Adventures in Mama-Land

You know that saying about how history is written by the victors? That usually doesn't include us Jews. You've heard of Wyatt Earp, right?  But probably not of Charles Strauss, the Jewish mayor of Tucson who was among the law-abiding citizens whom Earp and his brothers tried to terrorize in 1882. And you've probably never heard of Strauss's daughter Josephine, "Tucson Jo," either.  That's okay, though.  Because she's a fictional character in a recreated Tucson of 1882 written by Canadian children's writer Carol Matas. I'm proud to introduce you to Tucson Jo , the book (it’s pronounced TOO-son, like the city), as part of the book's blog tour.  The tour is going on all week long at various undisclosed locations around the internet. Although Tucson Jo is fictitious, Matas - who's written 45 books for kids and young adults - has researched her story meticulously and woven Jo's life around actual historical events of the perio...

Agree or disagree?  What do you think of this message that’s been floating around for a day or two on facebook: "When you interrupt a girl’s school day to force her to change clothes or to send her home because her shorts are short, or her bra straps are visible, you are telling her that hiding her body is more important than her education. You are telling her that making sure the boys have a distraction-free learning environment is more important than her education. You are telling her that boys are more entitled to an education than she is. ” Doesn’t it depend on what you’re telling the boys?  And doesn’t this presuppose that there are boys in the school in the first place?? What are you telling the boys? My daughter went to school for 12 years where she could be sent home if she was inappropriately dressed.  But then again, so did my son (albeit, at the end, to a school with slightly different standards – I have to include this disclaimer in case one of them s...