#Choices Creates

[visenyaism]

do you have any ideas about why so many students are struggling with literacy now? I know that illiteracy and reading comprehension have been issues for years and most americans read at like a 5th grade reading level but I’m curious why it seems to be worse now (pandemic? no child left behind?)

It is everything. There’s not one answer. I could talk about this forever so instead I set a five minute timer on my phone and wrote a list of as many of the many things that are causing this on a systemic level that I could think of:

It’s parents not reading with their kids (a privilege, but some parents have that privilege to be able to do this and don’t.)

It’s youtube from birth and never being bored.

It’s phasing out phonics for sight words (memorizing without understanding sounds or meaning) in elementary schools in the early aughts.

It’s defunding public libraries that do all the community and youth outreach.

It’s NCLB and mandating standardized tests which center reading short passages as opposed to longform texts so students don’t build up the endurance or comprehension skills.

It’s NCLB preventing schools from holding students back if they lack the literacy skills to move onto the next grade because they can’t be left behind so they’re passed on.

It’s the chronic underfunding of ESL and Special Ed programs for students who need extra literacy support.

It’s the cultural devaluing of the humanities in favor of stem and business because those make more money which leads to a lot of students to completely disregard reading and writing.

It’s the learning loss from covid.

It’s covid trauma manifesting in a lot of students as learned helplessness, or an inability to “figure things out” or push through adversity to complete challenging tasks independently, especially reading difficult texts.

It’s covid normalizing cheating and copying.

It’s increasing phone use.

It’s damage to attention span exacerbated by increased phone use that leaves you without an ability to sit and be bored ever without 2-3 forms of constant stimulation.

It’s shortform video becoming the predominant form of social media content as opposed to anything text-based.

It’s starting to also be generative AI.

It’s the book bans.

what did I miss.

[wojtekaneko]

That's how it went

[hinamie]

new official illust of them with puppies healed something in me

[fucklestat]

i know it's been said many times before but i will never get over how jacob anderson, a british man with a british accent, not only nailed a louisiana creole accent but also developed a studiously (almost eerily) generic accent that louis uses in the present AND showed the first accent bleeding into the second accent at key moments as a way of aurally externalizing his character's inner journey. what did god put in this man when she created him.

[bluecrocss]

Adult PJO fans: "I can't relate to her if she doesn't look like me" "this is disrespectful to book!Annabeth" "I can't see her as the same character if she's black" "blonde, white women are soooo underrepresented in media. No one else can understand 😫"

Meanwhile, the actual demographic the show and books are for:

(@/walkersriptide_ on TikTok)

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Caveats in the tags.

[amis127]

Jammer's arc this season is making me think of Lou's genius take on Pinocchio as a metaphor for the struggles of Black boyhood and WHEW!!

That constant impossible pressure on his shoulders as he enters adulthood. The way he talks about taking care of his mom and life back home. THE GOAT HOOF COMING OFF HIS CHEST?? Jammer could very easily be my younger brother and so many young guys I know and boy howdy let me tell y'all I burst into tears thinking about all the goat hoofs on all their chests

On a related note, there's something about people (including Sam in this too) who make others feel welcomed that gets overlooked so often - where does that desire come from? Why do you think a charismatic person would prioritize community if it comes so easily to them? I think folks see the "quantity" (so to speak) of the community created and don't consider the quality of those relationships. And yeah you can't ignore the racial aspect of this. The sort of unexamined "this is my Black friend" vibe they are up against in their lives. Jammer and Sam are not just being kind good hearted people. They are searching for something substantive and I really need them both to have moments that let them dig into why that is soon.

[mellosdrawings]

Twst X Descendants

*clears throat*

LOOK AT MY WIFE Y'ALL!!!

Evie is the best character in Descendants and I will fight anybody who says otherwise!

And best chara design goes to Uma coz seriously, look at her. She's the best. She should have a crown.

(Bonus)

[ryllen]

appearance wise, at least

[strawlessandbraless]

lol, ya… (just noticed how they’re boardered by blue and green 💙 💚)

[comicaurora]

You seem to be working very hard so here, have this silly thing. As a treat.

we can't just mash up Derin and Erin like this. the names are too close and everyone's going to get confused

[yuurionviktor]

Gonna finish Gideon one soon, but for now you can have this Harrow

[mobius-m-mobius]

Maybe he wants to mix it up. Sometimes you get tired of playing the same part. Is that possible? He can change?

The Avengers (2012) // Loki (2021 - )

[lazycranberrydoodles]

i think the barbie movie would have a profound psychological impact on hua cheng

prev comic / next comic / follow for still more hualian barbie movie content because i am not done

bonus angsty version 🎉 i hate love expressions just a couple tiny lines on the mouth and eyebrows and it goes from silly to sad

:(

[starbuck]

the thing is, i love The Narrative, but i also absolutely adore a truly character-focused tragedy where everyone’s downfall is caused not by larger narrative forces, but by hundreds of tiny decisions made by characters who, despite their best efforts, just suck.

[squeakadeeks]

im gonna. yartz. my sewing machine finally broke. honestly it was a pretty bad machine, one of the models that was super flimsy like the ez-bake oven equivalent of a sewing machine. one of the plastic parts warped and wont fit with the other cogs anymore.

so uuuhhhhhhhh hope you guys have been liking. my weird bad art cause thats literally all i will be able to do for a w h i l e

[casscainmainly]

I was going to make a post about how Duke is the only Robin Dick chose but then I remembered that Alfred actually chose him first. Then I remembered that Alfred chose Damian, too, by handing him the suit first in Battle for the Cowl. Then I remembered that Alfred also helps convince Bruce to make Tim Robin. So Alfred essentially chooses/endorses every Robin post-Jason, and weirdly has more of a say in the Robin legacy than either Dick or Bruce.