If America’s Serious About Appreciating Teachers, Here’s What it Takes
- Jose Vilson wrote in in Education, New York City and Teachers
This week America celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week, five days chock-full of poems, gift cards, and discounts for K-12 educators all across the country, and today is also National Teacher Appreciation Day. I appreciate getting a free burrito at Chipotle and homages to Taylor Mali, writer of “What Teachers Make,” as much as the next educator, but the current tenor of our national conversation about education also reminds me of the dire straits our profession is in.
For instance, President Barack Obama tainted last year’s Teacher Appreciation Week by proclaiming that same week National Charter School Week, opting to highlight only what charter schools do to the exclusion of teachers from all school systems nationwide.
Don’t all teachers deserve to be appreciated?
Underground Music: This Awesome App Won New York’s Public Transit Hackathon
- Meghan Neal wrote in Technology, New York and Transportation
If you’ve taken the subway in New York recently, you’ve surely seen the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s new slogan: “Improving, non-stop.”
In that spirt, the MTA has been making an admirable effort to make riders’ lives better by embracing new technology. More than 30 stations now have WiFi available (and cell service coming too!), and there are plans to get the remaining stations wired within the next five years.
More connectivity also means more opportunity for creative apps to improve the transit system. These, the MTA decided to crowdsource.
Innovation in the Streets: It’s Transportation Month
- Stef McDonald wrote in Living, Transportation and News
Let’s face it: getting from point A to point B isn’t always easy. Or fast. Or convenient. Or green. Think about how often we gripe about getting to where we need to go, whether it’s commuting to work, running to the grocery store, or driving to your kid’s T-ball game. Transportation can be a real bitch.
GOOD HQ is in Los Angeles, which recently reclaimed the honor of being named the worst city for traffic in the U.S. You can imagine the conversations by our water cooler. We started to talk about transportation in our city and then other places—and then other countries. We’ve decided to put our attention to the issue of Transportation for the month of May.
Illustration by Kate Slovin
Patent no. 8150611. 2012.
Predictive traffic analysis.By combining real-time traffic data with predictive route analysis, this patented GPS innovation can now steer you away from traffic trouble spots before they develop, as well as more accurately estimate your drive time. And that’s good, because who really likes coming home to a cold, lonely supper anyway?
In 1897, a Bicycle Superhighway Was the Future of California Transit
- Yasha Wallin posted in Transportation, Bikes and Biking
In 1897, a wealthy American businessman named Horace Dobbins began construction on a private, for-profit bicycle superhighway that would stretch from Pasadena to downtown Los Angeles. It may seem like a preposterous notion now—everyone knows Angelenos don’t get out of their cars—but at the time, amidst the height of a pre-automobile worldwide cycling boom, the idea attracted the attention of some hugely powerful players. And it almost got built.
The GOOD Fix Your Street Challenge
- GOOD HQ wrote in Transportation
On the last Saturday of May, we’re urging the GOOD community to take action with our Fix Your Street Challenge. What’s that? Commit to doing something to fix your street and snap a few before and after photos while you’re at it. Click that button below to say you’ll ‘Do It’ and tag those photos using #Goodstreets or send them to us by email at community at goodinc dot com before June.
Looking for inspiration? We’ve got it right here, with good ideas, tips and resources.
Illustration by Kate Slovin
Neighborday Recap: The 10 Best Things That Happened This April 27th
- Hannah Wasserman wrote in Culture, News and Communities
This past Saturday, April 27th, marked the first annual Neighborday. In 22 countries around the world, thousands of people reached over their fences and got to know their neighbors. Like many of you who hosted Neighbordays, we found out that the community really wanted and needed this excuse to get together. We were floored by the enthusiasm, creativity, and doing we saw from the GOOD community. Thank you all so much for your participation. You truly made Neighborday a success!
Here at GOOD HQ we do a lot of top 10 lists, so I’ve crafted an initial top 10 best things that happened on Neighborday 2013. These are in no particular order and I am still getting in a bunch of pictures and stories, so don’t be surprised if this becomes a top 100 list by the end of the week. Have your own top moments? Share them in the comments and/or send to neighborday@goodinc.com
View the full list 10 Best Things from Neighborday on good.is
Infographic: Improving the World, One Patent at a Time
- GOOD Partnerships and FFunction contributed in Technology, Innovation and Infographics
This content was produced by GOOD with support of IBM
Every Tuesday, thousands of patents are issued in the United States, with more than 250,000 issued in 2012. Patents recognize inventors and protect the originality of their ideas, so they can continue to create the innovations that power the world around us. From the technology you carry in your pocket to the type of flowers in your garden, they’ve all come from patents. For 20 years running, IBM has been awarded the most U.S. patents with 6,478 issued in 2013 alone. Check out some of their patents in the infographic above.
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Also: Check out IBM’s tumblr, IBMblr. We’re big fans.
Learn About Your Local History
- Stef McDonald wrote in Building Blocks Of Citizenship and Neighboring
How much do you know about your neighborhood’s history? This week, take time to uncover the secrets of the town or city you call home. Find out who that park is named after and who else roamed the halls of the high school. Finally stop to read the plaque on the side of that building you walk by every day. Start with your local library, search Google and Wikipedia, check in with your local historical society, or slide up and bend the ear of the bartender serving cocktails at your local dive. You can come away with a more solid sense of place with what you learn about your local history and may just be inspired by those who have come before you.
Illustration by Jessica De Jesus
UPDATE: Great scott! The actual date is October 21, 2015. Let’s try this again in 2 years. Stay tuned.
Thanks, Internet.
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Happy Tuesday, y’all.
Thanks, Kate
Starting a New Tradition: Georgia Students Hold School’s First-Ever Integrated Prom
- Liz Dwyer wrote in Education, Race and Georgia
A group of high school seniors at Wilcox County High School in rural south Georgia made history this past weekend by bucking their community’s longstanding tradition of racially segregated proms—yes, one prom for white teens and one for black teens. Indeed, thanks to the inspiring students behind the Integrated Prom movement, for the first time ever, black and white students in the community dressed up and danced the night away together.
How does a community get around having a prom that’s open to everyone without violating any civil rights laws? Easy. You just don’t let the school sponsor it. After the courts integrated the schools in the area, proms became private, invite-only events. White parents began raising funds for an all-white senior prom, leaving black families with no choice but to follow suit and host proms for their children.
Yes, this still goes on on 2013, and not just in this town, either. And yes, some white Wilcox students still attended the all-white only prom. But as you can see from the video above, what happens when students say they’ve had enough and take action is truly inspiring.
Roar of the Crowd: Social Media Cheers of Encouragement for Jason Collins
- Stef McDonald shared in Sports and Living
When news broke that pro basketball player Jason Collins came out as gay, supporters—from fellow athletes to a former President—flocked to Twitter to send him words of support and thanks. In his Sports Illustrated story, he wrote, “I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.” In this case, tweets of support are like virtual high-fives. Way to go.
Angelenos!
After your last neighbor has left your gathering CELEBRATE by jumping on your bike or lacing up your walking shoes to enjoy a free screening of Beetlejuice on the LA River.
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The Northeast Los Angeles Riverfront Collaborative invites you to the River Bike & Walk Spectacular
When: Saturday, April 27th, 4-10pm.
Location: Marsh Park, 2960 Marsh Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039
Enjoy a fun-filled day with family activities and an outdoor movie screening right along the L.A. River.
Schedule:
4pm: Bike & Walk: Explore the river and its neighborhoods via the L.A. River Greenway Trail, and participate in a live mapping project.
6pm: Community Fair at Marsh Park: Enjoy art and educational activities, bike-powered music, and learn more about the NELA RC and other community organizations.
8pm: Bike-in Movie: Enjoy a free outdoor screening of Beetlejuice in the park. Bring blankets!
Brought to you by the NELA RC in collaboration with Multicultural Communities for Mobility, LACBC, Mujeres de la Tierra, Elysian Valley Arts Collective, NOMAD Los Angeles, GOOD’s Neighborday and Movable Parts.
Erin Guido’s #Neighborday invite
Cleveland, Ohio
