Ah warm weather...

...means the dress coding starts (yes, it's been verbed). Please note that Politico took this up today in their daily email, linking to this report on D.C. and this letter to a district in Florida.
And I read this before my own children came home with their reports from the first warm day in Worcester...

And while we're talking about how female students are treated inequitably, I know this report from Noble Charter Schools in Chicago has also been making the rounds, in case you thought period shaming only happened in other countries.

Imagine an entire elementary* school was kidnapped

...and it barely made the news.
That's about what has happened in Nigeria, where over 200 girls were kidnapped while at their school to take their final exams. They were kidnapped BECAUSE they were in school, taking their final exams, by a group that doesn't want women to be educated.
I'd recommend Mika McKinnon's (so angry she's swearing about it) post to get up to speed. About the only thing we can offer is collective public outrage, so I'd ask that you do that, too. If you're on Twitter, the hashtag they're using is #helpthegirls and #bringbackourdaughters.
They could be your daughters, or mine.


*that's how many. The girls are in secondary school.

"I even want education for your children as well"

In case you haven't already seen it, Malala Yousafzai was on Jon Stewart this week, talking about education.Well worth watching.

Got girls around interested in science?

This event  on Saturday, October 9th looks cool.

I'd never tell you not to buy your mom a card...

...but Nicholas Kristof today points out what the money we spend on Mother's Day could do for mothers (and children) everywhere:

Let me also add that your mom — yes, I’m speaking to you — is particularly deserving. (As is mine, as is my wife. And my mother-in-law!)

And because so many people feel that way, some $14 billion will be spent in the United States for Mother’s Day this year, according to the National Retail Federation. That includes $2.9 billion in meals, $2.5 billion in jewelry and $1.9 billion in flowers.

To put that sum in context, it’s enough to pay for a primary school education for all 60 million girls around the world who aren’t attending school. That would pretty much end female illiteracy.