The Caffeinated Carbivore

I find it interesting that, of all the campaigns, support for the New York City libraries is by far the smallest. I believe this is for a few reasons. 1. Many Americans are taught "rich guilt", or that we should feel guilty for having while others have not. This mentality is supported, and fostered, by charities looking to support children in other countries. They create the image that the suffering in other countries is greater than the suffering in our own country. Children in America need to read just as much as children in Africa. 2. The American Dream. Our American culture teaches us that if we work hard enough we can achieve anything. Thus, we assume that those who have not achieved have not worked hard. The truth is the American Dream is still not equal. Our nation's poverty, homelessness, and hunger are often similar to those countries we seek to help, and yet the support Americans give to other countries far outnumbers the support given to our own citizen...

Penguin Books has begun its "Read a book, Give a book" campaign this month. How can you give books to needy children? By reading a book to your children. Log on and read a book online with your child. Then, you can donate that book to children in New York City, Haiti, or Africa. There are many separate campaigns this year: 1. Jumpstart Reading Libraries . This campaign helps create libraries in preschools across the USA. 2. The Million Word Challenge. 3. Tinga Tinga Tales: East Africa: 4. Conspiracy for Good: A teacher in Zambia reaches out to seek books for her students. 5. Books for Asia. 6. Family Story Power: Books for New York City libraries: All of these campaigns offer you the chance to share literacy with children across the world, while also sharing a story with your child!

In the past year, a great deal of media attention has been devoted to the increasing cost of education. College education costs more now than ever, and so do text books. Recently, however, media focus has moved to basic education: failing schools, low test scores, and firing teachers. While the NCLB debate falls to the wayside, we begin to focus on fixing the schools themselves: teachers, bullies , and school security. Is Obama's Educate to Innovate a big deal? This blog talks a lot about how to make lesson plans more interesting or teaching tools. This entry is going to be devoted to the students. John Stewart and Steve Colbert focus on National News. It's no surprise that they too have turned their attention to schools. This week, The Colebert Report interviewed the director of "Waiting for Superman", a documentary about our education system, and the few who have access to its good side. The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Davis Guggenheim www.col...