A is for Activist

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It is dispiriting to note that those to whom we have entrusted the education of our children in the primary and public schools are woefully under-educated practitioners of the discipline.In an article titled" Educational Rot," Walter Williams laments "the low academic quality of so many teachers."Williams is referring to the abomination of teacher training colleges, which recruit the dregs of the graduate schools, catering to candidates "who have the lowest academic test scores."The same applies to graduates of the gender studies programs in the universities, who, unfit for productive employment, often end up in the K-12 classroom.The damage such instructors do to the public school system and to our children is incalculable. Also, the jargon-y language, in action, served as great discussion prompts with some of the older kids in the room. (The older kids were not all 100% engaged in the book, but a few were, which I was not expecting.) We had some deep conversations.

A is for Activist – Innosanto Nagara

Het is vragen om oneindig veel problemen: dit is het eerste boek dat mijn vriendin aan mijn kind (en mij) voorlas. Mijn dochter is al gepredestineerd om groenlinks te gaan stemmen, en dit boek maakt die kansen er niet kleiner op. Als dit geen social justice warrior / university college / liberal arts / feminist / gutmensch wordt, dan weet ik het ook niet meer. Aan ons zal het niet gelegen hebben. A is for Activism, written and illustrated by Innosanto Nagara, was an amazing find! The art in the book is beautifully unique and it manages to keep my toddler's attention - which is quite a rarity these days. It's wonderful when I stumble across something engaging and educational. But he also thinks that if you are writing about people who have historically been harmed by dominant groups, your responsibilities to them as an author are great, and require a special level of care and consideration. The questions of representation that have upended Hollywood, television and politics in recent years are now hitting the world of children’s literature hard. Already this year, several young adult (YA) books have been pulled over representation concerns, following high-profile dustups. People want to publish books about Arab girls who are dealing with hijab, things like that,” Darraj said. “I want to show my characters living normal everyday life.”sprightly injunctions, sandwiched between bright cardboard covers, are a sampling from A Is for Activist a popular alphabet primer. The Cat in the Hat for a new generation… These and similar offerings seek to captivate a generation still too young and unformed to have acquired a name.”” Anyway, lovely book with a fun rhyming rhythm and an upbeat delivery: plus a recurring cat theme. A board book with inclusive, non-binary pronouns? Oh, hells yes! If anyone ever has babies again, this will become a standard gift from me. As the National Coalition Against Censorship's statement (see below)concludes: Freedom of expression ensures that we can meet the challenges of a changing world. That freedom is critical for the students who will lead the world in the years ahead. We must fight to defend it. #BooksNotBans I love the different topics that are touched upon: co-ops, grassroots, equal rights, LGBTQ, and peace marches. I feel like it could be a great way to introduce a child to these topics which could then lead into a deeper discussion if it piques their curiosity. My son is still too young to understand any of it, but he sees that I enjoy reading it to him and that makes him excited. It truly is a refreshing read! It's fun to read words that resonate and can be spoken passionately.

A Is for Activist - Wikipedia

There’s now a whole spread of children’s books responding directly to the political landscape and the phenomenon of Donald Trump. We saw a lot of great things come out of this project. A lot of teachable moments arose while we read and translated the text together, practiced signing their translations and filmed the story. For instance, translating English into ASL provided a lot of opportunities to explore the differences and similarities between the two languages. Children’s book author and illustrator Innosanto Nagara’s books encourage children to grow up with confidence in themselves, and to be proactive citizens who are passionate about causes from environmental issues to LGBTQ rights and civil rights. Born and raised in Indonesia, Inno moved to the US in 1988. After studying zoology and philosophy at UC Davis, Inno moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, working as a graphic designer for a range of social change organizations before founding the Design Action Collective, a worker-owned cooperative design studio. Inno lives in Oakland in a cohousing community with nine adults and eight kids.The alliteration, rhyming, and vibrant illustrations make the book exciting for children, while the issues it brings up resonate with their parents’ values of community, equality, and justice. This engaging little book carries huge messages as it inspires hope for the future, and calls children to action while teaching them a love for books. This imaginative and highly appealing children’s story, enlivened with brilliant artwork, focuses mainly on the shattering yet inspiring history of modern Indonesia, but has much broader resonance and outreach. Its lucid and powerful message is that ordinary people, with courage and dedication, can help create popular movements that change the world, even under the most onerous conditions. Lessons that could not be more pertinent for all of us today.” … Read More > Noam Chomsky Noam Chomsky

A is for Activist - Innosanto Nagara - Google Books

Dan Zanes(maker of 21st century all-ages music and the Grammy Award winning album Catch that Train!): I wish this beautiful and inspiring book was around when my daughter was young but fortunately there are plenty of cool children around today who will devour what Inno is serving up! Inno got his start as a student activist at UC Davis where he discovered his skills as a designer and photographer were effective contributions to organizing. After graduation he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where he worked as a freelance designer for a range of activist organizations and campaigns until he joined Inkworks Press Collective in 1995. It was during his time at Inkworks that he started developing the Graphic Design for Social Change principles that have guided his work ever since. In 2002 he launched Design Action Collective. Modeled after Inkworks, Design Action was to be a worker-owned collective union design and strategic communications firm dedicated to serving the Movement for Social Change. The following year, Inno proposed what was to become Designs on Democracy: Communication for Liberation—a national convening of design and communications activists aiming to share strategies and build community.Such numbers are particularly problematic in the realm of children’s books, where artistic expression lives alongside educational imperative. Inno in front of his Shifting Perspectives mural at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Photo by Tommy Lau We teach at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES), which is a federally funded school serving Deaf and Hard of Hearing students from birth to 8th grade. KDES is located on Gallaudet University’s campus in Washington D.C. Our curriculum follows a bilingual approach that uses American Sign Language (ASL) and printed English as the languages of instruction. Over 70% of our students are of color, and we have several students whose home language is not English or ASL, including but are not limited to Arabic, Urdu, Spanish, Farsi, and Chinese. The number of minority characters and authors has been steadily climbing since 2014, with authors of color winning a growing number of awards, including the Newbery medal and the National Book award for young people in 2018. A is for Activist speaks to the possibilities of change, of proactive parenting, of creating community, and of celebrating our collective histories. This book is rad!" —Tomas Moniz, writer/editor Rad Dad, a zine on radical parenting