Bloggers for Positive Global Change

I have been remiss!

I have been tagged in the last month for several memes and I have not dealt with any of them.


I have some excuses:

1) It's the "lazy, crazy days of summer" in the nothern hemisphere
2) I have had some stuff I really wanted to write about

3) I am working on a presentation I am giving at the New Mexico Javits Grant Gifted Conference


But today I opened my e-mail to find that Megan, of Imaginif and Homeschooling Aspergers has given me a meme that I really can't refuse.

It is the Bloggers for Positive Global Change award.

The meme is from Climate of Our Future, whose mission statement is:

"Our particular mission is no small task — changing the world we live in for the better — but we take great comfort in the fact that we’re not struggling alone to achieve this."

Over at Imagine If, Megan said this about my blog: "....In a single blog, she has taught me about American history and Judaism. Peaceful to her bones, this one woman oozes social understanding, acceptance of diversity and helpful knowledge beyond belief."

Wow! When I looked at the blogs she put me in company with, I am humbled. I mean, I'm just a "homeschool mom" with some things I want to say. I guess the best way to actually deserve this award is to point to blogs that I look to for inspiration and guidance. And I guess I'll have to come out of hiding about global climate change and science as well. Oh, boy!

So here goes--5 Blogs that I turn to for inspiration when I am feeling too small to make a difference:

Life Without School : This unique blog is put together by 13 "featured authors" who have their own blogs as well. They manage Life Without School as a "blogging community" that includes blogs about all aspects of homeschooling by guest authors, as well as pages and pages of information for anyone interested in homeschooling. The featured authors comprise a very diverse group and the blogging community allows for an even greater diversity of voices to be heard. This blog is an inspiration to me in many ways. They are voices for positive change.

Consent of the Governed : Homeschool mom turned activist and researcher, Judy provides a great deal of varied information about the legal issues involving homeschooling, as well as commentary on the educational establishment and government that keeps me thinking. She is also a researcher for National Home Education Legal Defense. Based in Connecticut, this is a non-sectarian alternative for those of us who want to pool our resources to preserve our freedom to educate our children ourselves.

Edie Neurolearning Blog : The Edies are on hiatus right now, due to illness in the family. They might not be posting for a while, but their blog is a magnificent resource for those of us educating children with learning differences. Through timely discussion and reviews of neuroscience papers, the Edies show us the wonderful diversity and potential among our developmentally different children. Posts like Gifted? Autistic? Quirky? - Embracing the Different , give readers a way to imagine each child as an individual with much to offer our world, if only we are willing to appreciate difference and nurture each child. These people are truly out to change the world on behalf of our gifted and neurodiverse children.

Nature Skills Blog : This blog is hosted by The Wilderness Awareness School in Duvall, Oregon. Hosted by students in the year-long nature awareness adult program, this blog teaches a variety of wilderness survival skills and links up with the NatureTalk Forum, for students in the various programs of the school. The whole Wilderness Awareness School community is a voice for positive global change in that it seeks to help us re-learn our link with the world of nature. We often act as if we are aliens on our own planet. The Wilderness Awareness School is one of several organizations that seeks to help us remember that we are children of our mother, the earth. For without that awareness, how can we be expected to change our relationship with her?

Junkfood Science : The mission statement of this blog is: "The truth about food, fat and health. Learn the science that mainstream media doesn't report and how to critically think about the junk they do that's not fit to swallow. Plus some food for thought." We live in a world in which one of the accepted prejudices has become intolerance against fat people. The powers that be would have you believe that all of us will be healthy if only we are emaciated as fashion models. at Junkfood Science, Sandy S., BSN, RN, CCP, keeps me up to date about the real science behind the propaganda put out by the diet industry. And she reminds me that human beings come in all shapes and sizes, and that this kind of diversity, like any other rooted in biology, is important for our health, happiness and our future as a species.

So there they are--five blogs that I think are voices for positive change in our world.

Check them out.

And here are the rules for the Bloggers for Positive Global Change Award:

1. When you get tagged, write a post with links to up to 5 blogs that you think are trying to change the world in a positive way.

2. In your post, make sure you link back to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.

3. Leave a comment or message for the bloggers you’re tagging, so they know they’re now part of the meme.

4. Optional: Proudly display the “Bloggers For Positive Global Change” award badge with a link to the post that you write up.