A character in a video game becomes self-aware (conscious knowledge of one’s own thoughts, feelings, and actions) and now cannot be controlled by the player. What happens?
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Archive for June, 2021
Podcast: How to Face the Facts When Discussing Politics with Sharon McMahon
When it comes to politics, keeping your facts straight can feel nearly impossible. It seems as if every outlet has some political bias, and misinformation can run rampant on social media and take hold of millions without question. That’s why critical thinking — especially in this realm — is incredibly important.
Sharon McMahon of SharonSaysSo has so much to teach me — and all of us — about government, history, and whales. She’s a former high school government and law teacher who earned a reputation as “America’s Government teacher” amidst the historic 2020 election proceedings for her viral efforts to educate the general public on political misinformation.
Through a simple mission to share non-partisan information about democracy, Sharon launched her Instagram account to explain the facts without the political bias and clickbait that often go along with them. Her community of governerds have raised over 1.3 million dollars for people with needs and to relieve medical debt. She’s here to discuss the art of critical thinking.
In this podcast episode, we talk about the importance of unpacking biases, how to identify facts, when to defer to the experts, and how to think like a scientist.
Listen to the Podcast
Show Notes
Facing the Facts
There’s a lot of debate about what a fact actually is. Part of being a fact is that it really happened, which seems obvious. It should also be substantiated by multiple sources. It’s when you choose to interpret those facts in a certain way that things become more complicated. That’s when bias creeps in.
Bias does not negate the facts, but when it comes with an interpretation that is not our own, our job is to separate the fact from the bias and come to our own conclusions.
(more…)“Mom, I think writing is my best subject.”
Here’s the next installment of our ongoing series where we share testimonies of some who’ve been transformed by their online class experience with Brave Writer. Enjoy!
Brave Writer parent, Carrie, writes:
What class(es) are you giving feedback on today?
Brave Writer 102: Stress-Free Revision
Tell us a bit about your student.
My son Joey is 14. He is the 6th of my 7 children. He is very soft-spoken and struggles with academics. He loves Legoes and building models and figures, playing video games, going fishing, and taking walks in the woods with his mom.
Tell us a bit about you.
I am a mom to 7 and so far have homeschooled 4 of them through high school; I’m still blessed to be awaking a love of learning in my youngest 3 children. I was a former public school teacher who began homeschooling 23 years ago. I love reading, teaching, and taking walks in the woods. I love learning new things and recently started taking painting classes which is helping me overcome a fear of art I developed 40 years ago in the 8th grade when exploring my artistic side challenged my GPA.
When your student entered our class, how would you describe your student as a writer? Were there ongoing writing challenges?
Joey has always struggled with the physical act of writing and didn’t like to write because it was laborious for him. He tended to write simplistically, far below his level of thought or vocabulary. He dutifully worked to “get done.” He didn’t ever want to re-think his writing because he had already put in so much time and energy into having gotten the writing complete. As a former middle school Language Arts teacher unable to help her own son, I felt like I was failing him.
What was your experience with the class?
When we started this class, I hoped to just be able to help Joey get a more positive feeling for the art of revising. What we got was so much more. I saw my son smiling as he was writing and I have NEVER seen that. He was so very proud of working to make his memory into a lie. He put his sense of humor into his piece. He struggles so much academically and is so quiet by nature that I didn’t know he even had this creative, fun sense of humor. His teacher told him she nearly spit out her tea laughing when she read his description his wit shown through. I saw my son, who always struggles, shine. The biggest payoff was when he told me, “Mom, I think writing is my best subject.” Those are words I never thought I’d hear!
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
I loved this class!!!!!!!
Caregivers Need Care Too
Caregivers need care too. It’s how you keep going. In the trying (which is right and noble and good), stand up for you too. You matter as much to the whole system as all the people you love and serve freely every day.
So much talk about self care and whether it’s selfish or not. Some religious communities talk about self care as “rest.” However you want to define it, this is what it means to me.
The only person who will ever go to bat for you, all the way to the mat, is you. No one else has your best interests in mind the way your own biological imperative does—your brain and heart that want to crank out all your minutes together to keep you steady on your feet and able to meet life’s demands.
It’s a betrayal of that trust you’ve established with your biology when you:
- are over-tired,
- eat poorly,
- let someone mistreat you,
- over-extend for another person at a cost to your health and well-being.
On the flip side, when you have energy, when your heart feels light and alive, when you have realistic expectations, when you treat yourself with loving-kindness, you are a MUCH better parent, friend, and partner.
So here’s what I mean when I say a caregiver needs care too—honor your pact with your heart and your mind. Make sure they have what they need to sustain your life! That’s not selfish. It’s not sinful. It’s not wrong. It’s the deal you made the day you were born. Between 0-12 months, you were so committed to that goal, you wailed like your life depended on it (because it did) to ensure you were cared for properly.
Return to that memory now and be your own best parent—respond to the silent cries with:
- nourishment,
- a change of scene,
- intellectual stimulation,
- compliments,
- and a nap.
It will do you a world of good.
This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!
Friday Freewrite: Speaking in Rhyme
Suddenly, you can only speak in rhyme! Describe how your daily conversations go.
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