Posts

Life’s Choices – All About Perspective

Being on the “fun side” of the wall, as they put it here in Mexico, gives perspective to many issues going on in America.  Aside from being one of the most violent countries, Americans are also so politicized we can’t see the depth of an issue before us. Not to make this a red vs. blue or an us vs. them, I think women need to step back and look at many things happening and put it all in perspective. No matter where you stand with pro-choice or pro-life, it isn’t as simple as that. When Roe v. Wade was enacted, it wasn’t just about abortion. It was about the right to privacy. A woman’s right to have control over her own body. Before the law, a husband could forcibly have sex with his wife, and it still took time for some states to enforce it. Men could hit their wives and not be held accountable. Fathers could molest daughters, and mothers could do nothing about it. Or if they took matters into their own hands,  they  were held accountable to laws put in place by ou...

Blog #1 Introductions

Follow my lead... Introduce yourself: where you're from, what your interests are (hobbies, studies, travels, etc.), and one thing that makes you  truly exceptional (steal from what you came up with in class on Monday) . The word has a connotation when coupled with special education, but truly over 87% of us are exceptional in some way (I just feel bad for the 13% who are not!). Exceptionalities range from diagnoses like ADD to shyness, gifted to struggling reader, the autism spectrum, hyper-sensitive to apathetic -- we will explore a lot of them! But please understand up front that being exceptional is not only negative: it can be an asset. This class will be about making your classroom accommodating and inclusive for ALL learners! So here goes! I'm Dr. Barri Bumgarner (Dr. Bum, as most call me), and I'm originally from southwest Missouri. I grew up in Lebanon, got my B.S. in Ed. at Missouri State (then SMSU), and I played tennis and basketball while in college. After g...