Shaka and I were named to Style Weekly’s 2014 40 Under 40 List for our advocacy and service in the Richmond area. I’m honored to be listed among such dynamic leaders, who are working to advance a variety of important causes. The diversity of the honorees inspires me. It reminds me that we each have a contribution to make to the world that no one else can make–and that we fulfill our unique potential when we actively work to align our daily actions with our values and vision.
Read the article for more on our efforts to find creative, collaborative ways to make early childhood education attainable for all families, regardless of income.
Dear Maya,
How do you stop putting everyone else’s needs and happiness before your own, yet still be considered a caring person/mom?
“Selfish” in Seattle
Dear “Selfish” in Seattle,
I wish I had a magic solution for this one, but the truth is that there’s not much you can do to make sure that others consider you a caring person or mom. No matter how hard you work or how much you give, others may still judge you harshly any time your desires come into conflict with theirs. So you’re better off deciding for yourself what’s self care and what’s self absorption and then developing the confidence to shake off negative opinions. In my experience, most mothers (working or not) lean heavily into the over-guilt, under-self-care side of the equation.
Dear Maya,
How do you stop putting everyone else’s needs and happiness before your own, yet still be considered a caring person/mom?
“Selfish” in Seattle
Dear “Selfish” in Seattle,
I wish I had a magic solution for this one, but the truth is that there’s not much you can do to make sure that others consider you a caring person or mom. No matter how hard you work or how much you give, others may still judge you harshly any time your desires come into conflict with theirs. So you’re better off deciding for yourself what’s self care and what’s self absorption and then developing the confidence to shake off negative opinions. In my experience, most mothers (working or not) lean heavily into the over-guilt, under-self-care side of the equation.
“We’re in a society where we have to justify play. But play reminds you of your better self and how happy you can be. In play, there’s a wonderful lightness of being.”
–Nadia Stieglitz, founder, Mice At Play
Normally, I’m not a big Halloween person, but this year I felt like dressing up–mostly because Zora got a costume box for her birthday that came with a witch’s hat just my size. It’s way too big for her head, but it’s the perfect size to fit over my afro puff.
Truth be told, I wear this hat around the house all the time, not just on witchy holidays. Something about it immediately frees me from the pressure of my own seriousness. Maybe it’s the gray weave that’s stitched into the hat that keeps things light. In any case, I can’t help but smile when I’m wearing it. Continue reading “Make Every Day a Play Day”
“We’re in a society where we have to justify play. But play reminds you of your better self and how happy you can be. In play, there’s a wonderful lightness of being.”
–Nadia Stieglitz, founder, Mice At Play
Normally, I’m not a big Halloween person, but this year I felt like dressing up–mostly because Zora got a costume box for her birthday that came with a witch’s hat just my size. It’s way too big for her head, but it’s the perfect size to fit over my afro puff.
Truth be told, I wear this hat around the house all the time, not just on witchy holidays. Something about it immediately frees me from the pressure of my own seriousness. Maybe it’s the gray weave that’s stitched into the hat that keeps things light. In any case, I can’t help but smile when I’m wearing it. Continue reading “Make Every Day a Play Day”
Months ago, I interviewed Katie Meyler, founder of a nonprofit devoted to getting girls off the street and into school in Liberia. I was so impressed by her story, and the magnitude of her efforts to serve destitute girls, that I held onto my notes, intending to write a long feature about her.
The former education reporter in me wanted to collect more data, visit the school, interview students, and see for myself the impact this one passionate woman makes. In short, I wanted to write something that would do Katie’s work justice.
Then Ebola hit and I learned never to put off sharing a good story as soon as I hear it. Below is a Q&A from my call with Katie. (Better late than never!)
Continue reading “How Katie Meyler Fights for Girls in Liberia”Here’s my confession. I buy 90% of my books from Amazon (gulp!), even as I diligently link to Indiebound.org on my blog to spur readers to shop indie. I have not been walking the walk. Blame it on Prime or One-Click or the 2,000-employee fulfillment center one county over (which I visited — witness the addiction). The speedy delivery is alluring, addictive even. I’ve pondered using a site-blocking app to force alignment of my indie spirit and my buying habits, but Amazon’s mammoth selection of obscure titles by diverse authors is something I can’t part with.
Still, the indie book shops beat Amazon on two things I really value–building local literary community and making it easy to discover less-known local authors. Amazon’s advanced search is great if you know author names already, but you’re in the lurch if you’re looking for an author who writes from a particular locale. By contrast, local booksellers and librarians often have homegrown authors on the tips of their tongues.
Continue reading “Can Reading Local Cure My Amazon Addiction?”
Here’s my confession. I buy 90% of my books from Amazon (gulp!), even as I diligently link to Indiebound.org on my blog to spur readers to shop indie. I have not been walking the walk. Blame it on Prime or One-Click or the 2,000-employee fulfillment center one county over (which I visited — witness the addiction). The speedy delivery is alluring, addictive even. I’ve pondered using a site-blocking app to force alignment of my indie spirit and my buying habits, but Amazon’s mammoth selection of obscure titles by diverse authors is something I can’t part with.
Still, the indie book shops beat Amazon on two things I really value–building local literary community and making it easy to discover less-known local authors. Amazon’s advanced search is great if you know author names already, but you’re in the lurch if you’re looking for an author who writes from a particular locale. By contrast, local booksellers and librarians often have homegrown authors on the tips of their tongues.
Continue reading “Can Reading Local Cure My Amazon Addiction?”
Vote Smart in the 2015 Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge. Shaka has again selected FRIENDS Association for Children as his partner agency, and your support could generate $100,000!
Vote now and come back every day––Round 1 ends January 25!
Vote Smart in the 2015 Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge. Shaka has again selected FRIENDS Association for Children as his partner agency, and your support could generate $100,000!
Vote now and come back every day––Round 1 ends January 25!
I think books need some cheerleading these days as gift options for kids. They aren’t (usually) shiny, they don’t (hopefully) make noise and they require some work to enjoy. Nevertheless, books are homerun gift picks because they position literacy as something to be treasured.
We recently attended a toddler birthday party where the parents distributed books as party favors instead of the usual candy/toy mix. My three-year-old daughter Zora has pretend-read “Curious George’s Birthday Surprise” every day since. She narrates the pictures and drags her finger along the text as if reading. Something about getting a wrapped book tied with a balloon captured her attention. She’s not yet reading, but the groundwork for it has been laid in her literacy-rich home and reinforced at school and among friends. She’s well on her way. Every child should be so lucky.
I think books need some cheerleading these days as gift options for kids. They aren’t (usually) shiny, they don’t (hopefully) make noise and they require some work to enjoy. Nevertheless, books are homerun gift picks because they position literacy as something to be treasured.
We recently attended a toddler birthday party where the parents distributed books as party favors instead of the usual candy/toy mix. My three-year-old daughter Zora has pretend-read “Curious George’s Birthday Surprise” every day since. She narrates the pictures and drags her finger along the text as if reading. Something about getting a wrapped book tied with a balloon captured her attention. She’s not yet reading, but the groundwork for it has been laid in her literacy-rich home and reinforced at school and among friends. She’s well on her way. Every child should be so lucky.
She wrote consistently, press releases and such, but not in the format or for the audience she preferred. Caught in a cycle of “almost writing,” it was her reading life that nudged her to go pro with the kind of writing she loved. Observing other authors telling Latino stories gave her inspiration and confidence to tell some of her own. Ten years later, she’s the award-winning author of four books for children and young adults, with a fifth on the way.
Continue reading “Meg Medina on Building The Courage to Write”
She wrote consistently, press releases and such, but not in the format or for the audience she preferred. Caught in a cycle of “almost writing,” it was her reading life that nudged her to go pro with the kind of writing she loved. Observing other authors telling Latino stories gave her inspiration and confidence to tell some of her own. Ten years later, she’s the award-winning author of four books for children and young adults, with a fifth on the way.
Continue reading “Meg Medina on Building The Courage to Write”
Sometimes the best thing an emergency room doctor can give a kid is a book. In a world where low-income children hear 30 million fewer words than more affluent peers, literacy’s the true life-saver. Sutures and IVs can do only so much to address the aftermath of poverty—violence, drugs and abuse—that accounts for so many ER visits.
Just ask Dr. Robin Foster, chief of pediatric emergency services at VCU Medical Center, who says she makes as much impact with social engagement as with medical intervention. Foster helped found in-hospital programs dedicated to child advocacy, youth violence prevention and literacy–all with the goal of reducing the need for emergency services by nipping issues before they reach crisis levels.
Read on to see how Foster and her colleagues promote early literacy and school readiness as a site of Reach Out and Read, a national program that integrates children’s books and parental advice into medical visits.
Continue reading “When Books Are the Best Medicine: Fostering Literacy in the ER”
Sometimes the best thing an emergency room doctor can give a kid is a book. In a world where low-income children hear 30 million fewer words than more affluent peers, literacy’s the true life-saver. Sutures and IVs can do only so much to address the aftermath of poverty—violence, drugs and abuse—that accounts for so many ER visits.
Just ask Dr. Robin Foster, chief of pediatric emergency services at VCU Medical Center, who says she makes as much impact with social engagement as with medical intervention. Foster helped found in-hospital programs dedicated to child advocacy, youth violence prevention and literacy–all with the goal of reducing the need for emergency services by nipping issues before they reach crisis levels.
Read on to see how Foster and her colleagues promote early literacy and school readiness as a site of Reach Out and Read, a national program that integrates children’s books and parental advice into medical visits.
Continue reading “When Books Are the Best Medicine: Fostering Literacy in the ER”
Instead, I found the same old, same old: an overwhelmingly white and male list. It featured just three women authors — Harper Lee, Margaret Atwoood, L.M. Montgomery. Haruki Murakami and Alexandre Dumas the lone people of color.
Irritated, I replied: “I hope this is a first draft and you plan to do some soul searching about the bias you just put on blast.” I wrongly assumed that the whitewashed list, like so many others every year, was a sole author’s creation. Turns out, the real origin was more interesting. Time reprinted a Business Insider article summarizing a Reddit thread that asked, “What is a book that everyone needs to read at least once in their life?”
A. Reddit. Thread. Continue reading “On Protesting Whitewashed Reading Lists”
Instead, I found the same old, same old: an overwhelmingly white and male list. It featured just three women authors — Harper Lee, Margaret Atwoood, L.M. Montgomery. Haruki Murakami and Alexandre Dumas the lone people of color.
Irritated, I replied: “I hope this is a first draft and you plan to do some soul searching about the bias you just put on blast.” I wrongly assumed that the whitewashed list, like so many others every year, was a sole author’s creation. Turns out, the real origin was more interesting. Time reprinted a Business Insider article summarizing a Reddit thread that asked, “What is a book that everyone needs to read at least once in their life?”
A. Reddit. Thread. Continue reading “On Protesting Whitewashed Reading Lists”
