October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and there are lots of great resources to use in supporting children and teens who are being bullied. We have several books, including First Day in Grapes, Willie Wins, and Chess Rumble. The Department of Health has a Stop Bullying Now site, and the National Center for Bullying has its Kids Against Bullying site; both feature games, videos, and information aimed at elementary-school kids. There’s a brand-new resource for gay, lesbian, bi, and transgender teens: the It Gets Better Project, a collection of videos—most recorded by ordinary people, but also including videos by Hillary Rodham Clinton, President Obama, and other celebrities—encouraging young people to hold on and live, because life gets better after high school. We hope you’ll share your favorite resources in comments.
Under cultural pressure of their own are young Palestinian girls who surf on the beaches of the Gaza strip. Sarah Topol at The Atlantic wrote an article about spending time with these girls, who are cautiously breaking gender barriers, and her experience as the first adult woman anyone has seen surf on that beach.
Intercultural interaction is nothing new, but we do continually find new things to learn about its history. The BBC brings us a look at a find from an archeological dig on the east coast of Kenya: a medieval Chinese coin, suggesting a successful Chinese expedition to eastern Africa in the early fifteenth century. It’s a fascinating window into the past, more open than we often like to believe.
From history to the near future: we’re heading for the weekend. Enjoy!
