Tuesday Open Thread

Interesting article about the use of "open educational resources" by schools via EducationNext. 
As I keep hearing people say, "Why expensive textbooks?" this might be a red flag on that issue.

A thoughtful article on life from a man who has seen 12,000 deaths via Uplift .


On a day when Americans will be making a choice about electing the first women president (versus a foul-mouthed, hateful orange moron), some sad news about young men who seem to be voting for the latter.  From the NY Times' Nicholas Kristof:

You may have heard that Harvard cancelled the rest of its men’s soccer season after reports that male players had discussed female players in crude sexual terms. Six members of one Harvard women’s soccer team wrote this brilliant op-ed for The Harvard Crimson, and I’m republishing it here with permission. I admired the op-ed for its cogency and eloquence, but also because I thought it might be effective in changing mores. —Nicholas Kristof

Here's a little of what those young female soccer players had to say:

More than anything, we are frustrated that this is a reality that all women have faced in the past and will continue to face throughout their lives. We feel hopeless because men who are supposed to be our brothers degrade us like this. We are appalled that female athletes who are told to feel empowered and proud of their abilities are so regularly reduced to a physical appearance. We are distraught that mothers having daughters almost a half century after getting equal rights have to worry about men’s entitlement to bodies that aren’t theirs. We are concerned for the future, because we know that the only way we can truly move past this culture is for the very men who perpetrate it to stop it in its tracks.

 And a very scary (but effective) video that brings this election season to mind (hint: the voter is the lizard.)  Show the kids.

What's on your mind?