Help support New York City public school libraries!

From now until October 8th, more than 80 stores in 250 locations across New York City will be supporting the city’s public school libraries as part of the Shop for Public Schools program. Shop for Public School is a program developed by NYC nonprofit The Fund for Public Schools, in partnership with the city’s retail community. Stores of all shapes and sizes are participating -- from major chains, to luxury boutiques, to the coffee shop on the corner.

There’s something for everyone -- visit www.shopforps.org to find listings of participating stores, special events, offers, and more.

One event you won't want to miss on Sunday: Parenting's marquee event at CitiBabes in Soho with our partner Alex & Sam, a philanthropically minded gift boutique. Laurie Berkner will perform, Amy Robach, co-anchor of the Today Show Weekend will host, and you'll get to meet our editor-in-chief, Susan Kane! There will be tons of family activities, including a surprise celebrity appearance!

Time: 11AM - 4PM
Date: Sunday, October 4th
Location: Citibabes Soho Club, 52 Mercer St., 3rd Floor
Tickets/RSVP: $20 per family

You can also follow the latest on the program and hear about what The Fund for Public Schools is doing by becoming a Fan on Facebook or following them on Twitter

Together we can make a difference in our schools!

 

Readers of Parenting School Years know that Mom Congress has been beating the drum to fix No Child Left Behind and it's over-reliance on standardized tests. So when I saw the op-ed in the New York Times today written by Todd Farley, a testing-industry insider, I just had to share it. You should have the pleasure of reading his piece in its entirety, but just so you know what you're in for, here's a little excerpt:

"A couple of years ago I supervised a statewide reading assessment test. My colleague and I were relaxing at a pool because we believed we’d already finished scoring all of the tens of thousands of student responses. Then a call from the home office informed us that a couple of dozen unscored tests had been discovered. Because our company’s deadline for returning the tests was that day, my colleague and I had to score them even though we were already well into happy hour."

Farley had the courage to reveal a part of the system most of us would never see. Now it's our turn to do something about it. How has the stress and pressure of testing affected your child and school? Share your story here, and if you haven't already, sign Parenting's petition to fix NCLB once and for all.

More than 40% of private sector workers have no paid sick leave, and until last week, that's been perfectly fine with our government. But now we finally have a real shot at getting this essential benefit mandated thanks to the Healthy Families Act. MomsRising.org, one of Parenting's Mom Congress partners, has been working hard on getting this issue some serious attention and we hope you'll join forces with us to get this bill passed! It has its first congressional hearing TOMORROW, so please act fast! Here's the latest from MomsRising:

"Right now there is no law that guarantees people the right to earn paid sick days to take care of themselves or their children. In fact, the very industries where you would expect paid sick days to be required (to protect public health), like home health care providers, child care workers, and folks who work in restaurants and hotels, are the LEAST likely to have them. In today's economy, folks without paid sick days can't afford to follow the CDC's advice to stay home when they, or their children, are sick--and that puts everyone at risk of exposure to illness, whether it's swine flu or any other communicable disease.

Well guess what? Some of our Congressional Representatives listened! Just last week, they introduced the Healthy Families Act, which would allow people to earn paid sick days. But we need more Congresspeople on board with us. On Thursday, the Congressional Education and Labor Committee's Workforce Protections Subcommittee will be hosting a hearing on The Healthy Families Act. This bill would guarantee seven paid sick days per year for workers at businesses with 15 or more employees, to be used to recover from routine illness, care for a sick family member, or seek services to recover from domestic violence.

Now's the time to move this Act forward. Tell your Congressperson to support the Healthy Families Act today. Click here to send a letter right now!

Are you one of the millions without paid leave? Share the outrage and tell us how it's affected your family.

A totally hilarious, completely customized Mother of the Year video courtesy of MomsRising.org. You type in a name (your own!) and you'll get an instant "newscast" celebrating you in all of your glory. The best part is that the group makes it super easy for you blast customized videos to your best mom friends, too. It takes all of three seconds. Make one of your own, share the love...and know that you're mother of the year EVERY year!

By now you probably know that this week Apple launched—and then pulled two days later—an iPhone app called The Baby Shaker. The point? When you're getting annoyed by a screaming kid at a restaurant, at the store, on the plane you can gaily shake your phone and get a cartoon kid to shut up. The real child may still be hysterical, but hey, at least you had some fun. As the mom of a 3-year-old, it literally turns my stomach to even have to write those words. Apple finally issued an apology yesterday and the app's developer posted something even lamer. What still remains a mystery is how the geniuses reviewing iPhone apps even thought for a millisecond that such a game could ever be ok. This was a program that promoted CHILD ABUSE. Perhaps they, like as many as 50% of adults, have no idea how dangerous shaking a baby actually is. Maybe if they'd known that 25% of victims die or that the most common perpetrator is a male in his mid-20s (huh, the same group who might be tempted to download such an app), they would have thought twice.

Look, I'm a long-time fan of Apple. I love my Mac and my iPod. But something like this is inexcusable. I'm in full support of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation's open letter (below) and I hope you are, too.

For more information on shaken baby syndrome check out these resources:

Prevent Future Abuse
The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome
The 5-Second Tragedy

April 23, 2009

Open Letter To the Board of Directors of Apple, Inc. and AT, Inc.;

Within the last 72 hours America has seen the soul of your organizations and something is very wrong. Your companies are reporting record earnings and yet you are showing no signs of corporate responsibility.

As you know by now, Apple released an iPhone application on Monday which simulated and encouraged the shaking and killing of babies called "BABY SHAKER". As the father of a 3-year-old daughter who was shaken when she was only 5 days old, breaking 3 ribs, both collarbones and causing a severe brain injury, I was shocked, appalled and angered! As the Founder of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation, named after my daughter, with the mission to prevent pediatric acquired brain injury and to support the millions of children/young adults who suffer from the #1 leading cause of death and disability in the United States, the damage you have caused is immeasurable!

Apple displayed extreme recklessness in launching this application and the results were immediate and disturbing. Below are a few quotes from journalists and editors based on our press release yesterday who prove the seriousness of your actions. Go online and read the anonymous blog comments making fun of shaking a baby. The harm your organizations have caused in making light of harming and killing babies is enormous!

"I know! That baby shaker thing is so funny! We’ll mention your support in the review." - John Biggs, Editor-in-Chief, CrunchGear

"Uh, it’s a joke." - Ken Layne, Managing Editor, Wonkette.com

"Learn to take a joke." - Richard Nalley, Senior Editor, ForbesLife

"I couldn’t disagree with you more. The Apple App store is like a bookstore. It needs to be open to all the most repulsive ideas or we will have a regime of censorship. The next thing you know some corporate executive will decide that it is not politic to allow an app that furthers an idea you care deeply about." - Saul Hansell, Technology Reporter, The New York Times

While we are glad public outcry forced Apple to pull the application, the cynical way it was pulled without any explanation, any apology or any plans to rectify the damage they have already caused can only lead me to one explanation: this was a purposeful public relations effort coinciding with their campaign to promote their 1 billionth application download during Child Abuse Awareness Month and Shaken Baby Prevention week! The question I ask of you as fiduciaries of both Apple and AT is "How many babies is your 1 billionth application download worth?"

We have asked for a public apology from Steve Jobs and we would like one from Mr. Stephenson as well.

We would like a complete accounting as to who was responsible for the vetting and launching of this sick application.

We would like Apple and AT to develop a significant plan to reverse the damage they have caused.

Anything short of this will reinforce the belief this was a purposeful and cynical plan to reach a 1 billionth application download! As Directors of both of these companies you have a fiduciary and corporate responsibility and the authority to act immediately - we expect nothing less from you.

On behalf of the millions of families across this country who are dealing with a child who suffers from a pediatric acquired brain injury (PABI), we are demanding action.

If we do not receive an adequate response from Apple and AT by the time we begin our 15-city American PABI Tour on May 3rd (pabitour.com) to promote awareness and support families who are dealing with PABI) we will hold a demonstration in front of the Apple Store in all 15 cities.

Regards,

Patrick B. Donohue, Esq.
Founder, The Sarah Jane Brain Foundation
181 Broadway - Suite 300
New York, NY 10007
www.TheBrainProject.org