My stomach roiled and my mind reeled when I read in the Toronto Globe and Mail on Tuesday that the Taliban in Afghanistan plans to return to the practice of publicly stoning women for crimes of morality.
Woman Caught in Adultery-2015- by Bulgarian artist Julia Stankova
It made me think of the story in the Bible in John 8 where Jesus intervenes in the planned stoning of a woman for adultery.
Woman Taken in Adultery by Rembrandt 1644
Jesus is in the temple teaching a crowd of people when the Pharisees and teachers of the law approach bringing with them a woman caught in the act of adultery.
Christ and the Woman Caught in Adultery by Peter Paul Ruebens
The Pharisees say that according to the law of Moses, the punishment for adultery is being stoned to death. They ask whether Jesus agrees with that.
Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery by Pieter Bruegel- 1600
Jesus writes something on the ground.
Woman Taken in Adultery by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri1621
Then he invites anyone in the crowd who has never sinned to cast the first stone.
One by one each person walks away until only Jesus and the accused woman are left.
Jesus stands up, looks around and asks the woman where everyone has gone. Has no one remained behind to condemn her and carry out the applicable sentence?
She says no one is left to condemn her.
Jesus tells her she is free to leave and begin a new life.
We can teach and learn. Deborah Ellis has written a trilogy of books beginning with The Bread Winner that can introduce young people to the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan. I used them often in my classrooms.
But………. after reading a great many articles online about the situation I have to admit that everyone from the United Nations to Human Rights Watch to the aid organization I support Mennonite Central Committee says the situation is dire. There are so many roadblocks in the way that it seems little can be done to stop the appalling treatment of women in Afghanistan.
The benches in the Texas Capitol building all feature stars
Texas is known as the Lone Star State something you can’t miss when you visit the state capitol in Austin.
My husband Dave walks onto the Rotunda Circle in the capitol
At the centre of the capitol rotunda is this huge circle with a lone star at its heart. The Lone Star references the near decade from 1835 to 1845 when Texas was an independent republic.
The circle tells the history of Texas in a nutshell with emblems illustrating how the state was first occupied by the French(1685-1688) then the Spanish (1519-1821), then Mexico (1821-1836) then the United States (1845). For a brief time (1861-1870) it broke away from America and became part of the Southern Confederacy.
If you are standing on the history circle and look way up you see the sky-lit dome of the capitol with -you guessed it- a star at its heart.
We took a tour that showed us both the Senate chamber
The young woman behind Dave reminded him he had to take off his hat out of respect when he entered Congress
and the Congressional chamber.
See the star under the ‘N’ of the word Senate on top
All around the state capitol are these photos that picture the members of both the Senate and Congress for each legislative term. Every frame includes photos of the children and grandchildren of the members.
I thought this was a great idea because it reminds legislators they are working to improve the future of the next generation, something essential in Texas which ranks a very low 44th out of 50 states regarding the well-being of its children.
The ceiling lights in the capitol are in a star shape.
We were part of a large group that was touring the Capitol Building
The railings in the Capitol building feature stars as well.
The benches outside the cafeteria had stars punched into their backs
We went to the cafeteria for coffee and a muffin and I walked along the timeline on the wall that told the history of the government of Texas.
I was pleased to see three women included in the timeline.
Elisabet Ney was a sculptor who created many of the statues in the Capitol Building.
Barbara Jordan was the first African American woman to be elected to the State Legislature.
Queen Elizabeth visited Texas in 1991. Notice the lone star on the podium in the photo.
The skylight above me provides a view of the Capitol Dome- if you look carefully stars are etched into the glass
You certainly can’t forget you are in the Lone Star State when you visit its Capitol building.
Dave and I are sitting on a bench that was shared by President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping just over ten years ago.
The country’s two leaders had come to Sunnylands, a kind of west coast Camp David for an informal meeting. We visited Sunnylands on a not so sunny afternoon in Palm Springs and saw the bench where Barack Obama and Xi Jinping engaged in a cordial discussion about future relations between their two countries.
Eight American presidents beginning with Eisenhower have visited Sunnylands often holding high level meetings there. President Obama especially enjoyed being there because he loved the Sunnylands golf course.
In June of 2013 he hosted President Xi Jinping of China at Sunnylands for what came to be known as the ‘shirtsleeves summit’. It laid the groundwork for their personal relationship and was sometimes viewed as a turning point in American- Chinese relations.
A sign near the park bench shows the two leaders sitting on it talking. Visitors are invited to sit there as well.
Coincidentally this was not the first time I had sat in the same spot where President Obama had sat. I also did that in St. Louis once. You can read about that here.
Last week Conservative Senator Don Plett apologized for losing his temper on the Canadian Senate floor. He got angry at two female Liberal Senators when a carbon tax exemption bill important to farmers failed to get Senate approval because the women introduced amendments and cut off debate on the bill.
This meant the bill would be sent back to the House of Commons and would probably get lost in a backlog of pending legislation there.
Senator Plett’s apology for what one newspaper editor described as a ‘tantrum’ was certainly commendable but………… before he lost his temper about his important bill being killed in the Senate he might have remembered important bills he has been responsible for killing, bills introduced not by the Liberals but by his very own female Conservative colleagues.
Rona Ambrose the former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
In 2019 former Conservative party leader Rona Ambrose was trying to get a bill through the Senate that had been passed in Parliament. It ensured judges in Canada would receive training in sexual assault law.
But Senator Plett the Conservative Party Whip in the Senate at the time decided to stall it in the Senate for over 700 days so it couldn’t pass before the next federal election call. The bill died.
Ms Ambrose did not lose her temper with Senator Plett but she did call him out in the media for failing to protect Canadian women.
Photo of former Canadian Senator Nancy Greene Raine from her social media page
Another bill Senator Plett effectively killed at the same time was one former Olympic skier and Conservative Senator Nancy Greene Raine introduced. Worried about the soaring rate of childhood obesity in Canada her bill sought to curtail the advertising of foods high in sugar, salt and fat from children’s media programming and prevent grocery stores from displaying those items at kids’ eye level.
Senator Greene Raine didn’t publicly display anger at Senator Plett for effectively dismissing her bill but I’m sure she was disappointed that he failed to protect Canada’s children.
Although partisan politics most certainly played into the effective dismissal of Senator Plett’s bill for farmers that cannot be said of bills advanced by his own party members that he has had dismissed.
I understand why Senator Plett was upset and angry at the two Liberal Senators who failed to protect Canadian farmers by effectively dismissing his bill but……….. he might do well to remember times in the past when the shoe was on the other foot and his Senate actions meant bills his Conservative colleagues introduced were dismissed and Canadian women and children went unprotected as a result.
The amount of substances being abused has increased over the years; unfortunately, low-income people are at a higher risk for addiction. The Addiction Centre
Want to reduce the number of people in prison? Reduce poverty.
Less than 10 per cent of Canadians live beneath the poverty line but almost 100 per cent of our prison inmates come from that 10 per cent.–The Toronto Star
Want to reduce the number of babies who are aborted? Reduce poverty.
Want to reduce the cost of our health care system? Reduce poverty.
Substantial and robust evidence confirms a direct link between socioeconomic status and health status ― meaning people in the lowest socioeconomic group carry the greatest burden of illness.– The Evidence Network
Want to reduce the number of suicides? Reduce poverty.
Poverty and violence play a kind of toxic dance in women’s lives. Poverty marginalizes women, increasing their risk of victimization, while violence also isolates women, as the mental and physical effects grind away at women’s sense of well-being, limiting what is possible.- Breaking the Links Between Poverty and Violence Against Women in Canada
Want to improve almost any problem in society? Reduce poverty.
How to reduce poverty?
Make it a political priority to ensurepeople have…… safe affordable housing, easy access to quality health care, good nutritious food, sustainable employment, income security and universal, affordable and high-quality daycare. –Ending Poverty in Canada- Citizens for Public Justice
The Scholastic Book Fair was a tradition in every school where I taught during my career.
This fall the arm of the Scholastic Publishing Company that runs these fairs decided to implement a new way of providing stock to schools.
Books that discussed or illustrated diversity in race, religion or sexual orientation and books by Asian, Black or LGBTQ authors would be pulled from the general collection offered to schools and be placed in a special group called Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice.
Schools hosting book fairs could then decide whether they wanted to include these books in their book fair or not.
This meant books about famous Black people like Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, new American Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and those written by the brilliant young Black American poet Amanda Gorman would be pulled from the general collection.
It meant books about Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai or books about the internment of Japanese people during World War II would no longer be included in the general collection. It meant books about families with lesbian or gay parents would not be on offerunless you ordered the special collection with diverse books.
In an official statement,Scholastic said they were doing this to protect teachers and librarians in the thirty-some American states that have banned diverse books from their schoolsand where the staff members at schools might be subject to legal action were they to offer such books at a book fair they hosted.
Scholastic assured customers that these book bans troubled their company and they remained committed to publishing books that represented everyone’s voice.
Amanda Gorman the poet who read her work at Joe Biden’s inauguration went on TicTok to ask Scholastic to change their policy
There has been a huge backlash to Scholastic’s decision to separate diverse books by both the writing and education communities on all social media platforms.
Hundreds of children’s authors who have published with Scholastic signed a letter asking them to rethink the policy.Librarians began to explore alternatives to Scholastic Book Fairs with other companies.Their efforts worked!
This morning on social media I began seeing posts from authors who write for Scholastic saying they have received letters telling them that the special diverse collection will not be offered again in the new book fair season beginning in Januaryand that Scholastic will redouble their efforts to have laws reversed that limit children’s access to books.
Bravo to Scholastic for listening and for reversing their policy and bravo to the authors, librarians and teachers who spoke up for kids’ freedom to read.
Thursday’s Winnipeg Free Press carried a front page column by Niigaan Sinclair who wrote about the meaning of the name of our new Manitoba premier Wab Kinew.
Wab Kinew the new premier of Manitoba- photo from the CBC
Apparently Wab is short for the Anishinaabe name Wabanakwut.
The name can be divided into two parts. Wab which means a white color that reflects light and carries with it a sense of wisdom and honour and anakwut which means dawn or sunrise of a new day.
Our new premier’s last name Kinew means the golden eagle. Golden eagles fly high in the sky and carry the teaching of leadership.
Niigaan Sinclair waxes eloquent in his column about the deeper meaning of these names and their significance.
That got me wondering what my name means. I did a little research.
By the Atlantic Ocean in Newfoundland
Apparently Mary means star of the sea, and bitter or rebellious…. although it can also mean beloved. I know I was loved by my parents and I do love being near the ocean but I don’t think I’m particularly rebellious or bitter.
Visiting my Aunt Mary in Kansas.
I do know that the Mary part of my name comes from my Aunt Mary who is a nurse and stayed up all night in the delivery room with my Mom when I was born. I love my aunt and she’s been a positive influence in my life so I’m happy to share her name.
With the famous terra cotta warriors in Xian China
Lou mean famous female warrior. I am a pacifist and come from a long line of them so I’m not sure that fits. But I have been known to go to battle for ideas and causes I believe in.
Ringing the peace bell in Hiroshima, Japan
My second name is Irene and it means peace so maybe that balances out the warrior implications of Lou.
Doing a little searching online I found there is some debate as to whether your name and its meaning can impact your life but it is interesting to discover what your name means and then decide whether that meaning is a good fit for you.
Niigaan Sinclair thinks our new premier’s name is a positive omen and gives him something important to live up to.
I’ve always liked my name and although its meaning may not fit my personality exactly I am glad my parents chose it.
“My life became immeasurably better when I stopped making excuses and I started looking for a reason.”
Manitoba’s new premier Wab Kinew made that remark in his victory speech on Tuesday night. Although he was addressing Indigenous youth I think his statement applies to us all.
Wab Kinew with his family. Photo by David Lipnowski from the Canadian Press
Our lives get better if we stop making excuses for why we can’t do certain things like getting more involved in our communities or helping others. Some of those excuses can be……..
I’m too old.
I’m too busy.
I have health problems.
I’m not really qualified.
I don’t have time.
Our lives get better if we stop looking for excuses and look for reasons to get involved and make a difference.
Those reasons might be……….
I want to make the world a better place for future generations.
I want my community to be more friendly and safe.
I want to support and encourage those I love.
I want to live up to my full potential.
I want to to make my life more meaningful
Whatever our political leanings I think we can all be inspired by our new premier’s words.
Our lives get better if we stop looking for excuses and look for reasons instead.
“Fighting for parental rights in schools.” That’s a key campaign slogan one political party is trumpeting in this provincial election.
With one of my first classes of students at Lincoln School in Winnipeg
I was a Manitoba teacher for thirty-five years and spent another decade visiting classrooms in the province to mentor university education students doing practicums.
At a reunion at Mitchell School where I taught for many years, I hug two of the women who served as wonderful parent volunteers in my class.
I know from experience that teachers and parents are an invaluable team when it comes to children’s schooling. Their cooperation is vital.
Campaign sign I photographed on a Main Street recycling bin
So, I’m trying to understand why the word fighting was chosen for a campaign slogan because it evokes a definite feeling of animosity and makes people think somehow educators and parents are enemies or are on opposite sides.
Few things could be more detrimental to a child’s educational success than ongoing conflict between home and school.
A promise is being made to fight for parental rights in four areas.
Parents must be informed about the curriculum being studied.
Currently, any parent who wants to know what their child is studying can look at the province’s curriculum website which has readily accessible and well-organized curriculum documents for all grades. They can also check the schoolwork their kids bring home or visit the classroom.
As a general rule, teachers almost always reach out to parents to discuss their child’s behavioural changes at school- image from the National Education Association website
Parents must be informed of behaviour changes like bullying at school.
Most teachers I know instinctively reach out to parents about bullying and other changed behaviours because parental cooperation is vital to finding constructive solutions.
Of course, teachers have a legal and professional responsibility to not disclose information about behaviourchanges to parents if they suspect it could be detrimental to the child’s well-being.
Parents must be given advance notice about speakers who are invited into classrooms and give permission for their child’s photo to be taken.
Author visit at Munroe Schoolin Winnipeg
As an author of children’s books I get invited to schools as a speaker regularly and I know parents have almost always been informed about my visit. It’s noted on the school or classroom website, calendar, social media, or electronic newsletter.
On most of my visits, the teachers take photos of me with the kids but they always first ask students whose parents have requested they not be photographed to step aside.
I have no problem with a future Manitoba government enshrining these four reasonable rights formally in the Public Schools Act.
But they won’t need to fight to do this, since these rights are already being respected by almost all schools and teachers. There is absolutely no need to be confrontational.
There are parental rights that should receive politicians’ attention in this election campaign, rights that are definitely worth fighting for.
The right of parents to have jobs that pay a living wage so they can house and feed their children.
The right of parents to expect their children will have fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink and green spaces to explore.
The right of parents to be assured no matter their child’s race, religion, culture, gender identity or sexual orientation they will feel accepted and respected in their community.
Which political party will engage in the most vigorous ‘fight’ for these important and crucial parental rights is something to consider carefully as we cast our votes in the provincial election tomorrow.
I voted yesterday and what a pleasant experience it was. The closest advance voting station for me was just a short walk away from my condo in the beautiful Chinese Cultural Centre on King Street. I followed the clear path of signs to the voting room.
“Is this where I vote?” I asked poking my head through the door.
“Yes it is! Welcome here. We are so happy to see you.” The five poll workers greeted me warmly and enthusiastically.
One processed the voting card I’d brought with me and gave me a ballot with instructions. She was smiling the whole time. After I’d voted another woman explained carefully how she was feeding my ballot into a machine that would count my vote. She gave me a sticker for my jacket that said I’d voted.
Two other poll workers stood at the door as I left. “Thanks for coming.” they said.
The whole thing took less than five minutes.
I thought of news stories I’d seen of voting in other countries where people have to travel long distances to vote, wait in long lines, show multiple forms of identification and sometimes even endure threats and intimidation as they wait to vote. How easy it was for me in comparison to be part of the democratic process.
Voting is ‘a piece of cake’ here in Manitoba. I hope everyone takes advantage of that either on or before October 3.
What Next? 