trusted Her Husband To Handle Her Money. It Cost Her More Than She Imagined.
• Hollywood Still Doesn’t Know What to Make of Childless Women. Yeah, them and everyone else.
• Speaking of women without children, I loved this piece from Cup of Jo, 8 Women on Choosing Not to Have Kids. (But still, isn’t it odd that it’s necessary for such a personal thing to be explained so thoroughly to be legitimately believed?)
• “The internet is killing bookstores. Right? Maybe not.” Instagram is helping save the Indie Bookstore.
• You bet I clicked on the Books are Magic Instagram feed from that article. Insert heart-eyes here.
• “Watching the movie, I felt an intense pang for something I yearn for and am still not finding as often as I’d like — art by and for and about women that doesn’t feel the need to prove it can keep up with the boys, because it doesn’t worry about what the boys think at all.” I’m glad someone was able to take this nebulous feeling and put it into words in a way that I couldn’t. Why I’ve Had Trouble Buying Hollywood’s Version of Girl Power.
• The internet is so weird.
• There’s no such thing as one “just right” level for any reader. Different types of text, different formats of story, and different topics covered mean that there’s lots of paths to “just right”. I loved this reminder: Rethinking Just Right.
• A recent piece that I wrote with a co-worker went live on Nerdy Book Club this week, and it received so much love. Thank you for all of your sharing, commenting, and love. I’m so excited to see the piece being shared, but even more excited to know that it might help readers, educators, and parents. If you’d like, you can check it out here: What Happened to my Reader?