A Digital Companion

From The Daily Good -

Now Your Friends Can Keep You Safe by Digitally Walking You Home at Night

by Rafi Schwartz

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 August 21, 2015

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image via (cc) flickr user drewleavy

For many of us, the phrase “cell phone tracking” calls to mind images of police surveillance, or NSA snooping. There is, however, another side to our smartphone’s ability to pinpoint our every move. It’s one which, rather than compromise a user’s privacy, is ultimately intended to keep them safe, and secure.

It’s this sense of security which the makers of Companion, a new app for both iPhone and Android, hope to accomplish. 

 

image via companion 

It’s a fairly simple concept: People who are uncomfortable walking home alone at night can use the app to designate friends and family from their phone’s contact list as “companions”. Those companions monitor that user’s progress as they stumble home from a bar, walk through an unfamiliar neighborhood, or set out on any other potentially unsafe journey. When the person makes it home safely, their companion is notified, allowing everyone to sleep easy. The app also allows users to easily contact the police in case of an emergency, as well as checks in on the user if they determine something is amiss. 

Per Companion’s app store description:

All you have to do is enter your destination and select some contacts to be your Companion. They don't even need the app installed. These Companions see a live map of your progress and get updates as you make it from Point A to Point B. If you start running, don't make it to your destination on time, have your headphones yanked out or your phone falls to the ground, we will check in on you to make sure everything is okay. If you don't respond in 15 seconds, we will automatically alert your Companions.

You can also report areas on your campus that make you uneasy. Simply tap the "I Feel Nervous" button and we'll pass this information on to your campus police department. Don't worry, everything is anonymous. They won't respond with sirens or flashing lights, but they will work to make this area safer in the future.

If there's an emergency, you can call 9-1-1 from our app with just two taps. We will connect you to the closest dispatcher and provide them with your location.

In some ways, Companion can be seen as an extension of the same principal behind Apple’s popular “Find my iPhone” app: Using our smartphone’s GPS service to remotely track movement from a distance. Here, though, the service doesn’t simply help connect you to a lost item. Instead, it affords users the sense of comfort that comes with being among friends. 

Admittedly, there are likely some people who will find any type of location tracking, no matter how benevolent the intent, to be an uncomfortable invasion of privacy. Still, for those who worry about traveling by themselves, Companion may be a simple way to both feel secure, and get home safe. 

http://magazine.good.is/articles/companion-app-never-walk-home-alone

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/companion-never-walk-alone/id925211972?mt=8

Hot Stuff!

Subaru Dog Tested | Subaru Commercial | In the Dog House

Tips For Faster WiFi

Brown Gingers

I was reminded of a red-headed Arab fellow I met while reading this article.

From The Huffington Post -

Photographer Explores The Beautiful Diversity Of Redheads Of Color
Michelle Marshall captures the more unusual manifestations of the MC1R gene.

Priscilla Frank
Arts Writer, The Huffington Post

MICHELLE MARSHALL

Red hair is usually the result of a mutation in a gene called MC1R, also known as a melanocortin 1 receptor. Normally, when activated by a certain hormone, MC1R sparks a series of signals that leads to the production of brown or black pigment. Yet, in cases when both parents are carriers of the recessive MC1R gene and said receptor is mutated or antagonized, it fails to turn hair darker, resulting instead in a beautifully fiery buildup of red pigment.

As previously estimated by BBC News, between one and two percent of the world's population -- or 70 to 140 million people -- are redheads. In Scotland and Ireland, around 35 percent of the population carry the recessive gene that yields crimson locks, and the redhead count is around 10 percent. As such, the word ginger often calls to mind visions of Celtic-Germanic attributes -- namely, pale, white skin.

White skin and red hair may constitute the stereotypical image of a redhead, but it's by no means a comprehensive one. French-born, London-based photographer Michelle Marshall is documenting the stunningly diverse manifestations of the MC1R gene, particularly in people of color.

MICHELLE MARSHALL

"I am currently interested in documenting the incidents of the MC1R gene variant responsible for red hair and freckles, particularly amongst black and mixed raced individuals of all ages," Marshall wrote in an email to The Huffington Post.

"I want to stir the perception that most of us have of a ‘ginger' as a white caucasian individual, potentially of Celtic descent ... As we struggle with issues of immigration, discrimination and racial prejudice, Mother Nature, meanwhile, follows its own course, embracing society’s plurality and, in the process, shaking up our perceptions about origins, ethnicity and identity."

Marshall originally devised the project, which she referred to as a "visual census," to document different manifestations of freckles. Eventually, she refined the project, embarking on a mission to document as many Afro-Caribbean redheads as possible. All of Marshall's subjects thus far have been complete strangers who she has discovered through social media, word of mouth or running into each other on the streets.

 The close-up portraits document every freckle and stray hair, with every image, expanding the dominant, narrow understanding of what redheads can and should look like.

MICHELLE MARSHALL

The photographs and their subjects are undeniably stunning. However, the enchanting appeal of the images has its drawbacks. "A beautiful picture doesn't always relate what it's like to be different," Marshall said in an interview with Vice. "There's a flipside to being different: it's not always accepted. Beautiful photography serves one purpose, but in the context of daily life people may not have that reaction."

Model Natasha Culzac, who covered Marshall's project in Vice and posed for the photograph above, shared her personal experience growing up with red hair and dark skin.

"For me, growing up tall, mixed-raced, with thick, frizzy ginger hair, in a predominantly white, working-class seaside town was not the ticket. At 13 years old I was buying skin whitening cream from Boots to pulverize the freckles and at 14, during my Slipknot phase at the turn of the millennium, was violently straightening my newly-dyed black hair. Now, though, I couldn't care less and relish being unique."
Categorizations fall short. Stereotypes disappoint. Difference is beautiful. There is a lot to learn from Marshall's striking portraits, if we could only stop staring at them.

MICHELLE MARSHALL

MICHELLE MARSHALL

MICHELLE MARSHALL

MICHELLE MARSHALL

MICHELLE MARSHALL

MICHELLE MARSHALL

MICHELLE MARSHALL

MICHELLE MARSHALL

MICHELLE MARSHALL

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/photographs-redheads-of-color_55db9929e4b0a40aa3abf017?kvcommref=mostpopular

thingCHARGER

Riding While Black

Napa Valley Wine Train

(NEWSER) – Rarely has a train gone into reverse as abruptly as the Napa Valley Wine Train. After initially defending its decision to kick a mostly black women's book club off the train mid-journey for being too noisy, the company has issued a statement saying it was "100% wrong in its handling of the issue." Napa Valley Wine Train's CEO says he has offered the club 50 free passes and will give employees extra cultural sensitivity training, the AP reports. He admits it was "insensitive" to march the 11 women, the oldest of whom is 83, through several cars of the train before they got off at a station, where they were met by police. He also apologized for an "inaccurate" Facebook post that accused the women of abusing train staff, reports the Oakland Tribune.

Free passes or not, the leader of Sistahs on the Reading Edge club says she can't see the group joining another tour through California's wine country. "You can apologize, but you can't take away the experience we had," author Lisa Renee Johnson tells the Tribune. "We were still marched down the aisle of the train car to waiting police officers. I'm still traumatized by the whole experience." She believes racism was behind the ejection, and Slate reports that at least one other group had a similar experience: Nursing student Norma Ruiz says her all-Latino group was moved and told to quieten down or be kicked off the train during an April trip, even though she had seen all-white groups making just as much noise on a previous trip.

http://www.newser.com/story/211891/wine-train-sorry-for-kicking-black-women-off-tour.html?utm_source=8at8&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20150826

A Snapshot of Life in My World

Beach patrols stepped up to stop men taking 

pictures of sunbathing women

Nick Webster

August 24, 2015 Updated: August 25, 2015 02:45 PM

i

DUBAI // Police are stepping up their beach patrols to stop an increasing number of men taking pictures of sunbathing women.

Plain-clothes officers and security cameras will also be used to help maintain the privacy of women at the city’s beaches.

Beachgoers say many of the men they have approached while taking pictures with their smartphones have appeared to be unaware that it could lead to a fine, jail or deportation.

The problem is high on the agenda for Dubai Police, said the head of its maritime division, Maj Ali Al Naqbi.

“This is not our core business but we are working hard to stop this problem,” he said. 

“Some men pretend they are coming to take pictures of a famous building or the beach, when in fact they are taking photos of women instead.

“We can see the men who are not there to go for a swim or enjoy the beach. We can tell from their body language. We have seen so many cases. It is getting worse.”

Tourist safety officers, accompanied by police in kanduras or other civilian attire, regularly patrol public beaches to step in if necessary.

Police also patrol the sand and shoreline in marked vehicles and have advised people against bringing valuables, to minimise the risk of thefts.

“Some people bring two or three phones, cash and wallets to the beach. That is a risk, particularly if they are left on the beach when they go for a swim,” Maj Al Naqbi said.

Security cameras trained on beach areas are also linked to the nearest police station in Dubai Marina, which will enable officers to respond to any suspicious activity within minutes.

Natalina Morotti, 35, an Italian civil engineer who lives in The Greens, said: “I know that this is happening, I see it a lot. If anyone takes my photo without my permission I will ask them to stop.

“It is not dangerous but it makes me feel uncomfortable. It is a problem for a woman, but I do feel safe here and the police are always around.”

Mary-Grape de Castro, 29, from the Philippines, goes to the beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence or Jumeirah once a week.

“We came in after work and there were some men taking photos of us,” said Ms de Castro, who lives in Motor City.

“I asked them to stop and tell them they shouldn’t be doing this kind of thing. When I asked the man to delete the photo, he said he was just taking a picture of me from the side view. I told him it was my privacy and he should stop.”

Women who have been photographed without permission are advised to contact police with a description of the offenders.

Slovakian tourist Martina Stugiekoua, who was visiting Dubai for a week with her friends, said she was happy with the level of police protection.

“I feel safe here in Dubai and the beaches are very nice,” Ms Stugiekoua said. “There are lots of men on the beach. Some are in groups but it doesn’t seem to be a problem.

“If I see them trying to take photos of either me or my friends I will tell them to stop.”

Anyone who tries to take photos without permission will face penalties, Maj Al Naqbi said. 

“We have the authority by law to stop anyone from taking photos and check their cameras. Nobody can run away from the police.”

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/beach-patrols-stepped-up-to-stop-men-taking-pictures-of-sunbathing-women?utm_source=Communicator&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=&utm_campaign=Hundreds%20flee%20as%20clashes%20kill%203%20at%20Lebanese%20Palestinian%20camp

Another Village Idiot

 From Slate - 

ESPN Analyst Curt Schilling Compares Muslims to Nazi-Era Germans

By Ben Mathis-Lilley

Curt Schilling and the Phillie Phanatic at an Aug. 2 game. (The Phanatic is on the left.)

Hunter Martin/Getty

Update, 4:40 p.m.: ESPN has suspended Schilling, who says he accepts the network's decision. ESPN did not announce how long the suspension will last.

Original post, 2:19 p.m.: Former star major league pitcher Curt Schilling is, as they say, no stranger to controversy. He famously endorsed George W. Bush while playing for the Boston Red Sox in 2004. (Bush's opponent that year, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, won 62 percent of the vote in his home state.) After retiring he founded a video game company that collapsed and reportedly lost $75 million in taxpayer money. He's also just generally a disputatious kind of guy. Of all Schilling's ventures into public argumentation, none was as obviously an unforced error as this tweet, which he sent out Tuesday:

(Chris Lingebach is a D.C. sportswriter.)

This was an ill-advised move on Schilling's part for multiple reasons:

• The retweeted meme image itself is nonsense. For one, the idea that there are between 80 million and 160 million "extremists" in the population of 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide seems like an arbitrary, hard-to-prove claim.* (The idea might be related to a poll that showed somewhere around 12 percent of Muslims would under some circumstances support attacks against civilians.) For another, Nazi party membership is not synonymous with support for or particpation in Nazi activities; well over 7 percent of the population served in the German army under Hitler, for example. Finally, Germans elected the Nazis to power, but Muslims in general don't take votes on how ISIS and Hamas should behave. Obviously.
• Curt Schilling is not just a civilian; he's an analyst for ESPN, which might not appreciate one of its baseball commentators flying off the handle and insulting billions of people. (Then again, maybe he'll get a raise.)
• The immediate consequence of the tweet was that observers online—most prominently Aaron Gordon of Vice—noticed that Curt Schilling owns or has owned a bunch of Nazi memorabilia, some of which Schilling himself has described as creepy.

Schilling has apologized for and deleted the tweet.

Correction, Aug. 25, 2015: This post initially evaluated the claim that 80-160 million Muslims are terrorists; the meme Schilling retweeted in fact says 80-160 million Muslims are extremists.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/08/25/curt_schilling_muslim_nazi_tweet_former_pitcher_also_had_some_nazi_memorabilia.html?sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d&wpsrc=slatest_newsletter

It's Working

An excerpt from Vox -

The biggest drop in the uninsured rate in 50 years

There's never been a decline in the uninsured like this, save the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid 50 years ago. And the last time there were only 29 million uninsured Americans was back in 1982 — when the nation's population was about 30 percent smaller.

At this point, it's clear that the Affordable Care Act's strategy to expand coverage, mostly through the Medicaid expansion and the launch of new insurance exchanges, has been a major success.

http://www.vox.com/2015/8/25/9206209/obamacare-insurance-gif

3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies You Need To Try

Three Minutes of Truth

The Power of Forgiveness

It's been a while since I've mentioned forgiveness.  For those of you who have been with me for a while, you know it has been a mantra of mine.  I have harped on it so much because I've seen and experienced firsthand the power of forgiveness.  I know what it feel like to proudly hold a grudge, and have ill-will and discontentment flood my life.  And I know the joy and fulfillment I felt when I let it all go.  

I think the reason we hold on to "stuff" is because we don't want the person who hurt us to be let off the hook.  We want them to suffer, and truth be told, we want a hand in their suffering.  

This is such a waste of time, energy and effort (believe me when I say I speak from way too much experience).  No matter the offense.  No matter how egregious it was.  No matter how much it hurt.  Let it go.  Not for them, but for yourself, so that you can reach your full potential.  I think when we choose not to forgive, we stunt our own growth.  We're so busy worrying about the other person getting their "due," we waste precious time moving forward in our own lives.

Ok.  

The sermon is over.

Here's wishing you the peace that surpasses all understanding that comes with the gift of forgiveness.

~~~~~~~~~~

From Salon - 

The science of forgiveness: “When you don’t forgive you release all the chemicals of the stress response” 

Researchers are studying how we can let go of our grievances and live a healthier life. Here's how it works 

MEGAN FELDMAN BETTENCOURT

An excerpt -

Once Ewin began helping his patients forgive, he noticed even more improvement. “What you’re thinking and feeling affects your body,” he would explain to his patients, using the analogy of something embarrassing causing someone to blush. “What you’re feeling will affect the healing of your skin, and we want you to put all your energy into healing.” 

Another -  

Perhaps the most comprehensive body of evidence showing links between forgiveness and health focuses on mood, says Dr. Frederic Luskin, the cofounder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project, an ongoing series of workshops and research studies at Stanford University. Researchers who measure emotional and psychological health outcomes following therapy that includes forgiveness are quantifying patients’ levels of anger, anxiety, and depression, concluding in multiple studies that forgiveness elevates mood and increases optimism, while not forgiving is positively correlated with depression, anxiety, and hostility. Like Enright, Luskin has developed ways to teach forgiveness in various places and with various groups, including war-ravaged populations in countries such as Northern Ireland and Sierra Leone, and he asserts that anyone—from jilted spouses to widows who have lost husbands to terrorism—can heal.

http://www.salon.com/2015/08/23/the_science_of_forgiveness_when_you_dont_forgive_you_release_all_the_chemicals_of_the_stress_response/?source=newsletter

Tragic Indeed

"Ben Carson is a tragic figure for black people. He has self-converted from a field slave to a plantation overseer in the hopes to make a name for himself amongst White America. Instead of being known as the first surgeon to successfully separate craniopagus twins, a pride of black America, he will forever be as the Uncle Ruckus of the Republican party."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erin-logan/ben-carson-dream-marooned_b_8022628.html

Stand-up set by Trevor Noah

A Dangerous Clown

An excerpt from Rolling Stone - 

Donald Trump Just Stopped Being Funny

Win or lose, Trump's campaign threatens to unleash the Great American Stupid

By Matt Taibbi August 21, 2015

So two yahoos from Southie in my hometown of Boston severely beat up a Hispanic homeless guy earlier this week. While being arrested, one of the brothers reportedly told police that "Donald Trump was right, all of these illegals need to be deported."

When reporters confronted Trump, he hadn't yet heard about the incident. At first, he said, "That would be a shame." But right after, he went on:

"I will say, the people that are following me are very passionate. They love this country. They want this country to be great again. But they are very passionate. I will say that."

This is the moment when Donald Trump officially stopped being funny.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/donald-trump-just-stopped-being-funny-20150821#ixzz3jWFO878C
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

Beaucoup Bucks

I have no problem with people being well compensated for their jobs, but I do have a problem with athletes making millions of dollars to throw balls around while so many teachers are struggling to make ends meet.

There's something really wrong with this picture.

From The Root - 

Guess How Much LeBron James Charges Companies Per Character to Tweet Out Endorsements? 

Beaucoup bucks. 

BY: DIANA OZEMEBHOYA EROMOSELE

Posted: Aug. 21 2015 12:06 PM

 

LeBron James ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

On top of receiving his NBA salary, LeBron James is pulling in the bucks when it comes to his sponsored tweets, according to the company Opendorse.

Opendorse analyzes, puts together and manages social media campaigns for athletes. Based on its analysis, two-time NBA champion LeBron James' endorsement tweets are worth approximately $140,000, ESPN reports.

That's $1,000 per character. 

"We're basically saying that the value of one LeBron tweet is worth $140,000," Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence said. "And with that, you will reach 23 million people. It would cost you five times more to reach that many people with a TV ad."

James has 23.2 million followers and is the highest-paid American athlete. But Opendorse's assessments don't factor in just "reach"; they also include an athlete's cultural influence, level of engagement, and impact on and off the court. African-American athletes are solid in these areas. 

In fact, the top five athletes who command the most money to tweet out endorsements are all brothers: James ($140,000), Kevin Durant ($66,553), Kobe Bryant ($42,389), Floyd Mayweather ($34,924) and Dwight Howard ($34,290).

Through all the blood, sweat and tears and becoming the most loved—and simultaneously the most hated—basketball player of modern times, James has earned every penny. 

http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2015/08/guess_how_much_lebron_james_charges_companies_per_character_to_tweet_out.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content%26

It Takes a Toll

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/08/20/432590298/how-black-reporters-report-on-black-death

Advances in Prosthetics

From Vox - 

How prosthetics went from peg legs to biolimbs

Last week, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital announced something pretty amazing: they'd grown a rat leg in a petri dish.

Their "biolimb" was the result of a two-step process. First, they took a rat arm and used a detergent to remove the soft tissue, leaving a bone and collagen scaffold. Then they took cells from a different rat and used them to seed new tissue, which eventually proliferated and filled in the rest of the arm.

Eventually, if they can adopt this sort of technology for humans, it could allow for hand, arm, and perhaps someday leg transplants without risking the patient's body rejecting the new limb.

This is at least a decade away — but the new discovery is just the latest in a series of remarkable advances in prosthetics over the past few decades. Already, scientists and engineers have developed artificial limbs that allow people to perform fine motor movements, participate in extreme sports, and compete in the Olympics. Some of the latest technologies even let people control these limbs with their minds.

http://www.vox.com/videos/2015/6/12/8770499/biolimb-prosthetic-tech

Ummm, No Thanks

From Mashable - 

London's new 'sky pool' will let you live out your flying fish fantasies

LONDON – If you've got a fear of heights, a fear of water, or a fear of swimming while suspended in a tank above thousands of people - then you'll probably want to look away now.

A new London development on the south bank of the Thames is getting its very own "sky pool" – a 10 storey-high glass pool suspended between two apartment blocks.

The pool will be 25 metres by 5 metres (and 3 metres deep), and the glass protecting swimmers will be a gulp-inducing 20 cm (7.9 inches) thick (just a bit thicker than those tiny rulers everyone had in junior school, in other words).

http://mashable.com/2015/08/20/london-sky-pool/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Campaign&utm_term=Vox%20Newsletter%20All

Check My Pulse

Here's another BASEBALL article!

I know.

I know.

You asking yourself, "What has gotten in to Faye?"

Who knows?

I've turned over a new leaf in a lot of areas, maybe enjoying (OK, maybe just tolerating) baseball is the next big shift in my life.

This article combines baseball with my new love, Cuba.

Anyway.

Happy reading.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/magazine/baseballs-last-cuban-escapees.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=Moth-Visible&module=inside-nyt-region&region=inside-nyt-region&WT.nav=inside-nyt-region&_r=0

For Your Consideration

From USA Today -

Samsung to let iPhone users try their phones for $1
 Brett Molina, USA TODAY

Got an iPhone and $1? If so, you can see what life is like with a Samsung smartphone.

The electronics giant introduced an "Ultimate Test Drive" promotion that allows iPhone owners to try out a Galaxy smartphone for 30 days. Users who visit Samsung's promo site through an iPhone can sign up for the offer.

Users can choose between the Galaxy S6 edge, the S6 edge+ and the Galaxy Note5. The test drive period includes the device, an activated SIM card and guide on how to use the phone during the trial period.

Samsung's offer arrives as the company continues to lose share in global smartphone sales, between competition for high-end devices like Apple's iPhone and budget options from companies including Xiaomi.

Research firm Gartner revealed Apple gained ground on Samsung in global smartphone sales during the second quarter, boosting its share of the market to 14.6%. Meanwhile, Samsung's share dipped from 26% to 21.9%.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2015/08/21/samsung-test-drive/32105535/?csp=tech

Toilet Paper & Popsicles

One of the things that I've noticed in my travels, is the vast difference in attitudes in regard to toilet paper.

I've decided that most of the world (limited to the places I've seen of course), are indifferent to tissue paper.  As such, it's mostly . . .

One ply.

See-through thin.

Or . . .

Rough as sand paper.

Really, there is no in-between.

So, when I go home to America, I revel in the comfort of . . .

Quilted.

Soft as cotton.

Absorbent.

Two ply plus.

Fit for a king . . .

Toilet paper.

No doubt, this is one of the things I miss the most.

Another thing that I miss is popsicles.

Yes.

Popsicles.

It was 120 degrees yesterday, cooling off to 118 today.

Interestingly, there are no cold refreshment, like popsicles, push pops, or icees sold here.  We have ice cream, but it doesn't melt, so God only knows what's in the stuff.

This opposition to the cold refreshments probably stems from the fact that most people don't drink ice water.  There is the notion that its not good for you, so room temperature water it is.

Anyway, on hot days like we're having now, it's absolutely revitalizing to cool off with a cold . . . something.

While I was in Houston, we enjoyed some homemade popsicles, so I ordered some molds for myself, and I gotta tell you, I'm like a kid a Christmas licking on these.

What a treat!

So . . .

The next time you're enjoying the comfort of quilted toilet paper and/or a cool refreshing ice cream/yogurt/juice treat . . .

Think of me.

Revelations of Low Expectations in the Classroom

From Vox - For more info, go directly to the article to access hyperlinks that are not active here.  The link is below.

~~~~~~~~~~

Racism in the classroom: the "soft bigotry of low expectations" is just regular bigotry

Updated by Libby Nelson on August 19, 2015, 2:30 p.m. ET @libbyanelson libby@vox.com

Students in the US are getting more diverse — but teachers aren't.
Shutterstock

When black teachers and white teachers are asked to sum up black high school students' potential, white teachers are much less likely to see black students as college material. And that's true even when they're discussing the same students.

A new study exploring how race influences teachers' perception of their students' abilities found that those expectations are racially biased.

When teachers are asked about their expectations for black students, nonblack teachers were 30 percent less likely than black teachers to say they thought those students would earn a college degree.

The implications are troubling, in part because the majority of public school students in the US are nonwhite but the majority of teachers are not.

How racial bias influences teachers' expectations

On average, black students have lower test scores than white students, they attend schools with fewer resources, and they are less likely to graduate from high school and college. Assuming that will continue to be the case is what President George W. Bush called "the soft bigotry of low expectations."

But Bush was usually talking about collective expectations. The researchers in the new study, published as a working paper by the Upjohn Institute, which specializes in employment research, didn't compare teachers' broad expectations for their black students with their expectations of white students. It looked at how teachers of different races perceived the potential of the same student — where race, theoretically, shouldn't make as much of a difference.

In 2002, as part of a study that followed high school sophomores through the educational system, the Education Department asked those students' math and reading teachers if they expected them to eventually earn a high school or college degree.

The researchers, Seth Gershenson, Stephen B. Holt, and Nicholas Papageorge, looked at how those expectations differed based on whether the teachers were the same race or sex as their student, using a data set of about 16,000 students. They found that teachers' expectations for their white students didn't differ based on the teachers' race, but that black teachers' expectations were significantly higher for their black students than white teachers' expectations were.

The differences were even larger when the teachers were of both a different sex and race than their students — particularly for white female teachers evaluating black male students.

"We cannot determine whether the black teachers are too optimistic, the non-black teachers are too pessimistic, or some combination of the two," Gershenson wrote in a blog post at the Brookings Institution. "This is nonetheless concerning, as teachers’ expectations likely shape student outcomes."

The "Pygmalion effect": Teachers' expectations matter

Teachers' opinions can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. In a famous experiment, two researchers administered an intelligence test to students at the beginning of the 1968 school year. The researchers gave teachers a list of the students they said were most likely to make the most progress that year, based on their test results. At the end of the year, they tested the students again — and sure enough, at least in the first and second grades, the students on the researchers' list had in fact made the greatest intelligence gains.

But the students' names had been put on the list at random. They hadn't actually scored higher on the intelligence test than their classmates had. Their teachers just believed they were most likely to make progress, and possibly treated them differently as a result.

This might even be true for the students included in the new study. A different analysis of the same data from the Center for American Progress found that high school sophomores whose teachers expected them to graduate from college were more likely to eventually do so, even after controlling for other factors.

The results from the new study are particularly concerning because many students are taught by teachers of a different race. About 82 percent of teachers in the US are white, compared to about 49 percent of students; only 6 percent are black, although 15 percent of students are.

The researchers say their findings shouldn't be taken as a condemnation of white teachers. Instead, they say, they're a reminder of the power of implicit bias to shape our expectations and, eventually, reality.

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2015/8/19/9178573/teacher-students-race-study

Another Winner

From The Root - 

Simone Biles Wins 3rd Consecutive US Gymnastics Championship Title  

The 18-year-old definitely proved black girls rock, even in gymnastics. 

BY: YESHA CALLAHAN

Posted: Aug. 17 2015 6:13 AM

 

Simone Biles waves to the crowd after placing first in combined score in the women’s finals of the 2015 P&G Gymnastics Championships Aug. 15, 2015, in Indianapolis. JOE ROBBINS/GETTY IMAGES

Simone Biles may be only 4 feet 9 inches tall, but over the weekend she proved to be a force to be reckoned with at the 2015 P&G Gymnastics Championships at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Texas native pulled a three-peat as she won the U.S. women’s gymnastics championship.

Biles recorded her best-ever scores at a P&G Championships in three of four events to capture the all-around title.

“I just keep surprising myself, I guess,” Biles said after her win.

Currently, Biles, 18, is a favorite for all-around gold at the Rio Olympics, but she’s focusing on leading the women’s team at the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, in October.

While it seems as though Biles is on a winning streak, her coach, Aimee Boorman, gave one answer when she was asked what Biles needed to work on to win big:

“I know it sounds like a baloney answer, but consistency,” said Boorman. “That’s what wins.”

http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2015/08/simone_biles_wins_third_consecutive_us_gymnastics_championships_title.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content%26

Another Baseball Story

This article was referenced in the previous post.

It does a great job of shedding light on the challenges many Latin players face when they arrive in America.

An excerpt -

I’m trying to hand the phone to my teammates and they’re looking at it like it’s a bomb. I go to toss it to one of them and he puts his hands up.

“No, no.”

I go to hand it to another guy and he shakes his head. I look around the room and all five guys are looking at me like I’m crazy.

I’m finally like, “Will somebody just order this freaking pizza?”

Nobody wanted to take the phone. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. It was my first night at extended spring training in Bradenton, Florida, after getting drafted. I had spent all day signing paperwork, so it was about 7 p.m. and the cafeteria was closed. I started walking to my car to go grab some fast food when I heard a familiar sound coming from one of the dorm rooms: Spanish with the Dominican accent. I popped in to introduce myself and started talking with the guys. One of them mentioned he was starving. I’m like, “Didn’t they feed you guys?” They explained to me that the last meal is at 5 p.m. and they always got hungry again at night. These were young minor leaguers making next to nothing. They didn’t have a car, so they had gotten really good at hoarding extra stuff from the cafeteria at dinner and taking it back to the dorm room — bananas, PB&J sandwiches, Snickers bars, whatever.

Since I was the new guy and I had just signed my first deal, I thought it would be nice for me to order pizza for everybody. This was 2001, so no online ordering. I found a place in the phone book and I was like, “Alright, I don’t know what toppings you guys like on your pizza, so you call it in and order whatever you want.”

That’s when the guys started looking at me funny. I dial the number and I’m trying to hand the phone off. Blank stares.

Finally, one of the guys said, all embarrassed, “Man, we don’t speak English. You better call or it’s going to take all six of us passing the phone around to know enough English words to order.”

That was a reminder of just how tough it is for Latin American players to overcome the language barrier and make it in Major League Baseball. If you’re reading this as an American with a good job, imagine you’re 17 years old again, just starting to chase your dream. Only you’re in China. You’re away from everyone you know. You have three years to prove to people you can make it in your job. Oh, and all your managers speak Chinese. They give you a room with three other Americans and the only thing in it is toilet paper.

And you don’t even speak enough of the language to be able to order a pizza.

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/jose-bautista-dominican-baseball-prospects-mlb/