Women's History Month: Michelle Obama and Her Mom

Michelle Obama is a very unusual First Lady. She is brilliant (Harvard and Princeton trained lawyer), has style, both high end and low end fashion. Cares for the underdog, like Eleanor Roosevelt; loves her children, like Jackie Kennedy. Lives her beliefs (Christianity) through personal service described in the Sermon on the Mount. Her uniqueness is not that she is the first African American First Lady. It is because she brought her mom into the White House to help raise her girls, which is such a rare family thing for a First Family to do. And most importantly, she has an amazing manner of presenting herself with class and humor despite incomprehensible personal and rascist remarks. She has strength of character.

I won't repeat the negative comments but list positives.

MICHELLE OBAMA, 54, IS LIVING HER BEST LIFE AND HERE ARE SEVEN PICTURES TO PROVE IT

http://www.newsweek.com/michelle-obama-birthday-barack-obama-us-783599

Her 'Let's Move' Initiative as First Lady.

Museums and Gardens Across the Country Join the Let’s Move! Initiative

http://www.letsmove.gov/blog/2015/03/19/museums-and-gardens-across-country-join-let%E2%80%99s-move-initiative 

Here are comments on rights for our kids, all of our kids.

Michelle Obama Calls Education The Most Important Civil Rights Issue

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/michelle-obama-education-civil-rights_n_6737454.html 

And Michelle Obama is the least stuck up First Lady I can think of--she's quite a bit of fun.

Ellen Degeneres And Michelle Obama Had An “Uptown Funk” Dance-Off And They Shut It DOWN

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alivelez/ellen-degeneres-and-michelle-obama-had-an-uptown-funk-dance#.gx1nOX6e6 

I also very much like Michelle's garden at the White House (and bee hives) and if kids don't like healthy lunches, I blame the junk-food-buying parents.French fried sweet potatoes are the bomb.

Michelle's mom is also quite a remarkable lady. Both her kids are very successful, and Malia and Sasha are blessed to have her close.

 The China trip: Michelle, Grandma Sasha and Malia exit Air Force One.

The elusive Mrs. R.: Marian Robinson, the White House’s not-so-typical live-in grandma

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-elusive-mrs-r-marian-robinson-the-white-houses-not-so-typical-live-in-grandma/2014/03/31/72f7547a-b6c1-11e3-a7c6-70cf2db17781_story.html 

Marian Shields Robinson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Shields_Robinson 

Michelle Obama

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Obama 

Michelle Obama

http://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592 

National Portrait Gallery Unveils and Installs Presidential Portraits 

http://npg.si.edu/exhibition/obama-portraits-unveiled

Women's History Month: Michelle Obama and Her Mom

Michelle Obama is a very unusual First Lady. She is brilliant (Harvard and Princeton trained lawyer), has style, both high end and low end fashion. Cares for the underdog, like Eleanor Roosevelt; loves her children, like Jackie Kennedy. Lives her beliefs (Christianity) through personal service described in the Sermon on the Mount. Her uniqueness is not that she is the first African American First Lady. It is because she brought her mom into the White House to help raise her girls, which is such a rare family thing for a First Family to do. And most importantly, she has an amazing manner of presenting herself with class and humor despite incomprehensible personal and rascist remarks. She has strength of character.

I won't repeat the negative comments but list positives.

MICHELLE OBAMA, 54, IS LIVING HER BEST LIFE AND HERE ARE SEVEN PICTURES TO PROVE IT

http://www.newsweek.com/michelle-obama-birthday-barack-obama-us-783599

Her 'Let's Move' Initiative as First Lady.

Museums and Gardens Across the Country Join the Let’s Move! Initiative

http://www.letsmove.gov/blog/2015/03/19/museums-and-gardens-across-country-join-let%E2%80%99s-move-initiative 

Here are comments on rights for our kids, all of our kids.

Michelle Obama Calls Education The Most Important Civil Rights Issue

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/michelle-obama-education-civil-rights_n_6737454.html 

And Michelle Obama is the least stuck up First Lady I can think of--she's quite a bit of fun.

Ellen Degeneres And Michelle Obama Had An “Uptown Funk” Dance-Off And They Shut It DOWN

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alivelez/ellen-degeneres-and-michelle-obama-had-an-uptown-funk-dance#.gx1nOX6e6 

I also very much like Michelle's garden at the White House (and bee hives) and if kids don't like healthy lunches, I blame the junk-food-buying parents.French fried sweet potatoes are the bomb.

Michelle's mom is also quite a remarkable lady. Both her kids are very successful, and Malia and Sasha are blessed to have her close.

 The China trip: Michelle, Grandma Sasha and Malia exit Air Force One.

The elusive Mrs. R.: Marian Robinson, the White House’s not-so-typical live-in grandma

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-elusive-mrs-r-marian-robinson-the-white-houses-not-so-typical-live-in-grandma/2014/03/31/72f7547a-b6c1-11e3-a7c6-70cf2db17781_story.html 

Marian Shields Robinson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Shields_Robinson 

Michelle Obama

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Obama 

Michelle Obama

http://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592 

National Portrait Gallery Unveils and Installs Presidential Portraits http://npg.si.edu/exhibition/obama-portraits-unveiled

News on Education (and Vegetables) Tweets of the Day (5/29/2012)

Many of today's tweets are very serious. The first one concerns diagnosing autism.

1. 'Families Don't Seek Help for Autism from Pediatricians'

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2012/05/families_don%27t_seek_help_fr.html 

Yes, you are!

 As an educator, I would like to remind that when a student enters school, she has an IEP team, with the medical professional giving input to a group of other professionals: educational psychologists, special education teachers, general education teachers, counselors, and, of course, family members. 

 2. 'How Should Students With Learning Disabilities Be Identified?'

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2012/05/how_should_students_with_learn.html 

IEP team meeting.

RTI should be only one part of a scientific, strictly administered system of identification for special education needs by educational professionals trained for that specific purpose.

3. 'School Using Shock Therapy Under Fire Yet Again'

 http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2012/05/school_using_shock_therapy_und.html 

This is unbelievable. I cannot accept this method can be legal anywhere in the world.

Cause and effect toys: fun!

4. 'What Works to Prepare Young Children With Disabilities for School?'

 http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2012/05/_preparing_young_children_with.html

The methods described involve giving kids choices and asking them to communicate those choices; making an interesting experience of life for them. This will aid the student's brain development, and increase functionality. Plus, it's fun for everyone to interact.

5. 'Bill Would Pay to Train Teachers of Students With Autism'

 http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2012/04/bill_would_pay_for_training_te.html

This is a great push for general education to have more expertise with all their students. The students on my caseload included two autistic students who mainstreamed all day. Special Academic Instructors collaborated in two of their classes each. More input for general educators in science, social studies, physical education, and electives would be very effective.

6. 'The New Jim Crow'

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/2012/05/_my_25_dear_diane.html 

One of the cutest things I've ever seen.

Sadly, this is a valid article, at least for many families I have serviced. I have taught in areas near State and Federal Prisons, and the families frequently live nearby to visit relatives. Is there racism in the system? Let's self-examine privately, and as educators treat kids in poverty and other adverse circumstances as the worthy students they are. Staff at schools develop their own culture; multiculturalism should be very alive and well. Do we educators need special training to address the stressors of students in poverty and other family difficulties? Yes, we do.

Here is a great idea.

'Black History Month celebration' 

http://thenotebook.org/april-2012/124683/black-history-month-celebration

7. 'Positive Self Esteem'

http://www.drwendyschwartz.com/Los-Angeles-Marriage-and-Family-Counseling/life/positive-self-esteem/#.T8Oi1yIRAGY.facebook 

I like the little graphics.

Having a down day? We all do. I once heard a sermon that stated we could use the anagram HALT to see how we were doing when we felt discouraged. H--am I hungry? A--am I angry? L--am I lonely? T--am I tired? Kind of hitting the lower level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, huh?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs 

If we, the educated and employed professionals, have down days when we feel like failures--how must the kids feel? Let's be sure to encourage the kids to view themselves positively. Behavior mod says that we should give eight positive comments to two negatives or correction to keep ballast in a child's mind and soul. Our self-talk should be the same.  

The First Lady's new book.

8. 'The First Lady Cultivates 'American Grown' Gardening'

 http://www.npr.org/2012/05/29/153705721/the-first-lady-cultivates-american-grown-gardening 

You go, Michelle! And 'let's move' while we garden.

Mmm, the sweet smell of sage-maybe for Thanksgiving stuffing.

 

 

 

 

Our school has a garden, and our science teacher (who was voted Teacher of the Year by his colleagues) also held an activity afterschool to show how to grow tomatoes. He gave one plant to each student who attended. How cool to have something real, growing, and tasty. 

A few years back, my Special Day Class for the Severely Handicapped at a middle school had a nice little garden; good exercise, fresh air, and fun cause-and-effect. Well worth the work.

 

What middle school gardening fun! And there's teacher's bike he rides to school.