Weekend Reads: Lunch Shaming, My Son Wore a Dress and Nothing Happened, and Atheist Parenting in Kenya

Happy Weekend Readers! Sorry for the unforeseen delay in our link delivery schedule. Real life got mad busy unexpectedly. Or I’m bad at scheduling. Okay, we went to Kings Island amusement park and rode ALL OF THE RIDES and I completely forgot about you guys… sorry 🙂

A cafeteria worker in Pennsylvania recently quit in protest of the school district’s policy of shaming children whose parents fall behind on their lunch payments. 

In other shitty news (TW:child abuse,) a video shot by a passerby of a man with really bad parenting habits has gone viral. It’s a harrowing read, I’ll leave the details to Alternet.

My Son wore a dress for a month, nothing happened, writes George Knox at his blog Daddy Coping in Style. 

I can’t let my own fears about his social adjustment overshadow his passionate feelings and creativity.

Yes: there will (soon) come a time when social pressures will be hurtful.

Or not? It ain’t the Eisenhower years, anymore. Thank God. And we live in a pretty liberal neighborhood.

But perhaps he will be stronger than I ever would have been in letting criticism run off his back.

What I know for sure: he won’t feel confident if I’m not supportive.

As always: the social constraints are something I need to deal with.

Cuz my son’s perfectly fine with himself.

I need to be.

Activists and teachers worked for years to get Mexican American Studies into Texas schools, but they don’t want the book the board of education is set to endorse.

One passage titled “Ethnic Hostility” describes how in the late 1800s, when foreigners came to “develop” Mexico, the country’s citizens grew angry. This was, the book explains, because industrialists often brought their own workers, cutting out local Mexicans. The foreign companies did this because Mexicans couldn’t understand how to work jobs that required “more technological know-how” like in the mining and oil industry. But it was also because “stereotypically, Mexicans were viewed as lazy compared to European or American workers.” The passage, as you can see above in the picture, doesn’t provide much context. But it seems to be referencing the age of Porfirio Diaz, the Mexican president and dictator who ruled for 30 years and who kicked villagers off their land to rent out to foreign interests. This led to calls for agrarian land reform and, eventually, the 1910 Mexican Revolution. At the end of the passage, it again references the lackadaisical Mexican work ethic by referencing a “mañana” attitude toward chores, and to drinking on the job.

In nicer news, Childhood 101 introduces us to 5 great collections of free online books for kids. 

“I am not a devil worshipper” clarifies Kenyan rapper and mother Xtatic before yesterday’s Atheists in Kenya monthly gathering. The subject was atheist parenting… Cool!

Sex Ed without sex? A West Texas Christian crisis pregnancy center becoming deeply intertwined with the teaching of Sexual Education in public school classrooms. This is a development that should trouble us all.

This is a bit from the summer I just ran across. The excellent science fact checking podcast Science VS did an episode on the science of attachment parenting. Host Wendy Zukerman contributes to the growing trend of busting myths with science and humor. Well worth an addition to your podcast feed.

Kids review popular parenting hacks to hilarious effect…

Featured Image Credit: The Hellions, Snoopy and Woodstock at Kings Island by Blotz Photo Arts.