Julie Pippert: Using My Words

Yesterday it was a sunny and hot 85 degrees here.* We spent a great deal of time outdoors, including a family outing to a popular local restaurant with a shaded patio that surrounds a playground for kids. Alert-eyed parents scouted for available tables and staked claims to tables clearing out. In most cases, the dads were sent ahead and they did a good job of staking claims rather genially. One dad approached the table next to us and began to move in when another dad popped up and said, "Oh you know, we were going to sit here," the first dad hesitated for a second---should he challenge? He had to weigh: disappoint his approaching wife who told him to get. that. table. now! or follow his instincts to move on---then he said, "Right, sure, sorry," and began to move away. The second dad, his territory respected, said, "Well maybe we can split the two tables, if your family doesn't mind being tight? How many do you have?" The dads proceeded to negotiate the...

We're going to have to meander a bit in this post...and I hope you don't mind winding on a path a bit... The Hump Day is around the corner and I've got fabulous topics from fabulous bloggers. You'll want to either rearrange your schedule or make one for these. First, Emily R at Wheels on the Bus (creator of the very popular music hump day) hits a home run again with this suggestion for Wednesday, December 5: Making new friends and keeping the old...or, something we need to learn again and again. Second, next week December 12 is from Maddy at Whitterer on Autism : personal pet peeves, we all have them, but I like the unique ones. Ones that other people don't share and most importantly, the why? *********************************************************************************** Sometimes, things slam into my mind with a startling burst of accuracy, other times they glide gracefully across my consciousness, slowly seeping through barriers, and gently whispering to me...

Every now and again, I find something that shines a spotlight on the bias and limitations of traditional and classical education: the important people omitted due to gender, race, culture, religion, or other prejudicial factors. Last week---while watching a television program about the Moorish influence in Andalusia (yes, this is how I spend my free time)---I learned about a female Muslim poet, who might have been omitted for all of the above. Wallada bint al-Mustakfi was born in 1001 in Córdoba, a town of culture and power significance in Andalusia, the jewel of the Moorish colonies. Although she was the daughter of the caliph, Muhammad III of Córdoba, she nevertheless suffered the same restrictions of all Arab Muslim women. In fact, it was the same for almost all women in medieval times, regardless of religion or culture. To Wallada, rules were meant to be broken, or circumvented at the least...if they were intended to hold her back from her potential. I am fit for high positions, b...