The much awaited suspense surrounding baby Blue Ivy and which parent she most resembles can now come to a halt as proud daddy, Jay-Z, recently posted the first pics of his baby girl on his lifeandtimes.com website. I have to say that she is beautiful and thankfully favors her beautiful mommy, Beyonce. There’s something sexy about seeing a man holding his child. God bless the Carters and their baby girl. Check the pics below:
Photo Credit: www.lifeandtimes.com
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. When I was in second grade, as part of a library project, I wrote my first book How the Pig Got It’s Curly Tail. While that book never made it out of the P.S. 16 library, my hope is that this book makes it all around the world. I live by the motto “Dream BIG and if that doesn’t work dream BIGGER.” It has always been my dream to touch someone through the written word and finally, my dream is coming true. Please join me as I celebrate my first self-published literary work, Welcome to Heartbreak. You can purchase the book at Createspace @ www.createspace.com/3512555 or at Amazon @ http://www.amazon.com/Welcome-Heartbreak-collection-affirmations-heartbreak/dp/1456405357/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1318202855&sr=8-3 it is available in print and for the Kindle and NOOK e-readers.
Date: Friday, October 28th, 2011
Place: Room 63, Brooklyn, NY 11206
Take the J,Z, or M going towards Brooklyn/Jamaica Center to Lorimer Street (it’s 3 stops across the Williamsburg Bridge). Start out going North on LORIMER STR. Turn right onto MONTROSE AVE. Arrive at 63 MONTROSE AVE.
This event will be hosted by CreativeINK’s Maria “Escribidora” Morales.
Reading & Author signings: 8-11 pm
After party to begin promptly after
*Fun giveaways
*Free raffle ticket with purchase of book
*Special surprise guest readers
About the book:
In this compelling memoir, told through prose and poetry, Nancy Arroyo-Ruffin walks through the fire to face her most painful memories and does so openly and honestly. Raised on the ruthless streets of Brooklyn, NY in the 1980′s, Arroyo-Ruffin takes us on a thrilling voyage of love, loss, and heartbreak.
Full of inspirational quotes & positive affirmations, Welcome to Heartbreak, is a literary portrait depicting the hardships many women endure when transitioning from childhood to adulthood. It is about accepting the past and learning how to move forward from unhealthy situations.
From surviving the brutal murder of a close relative, to helping the love of her life battle a deadly illness, to having her deepest desire snatched from her womb; this is a gripping account of one young woman’s determination to heal herself through love, forgiveness, and acceptance. Burned and pillaged by some of the people she trusted most, this phoenix rises from the ashes to show us that even through heartbreak, beauty and happiness can flourish.
“Life is full of heartbreak but instead of dwelling on that which causes us pain we must embrace it, allow ourselves to feel it, release it and use that heartbreak as a catalyst for success. Heartbreaks don’t break us, they make us stronger.”- Nancy Arroyo Ruffin
*The book will be available for purchase via Amazon.com in October.*
About the author:
Nancy Arroyo Ruffin is a New York City born and bred Puertoriqueña. Raised on the rough streets of Brooklyn during the 80’s. As a writer, poet, and spoken word performer Nancy is breaking down barriers one stone at a time. She does it all with her voice and determination to inspire, build, create, educate, nurture, support and empower one person at a time. She describes herself “as a strong American Puertoriqueña who believes that the only limits that exist are those that we impose on ourselves. Anything we set our minds to is possible.”
Nancy is a graduate of Bernard Baruch College and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and an MBA in Healthcare Management. Her literary work has been published in the on-line magazines Sofrito for Your Soul, The Daily Voice, and The Brooklyn Rail. Her work will also be appearing in the upcoming anthology “Joy Interrupted: An Anthology about Motherhood and Loss” published by Fat Daddy Farm Press in early 2012.
Nancy is currently a student of the Cave Canem Workshops in Brooklyn, NY. She has performed at various venues throughout NYC including but not limited to Capicu Poetry and Cultural Showcase, Babble in the Bronx, The CreativeINK Poetry Series, La Loba Poetry Series, the Lolita Bar, The Nuyorican Poets Café and will appear as a feature at El Museo del Barrio’s Speak Up Speak Out poetry event in November, 2011.
Nancy is the creator and main contributor of welcometohartbreak.com where she writes about life and relationships. Welcome to Heartbreak: A collection of poems, short stories and affirmations about love, life, and heartbreak is her first published book and she is currently working on a novel.
The following was inspired by Harryette Mullen’s We Are Not Responsible
This is a public service announcement:
The revolution will not be televised on gunmetal screens. Pay close attention to the sanguine liquid left behind, by the God fearing martyrs as they plan to eliminate you. We cannot be held liable if we fail to protect you. Watch as the phallic powers collapse into obscurity. Observe a society that was built to last, crumble and fall. Be prepared to surrender your inalienable rights in lieu of The Patriot Act. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal, except in Arizona. Life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness can only be found in books our youth cannot access. It is not our fault that you cannot read. War is expensive, education, the price. Single mothers start saving up bail money. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. We are not responsible for what happens to you behind interrogation walls. Please sit quietly as we coerce you into a false confession. You are innocent, until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, except if you are Troy Davis. If we mistakenly execute you, please accept our sincerest apologies. We reserve the right to shoot first and ask questions last. In the event of an error, our officers will be put on desk duty. If you have been treated unfairly, you can request a hearing. Understand that it is not our duty to listen to you. Please proceed to the end of the line, even though you have an appointment. You will be seen in the order that we decide.
©2011 Nancy Arroyo Ruffin
Growing up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn I have always felt connected to my heritage. In my house there was always El Gran Combo playing on the stereo, spanish novelas on the TV, late nights spent preparing pasteles for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and time spent with an abuelita who only spoke spanish despite living here for over 40 years. I am Afro-Latina! The product of a Black Puerto Rican born mother and a White Brooklyn born of Puerto Rican descent father. I am American born but my spirit is and always will be made up of all of my ancestors and all of those who came before me.
I am proud to be a part of a culture that is a fusion of African, Taino, and European descent. A culture that is defined not only by our physical beauty because we come in many shapes, sizes, skin tones, and hair types but also by our passion and undeniable dedication to that which is important to us. We are artistic, educated, socially and politically aware, and our contributions to the world have left some of the best legacies. We are a gumbo of spices that once ingested only leaves you wanting more.
This was how I felt when I attended the opening ceremony of the Afro-Latino American Crossroads Exhibit that took place on Wednesday, February 16th at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center – Abrazo Interno Gallery in NYC. The show which was the brainchild of curator Mia Roman Hernandez, was a collection of some of the best artistic expression I have ever seen.
The art is a cultural, political, and religious reflection of our history. From pieces like the one of the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz, to the piece where we see a mother with her child on her back , the show that is described as “A tribute to the She-roes and Heroes of Afro-Latino American culture thru the Arts”, was that and so much more.
©All Rights Reserved 2011 Photo taken by Nancy Arroyo Ruffin
©All Rights Reserved 2011, Photo by Nancy Arroyo Ruffin
With the spiritual blessing of the space by Maximus to the live drumming, dancing, and poetry the exhibit served as a link and reminder of our roots. It was a colorful representation of the Afro-Latino diaspora and its rich history, a history that should never be forgotten so that we can appreciate how far we have come.
The room was full of love, joy, and postive energy. This is an exhibit that should be seen by all if you have a true interest and love for the arts even moreso if you are of Afro-Latino descent. The exhibit is ongoing through Friday, February 25, 2011.
Exhibit information is below:
Curator Mia Roman Hernandez, is a Puerto Rican-American (NuyoRican) New York based artist, teaching artist, lecturer, entrepreneur , founder of the women’s creative network Chamaca Arts and participant of the Afro – Latino American Crossroads Art Exhibit.
Date: February 16, 2011-February 25, 2011
Venue: CSV – Abrazo Interno Gallery
107 Suffolk Street, 2nd floor, NYC
(F train to Delancey)
Exhibiting Artists: Dylcia Pagan, Mia Roman Hernandez, Yasmin Hernandez, Helene Ruiz, Pete Rodriguez, Juan Carlo Suazo, Ezequiel Jimenez, Amanda Mathews, Nia Siacara Andino, Jose Rios, Marthalicia Matarrita
©All Rights Reserved 2011, Photo taken by Nancy Arroyo Ruffin
On days like today, I remember you.
Tragedy does not remain localized.
It manifests outward, from the epicenter, heart and guts exposed;
Exploding out of chests, like limbs decapitated by land mines,
Earthquakes ravage, hurricanes savage and if you’re at the wrong place at the wrong time
Fall victim to anger that shoots first and asks questions last.
Pressurized water bursts through rotten aluminum pipes
You drown in the tsunami and beside the dead, are the wounded.
Beside the dead and the wounded, are the traumatized.
And then there are the friends and relatives of the dead, of the wounded, of the traumatized.
Each asking the same question: God why??
Spirits search for answers and
The combination of burning flesh, metal, and optimism pierce lungs.
The smell of death, Christopher Reeve paralyzing,
There is no superman left to save you.
The weight of bodies hangs on,
like hope at the sight of rescue crews that never seem to come.
I hear the cries today as I heard them 365 days ago.
The moans of death like an incision to the core,
Each one cuts deeper, each one stings more.
Nothing left but barbed notes in a soprano’s throat.
Aid can’t reach your shores, not even on boats.
Bodies hauled away to mass graves
Proper burials will never take place.
Piled up like trash, without a name or a face.
And so I say on days like today:
Haiti you are not forgotten.
9-11 you are not forgotten.
Innocent men sentenced to death simply because of the color
of your skin you are not forgotten.
Sean Bell, Amadou Diaollo, Patrick Dorismond
you are not forgotten.
Hurricane Katrina you are not forgotten.
You made Kanye say “George Bush doesn’t give a fuck about black people”.
And many felt the same
Now only hope and God remains
While the frail hands of sorrow struggle to pick up the pieces,
Trying to bandage wounds that require CPR
because we don’t know how to act we only know how to react.
Substituting a ton of cure for an ounce of prevention.
So I ask you:
What if more money had been invested in Haiti BEFORE the ‘quake?
What if we gave more than we take?
What if their infrastructure had been in tact?
What if the U.S. could have prevented the world trade center attacks?
What if the police actually listened when we spoke?
What if they’d improved the levies before they broke?
What if we had a government that actually cared?
Could all of the lost lives have been spared?
And today, today there is Egypt,
cursed by 30 years of tyrannical leadership.
Mubarak does not want to concede
so young people are dying for a small taste of democracy.
The pharaohs and gods have seemed to abandon its plight.
Protests take place from the dawn of day to the dusk of night.
Tahrir Square has now become the symbol for liberation
and when the earth trembles we must all stand up and pay attention. 
Photo Credit: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
I am hardly ever shocked by stories that I see on the news or read in the newspaper or online. The reality is that we live in a world that is marred by self interest, crime, and heartache. It isn’t often that we hear or see good stories on the news and the story that I am going to share with you below not only broke my heart but also enraged me.
Sometimes as a result of living in the United States we lose sight of some of the atrocities that occur in other parts of the world. While they may seem unfathomable to us, to those citizens in those parts of the world stories like the one below are all too common and a part of their daily reality. While surfing the web I came across this story on AOL.com and I wanted to share it if for no other reason than to bring awareness because young girls and women need to stop being mistreated, disrespected, and punised by the men in their communities who are more representative of wild animals than of human beings.
*****
“A 14-year-old Bangladeshi girl allegedly raped by a much older cousin has died after being publicly flogged for adultery, media reports said.
Hena Begum was sentenced to receive 100 lashes by a village council made up of elders and Muslim clerics in the district of Shariatpur, about 35 miles from the capital, Dhaka, the BBC said today.
She endured about 80 lashes before collapsing Monday, according to The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper. Her family took her to a hospital, where she died.
“What sort of justice is this? My daughter has been beaten to death in the name of justice. If it had been a proper court then my daughter would not have died,” Dorbesh Khan, the girl’s father, told the BBC.
Family members said Hena was raped by a 40-year-old married cousin, The Daily Star said. The man’s family beat up the teen, then accused of her adultery, the newspaper said.
The very next day, she was sentenced to the flogging in a fatwa, or religious ruling, issued by the village council under Islamic Shariah law, the BBC said.
Sponsored LinksHer father was also told pay a fine of about $700, police told the BBC.
Four people, including a Muslim cleric, have been arrested in connection with Hena’s death, the BBC said. Police said they were looking for another 14 people in the case.
Bangladesh’s high court has ordered district officials in Shariatpur to explain why they did not protect the girl, The Daily Star said. The court ruled eight months ago that Shariah punishment was illegal.
In December, a 40-year-old woman in Rajshahi district died after she was publicly caned for allegedly carrying on an affair with her stepson.”
The story can be retrieved at: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/03/bangladeshi-girl-dies-after-public-flogging/
Deputy Mayor for Education Dennis M. Walcott (c.) and New York Schools Chancellor Cathie Black.
More than 3,100 New York City public school students struggled to come to terms yesterday with the Panel for Educational Policy’s decision to close or phase out 10 NYC schools. The schools which include four in Manhattan, four in the Bronx, and two in Brooklyn are all being closed because of poor performance.
With a failing school system and the recent resignation of former School’s Chancellor Richard Klein, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been left to address the city’s education dilemma. With his non-conventional ideas of treating everything in NYC as a business and the current appointment of Cathie Black as School Chancellor, it has left many thinking whose interest is he really serving. How can a woman with no education experience effectively turn around the city’s educational system? This is the question that many asked when Cathie Black was selected for the city’s highest educational position and despite the opposition to her appointment she now has the future of our public school system in her hands.
I, for one, am having a difficult time understanding how closing schools only to replace them with a bunch of smaller ones will benefit anyone. All that is doing is shifting the problem instead of dealing with the root cause because the students and the teachers will still be the same.
There has to be an initiative to hire better teachers. Not saying that all teachers in the current system are bad, I realize that many of them don’t have the adequate resources needed to do their job effectively but resources is only part of the problem. We need teachers that care. Not teachers that show up, do the minimum necessary just to collect a check and then go home.
The last in, first out policy for firing teachers during times of budgetary cuts also has to be re-evaluted. It is outdated and simply moronic. We need to keep the best teachers and get rid of the bad apples regardless of how long they have been teaching.
I grew up during a time where the teachers cared about you and your success. They called your house when they noticed a change in your academic work. They paid attention to you so they knew when something wasn’t right with you. They made you feel like you mattered and so you felt like somebody cared about you and your success.
I understand that teachers are there to teach and not play the role of a parent but sometimes they have to. Sometimes the teacher is the only person a student may have to push them forward and show them that their life is worth something. Growing up in New York City is tough and the reality is that some parents just don’t care enough to make their children’s education a priority.
Therefore, if you have parents that don’t care and teachers that don’t care what real chance does that child have at achieving any success? When you add to that all of these school closures it leaves kids feeling like failures because they haven’t performed up to academic standards. But whose fault is that? It’s easy to point fingers but it’s everyone’s fault. It is the failing system that we have in place. It’s the parents that don’t take a more active role in helping their child succeed. It’s also the teachers that feel that these kids are hopeless and helpless so they don’t even bother.
They close these schools and with these closures take from the students any glimmer of hope they may have had for succeeding. I came across a young person’s take on these closures/phase-outs and I think she did a great job at articulating what these school closures mean to those that it affects the most, the students.
Below is 18 yr old Melisson Kisson’s thoughts on school closures and how it affected her personally.
“I was victim of a high school phase out. Do you know what it’s like to have four new schools come into your school building?
The first year after the Department of Education announced that my school, Franklin K. Lane High School in Brooklyn, would be closed, we weren’t allowed to set foot on the fourth floor anymore. The next year, the DOE split the rest of the floors in halves. So, if your classroom was around the corner, you could no longer just walk over to your room. You’d have to go upstairs and around and back down stairs to make it to your class. As a result of this, many students were late for their classes. Students missed class time and got in trouble because our school was chopped up and our building was divided!
The great teachers we once loved either switched to the other schools in the building or left. There is no longer a library in the building, because Lane doesn’t have enough money for a library and the other four schools have small budgets. Students with essays due and no printer or computer can’t print—then they struggle to figure out how to pass their class.
Almost all the after school activities belong to the other schools, including the sports and the ROTC. Two of my friends are in their last year at Lane. One of them is only taking one academic class. He scored well on his SAT and is applying to Brown University but there are no Advanced Placement classes for him to take and he is done with school every day at noon. My other friend was told last year that he had enough credits to graduate. He was 16, a junior and not ready for college. There is a difference between having enough credits to graduate, getting a rigorous education, and being prepared for college.
The phase out has failed us all, hundreds of us in Brooklyn and thousands of us in New York City. I was a cheerleader, so school pride was important to me. There is no longer school pride, there is no encouragement, there are no familiar teachers, there are no resources to help us pass. All that remains is a push, a push out of the school by any means possible.
I graduated and I’m in college now, at City Tech. But I look back at the last four years of my life and I feel robbed of my high school experience. My school was no longer MY school; I was basically being kicked out of a school that made a promise to support me and give me all I need to pass. If the Department of Education is truly committed to students, they must include us in decisions about OUR education.”
The above was originally published on http://insideschools.org/blog/2011/01/31/a-students-view-how-not-to-close-a-school/
New York Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan at a a press conference in New York on Jan. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Chiaroscuro Foundation, Diane Bondareff)
A recent study by the New York City Department of Health released statistics that 39% of pregnancies in the city end in abortion.
According to the report, in 2009 there were 225, 667 pregnancies in the City. Of those, 126,774 resulted in live births and 87,273 resulted in abortions. An additional 11,620 were spontaneous terminations. With the Bronx having the highest abortion rates in the city. Almost half (46%) of all pregnancies in the Bronx ended in abortion.
The report also highlighted that Blacks and Latinos have the highest numbers of abortions with Blacks accounting for 40,798 abortions and Latinos accounting for 28,364.
With these alarming abortion statistics it comes as no surprise that the Catholic Archdiocese would have an opinion as to how to reduce these numbers.
In a New York City press conference held on January 6th, Archbishop Timothy Dolan gathered with other religious leaders to bring “awareness” to the city’s high abortion rates.
The archbishop’s recommendation to lower these numbers can be summarized in the following statement, “I re-affirm Cardinal John O’Connor’s promise of a quarter-century ago that every woman facing a difficult pregnancy will be provided with free, confidential help of the highest quality from the Archdiocese of New York.”
While the archbishop is aware that women having abortions is unlikely to end he feels that it is important to inform people on these numbers and help women “understand” the conquences of their choices. “We are prepared to do everything in our power to help you and your unborn baby to make absolutely certain that you need never feel that you have no choice but an abortion,” said Archbishop Dolan.
Personally, I would never have an abortion. This is my choice. It is made from my own personal moral and ethical beliefs but I am and always will be pro-choice. I can never tell another woman what may or may not be the right decision for them. We are each guided by individual circumstances and what may be right for me may not be right for another.
The decision to have an abortion is one that I know most women have a hard time dealing with once it is made. It is not something that you do, forget about, and then move on. That decision often haunts many women throughout their lives. So for the Archbishop to say that he wants to “help women understand the consequences of their choices” to me is demeaning, undermining, and demoralizing. How can a man help a woman understand what it feels like to terminate a life growing in her own body?
I am a Latina woman, which means I have 2 strikes against me. I am part of a group of people that have been traditionally marginalized, treated as second class citizens, and have had to fight for the very freedom that men, let me rephrase, white men have always had the privilege to enjoy. They make their own decisions of their own free will without having to justify their decisions nor have they ever had to fight for the right to simply be who they are. So despite my personal or religious beliefs I will never advocate for anything that strips away the basic human rights of any individual.
Pro-lifers will argue that the fetus has the right to live but I’m not here to debate what is right or wrong. Valid arguments can be made for both sides. However, what I do know is that we can not allow our freedoms to be stripped away or we will find ourselves back were we where decades ago and that is in dirty back alley tenement buildings having abortions by unlicensed doctors.
Instead of trying to repeal Roe vs. Wade or guilting and shaming women into having babies that they may not want or be ready for invest more time educating and counseling these women about how to prevent pregnancies. Make birth control pills more affordable. Emphasize the importance of using condoms not only to prevent pregnancy but to also protect from sexually transmitted infections. Educate young women who are becoming sexually active on how to communicate openly about sex with their parents, guardians, other adult family members or even guidance counselors.
According to the Wall Street Journal, these religious leaders also criticized public schools sex education programs that include condom distribution. I’m not surprised. This is part of the reason that these numbers may be so high. People think that if you don’t talk about, if you don’t educate or provide options then pregnancy won’t happen but they’re wrong.
Not talking about it doesn’t make the problem go away. You have to talk in order to understand what the driving forces behind these alarming rates are. The only way to decrease these numbers is by identifying the root cause. Once you identify the problem you can then begin to develop the best possible solutions. Until then Archbishop please STFU!
The complete Department of Health report can be found here: http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/2009sum.pdf
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often considered Mark Twain’s greatest masterpiece and has long been regarded as one of the best books in American literature. It captured a very real time in American history that dealt with slavery, racism, and the relationship between whites and blacks in the United States.
Combining his raw humor and startlingly mature material, Twain developed a novel that directly attacked many of the traditions the South held dear at the time of its publication.
Huck Finn is the main character in the novel and through his eyes, the reader sees and judges the South, its faults, and its redeeming qualities.
I remember reading this in high school and while the material was sometimes offensive it was an honest representation of the social obstacles of Twain’s era. It allowed me to understand and empathize with life as an African American living in the South. Given that, why would anyone want to re-write such a great American classic?
A recent op-ed piece appeared in yesterday’s NY Daily News addressing how some educators and scholars want to replace the “N” word in the book with the word “slave”. In fact, Huck Finn is currently banned in several school libraries for its content and language. As if banning the book and replacing the “N” word will magically erase all of the social injustices that occurred at that time. Call me crazy but as I recall, slavery DID happen and black people WERE called the “N” word. Unfortunately, it is a part of our history.
As a writer and as I assume most writers do, I often write about my experiences. I capture on paper (or on-line) the current issues affecting my community and society as a whole. Therefore, I find it offensive that a literary work that was written during a time of slavery is being criticized and banned for use of language that was part of the everyday vernacular of the day.
As Shelly Fishkin states in her op-ed piece ”Sanitizing the language which aided and abetted white America‘s denial of the humanity of black Americans from the nation’s founding doesn’t change that history…Facing that history in all its offensiveness is crucial to understanding it and transcending it, and literature is uniquely positioned to help us do that.”
If we begin to re-write books and change the language that was intended by the author we inevitably change the authenticity and integrity of the work .
What do you think? Should we be re-writing books just because the language used may be offensive to some?
To read the NY Daily News Op-Ed piece click on the link: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2011/01/05/2011-01-05_take_the_nword_out_of_huck_finn_its_an_insult_to_mark_twain__and_to_american_his.html#ixzz1ADrUTPPZ
Today’s New York Daily News had a story that I found interesting.
Ohio congresswoman, Rep. Jean Schmidt, shocked teachers and students of a Cincinnati Catholic school when she began discussing abortion to an audience that ranged between first graders and eight graders. In a letter written to parents by the school Principal, Dan Teller says “Your children may come home with questions, especially if this is a topic that has not been broached in your home.”
What responsible parent is discussing abortion with first, second, even third graders? I’m just a bit confused as to how this topic was even allowed to continue once it was brought up. The Principal should have stopped it as soon as it started.
Schmidt apparently began discussing the abortion topic while speaking about the connection between moral issues and legislation. She used it as an example to make her point. In the letter to parents, Principal Teller explains “She defined abortion as the taking of a child’s life in the mother’s womb. She indicated that abortion involves the killing of a child before it is born.”
This is rather mature content to be discussing in the presence of 6 yr olds and I would assume for some, even a little scary.
Some 6 yr. olds have never even dealt with the issue of death so to say that abortion involves killing is irresponsible on the part of the Congresswoman as well as the school. I can understand talking about sex and consequences with an eighth grader but even so that should be a discussion that happens in the home and not at school.
I have 2 nieces, 7 and 5 yrs. old and this is not a topic that I would like be discussed with them while at school. I can almost bet that my sister and brother-in-law would agree.
Noting that Schmidt “was not invited to further any political agenda,” Teller apologized to parents “for any confusion or fear that this may elicit on the part of your child, and for the awkward position this may put you in of introducing a difficult issue at a time that may be premature for you.”
I don’t understand how a written apology is supposed to suffice in correcting this obviously irresponsible and negligent behavior. This just isn’t acceptable nor should it be. If my child was a member of that audience I would need more than just a written apology.
What are your thoughts? What if this happened to your child, how would you respond?
