A new survey is shedding light on some real (and justifiable) concerns regarding education: teacher burnout. Conducted by GBAO Strategies for The National Education Association (which is the nation’s largest union with nearly close to three million educators), the survey shows that teachers are more burned out than ever thanks to major staff shortages, and 55% of them are ready to ditch teaching all together. Are we surprised? Nope.
First, it’s important to note that teacher shortages have been going on since before the pandemic, especially in subjects like math, science, special education, bilingual education and for substitutes. However, the pandemic has exacerbated the issue which now extends to broader roles like food service workers, bus drivers and school nurses, translating to over half a million fewer educators in the public school system than before.
photo: freepik.com
“School staffing shortages are not new, but what we are seeing now, is an unprecedented staffing crisis across every job category. This crisis is preventing educators from giving their students the one-on-one attention they need. It is forcing them to give up their class planning and lunch time to fill in for colleagues who are out due to COVID. And, it is preventing students from getting the mental health supports needed,” says National Education Association President Becky Pringle.
Now, on to the survey, which was conducted from Jan. 14-22, 2022. Unsurprisingly, 90% of members say feeling burned out is a serious problem, with 91% saying that stress related to the pandemic is serious for educators specifically. To combat the issue, respondents stated that salary raises, mental health support for students, less paperwork and hiring more teachers and support staff would all go a long way in addressing the burnout issue.
photo: iStock
As recent as this past August, just 37% of educators were planning to leave education sooner than planned. Now that number has skyrocketed to 55%, regardless of age or experience. Pringle continues, “This is a five-alarm crisis. We are facing an exodus as more than half of our nation’s teachers and other school staff are now indicating they will be leaving education sooner than planned…For all they do for our communities, educators need and deserve our collective respect.”
While ultimately our kids’ teachers will make the decision that’s best for their family on whether to stay in education, we can support them as we continue to navigate the pandemic together. You don’t have to wait until Teacher Appreciation week to show them love, empathize and give them a small token of gratitude.
You can read the results of the entire survey here.
There’s some exciting news for vaccinated families traveling to Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort during the upcoming warmer months: masks will now be optional.
Both resorts shared that their Covid-19 guidelines have been updated to reflect that guests visiting the park no longer need to wear face coverings while indoors, like riding an attraction. While parkgoers don’t have to mask up to ride the likes of “It’s a Small World,” they will continue to need to wear them on certain spaces, like buses and if receiving first aid.
photo: Disney
It’s been a long two years of navigating the pandemic, but coronavirus cases have continued to drop and the changes to Disney’s guidelines reflect the efforts to return to normalcy. As parents, we’re honestly just excited that we can enjoy the parks during Spring Break and summer without developing a sweat mustache or wrangling our kids to keep their nose and mouth covered.
Now the kicker: dropping the mask mandates is specifically for vaccinated guests. While Disney hasn’t stated they will be asking guests to attest to their vaccination status, the company says, “We expect Guests who are not fully vaccinated to continue wearing face coverings in all indoor locations, including indoor attractions and theaters.”
The new guidelines are now in effect, just in time for your upcoming family vaycay. And of course, if you feel more comfortable keeping your face coverings in place, there’s no magic lost.
TIME’s Kid of the Year for 2021 is 11 year-old Orion Jean, who from his home during the pandemic launched humanitarian missions that have fed 100,000 meals to food insecure families across the country, placed 500,000 books into the hands of kids living in “book deserts” and written a book.
While some of us were stress eating, Jean was serving as an ambassador for kindness. In a recent interview by humanitarian and actress Angelina Jolie, Jean spills the beans on how—and why—he began his remarkable journey.
Jean’s Race to Kindness project started with an online speech contest and led to a movement—which has rapidly grown to have an enormous positive impact on his community and the world. “If you see a problem, fix it.” Jean said of his simple philosophy on kindness. After seeing news reports of people losing their jobs, their homes and their health during the pandemic, he knew he wanted to help.
“Kindness sometimes can just be as easy as not being mean to someone. Not talking about someone behind their back or posting that mean comment on social media. That’s what kindness can be, it can just be as simple as not being cruel to someone,” he told Jolie. “Kindness is a choice and while we can’t force others to be kind, we can be kind ourselves and hope to inspire other people.”
And inspire them he has. Jean began with a toy drive, with a goal of collecting 500 toys for needy children in a month. “I think that when I reached my first goal and surpassed it by over 100 toys, then I knew that there truly is hope because people—all people—have the ability to be kind,” he said in a Little Kids, Big Hearts podcast. “Sometimes it just takes one person to bring it out of them.”
Since his initial toy drive, Jean has set—and exceeded—new goals to address hunger and literacy In underserved communities. And he discusses ways kids can have an impact on their communities by taking it one problem—and one solution—at a time. “It’s not about me, I’m just a vessel to spread kindness and to help others spread kindness in their communities as well.”
We’re not going to lie. We had our issues with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) frequent changes to recommendations during the pandemic, but they’ve made one revision about developmental milestones in children that’s easy to get behind. Now, when you go to your kiddos’ annual visits, the developmental milestones you’ll be taking to your pediatrician about will be based on what 75% of other kids the same age do, instead of only 50%.
In other words, the CDC has just gotten a little bit more inclusive with their developmental milestones, which means that we won’t feel so worried, or defensive, or anxious (or perhaps, proud) at our kids’ next annual visits.
These revised developmental milestones were specifically released for the Learn the Signs. Act Early. program, which helps parents identify autism and developmental delays in their children. The CDC asked the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to take a look at the existing list of milestone behaviors, which was pulled using more narrowly defined data.
These behavioral milestones were not always helpful to families concerned about their child’s development, because they often led to a “wait-and-see” discussion in the doctor’s office. And when you’re a parent with a hunch that something’s off, that “wait-and-see” discussion is the emotional equivalent of banging your head against a wall.
The revised developmental milestones are written in family-friendly language and identify the behaviors that 75% or more of children can be expected to exhibit at a certain age based on data, developmental resources and clinician experience. So, if your child is not reaching a particular milestone, you now know that 3 of every 4 children his or her age would—on average—be doing it.
The new, revised milestones give parents valuable perspective and will hopefully result in earlier diagnosis.
“The earlier a child is identified with a developmental delay the better, as treatment, as well as learning interventions, can begin,” said Paul H. Lipkin, M.D., FAAP, a member of the AAP Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and Council on Children with Disabilities who assisted with the revisions said in a press release. Changes to the guidance include:
Adding checklists for ages 15 and 30 months; now there is a checklist for every well-child visit from 2 months to 5 years.
Identifying additional social and emotional milestones (e.g., smiles on their own to get your attention, age 4 months).
Removing vague language like “may” or “begins” when referring to certain milestones.
Removing duplicate milestones.
Providing new, open-ended questions to use in discussion with families (e.g., Is there anything that your child does or does not do that concerns you?).
Revising and expanding tips and activities for developmental promotion and early relational health.
The CNN anchor shared the happy news on Instagram and the news network that he is now dad to Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper. “He is healthy and happy and even his occasional hiccups are to me adorable” he says of the newest addition to the family.
Sebastian was welcomed by Cooper and his best friend and co-parent Benajamin Maisani. The former partners also share their 22-month old son, Wyatt who was born at the start of the pandemic.
Maisani is in the process of formally adopting Wyatt and when it is finalized, the two will change his last name to Maisani-Cooper just like little bro, Sebastian.
The co-parents used a surrogate and Cooper shares, “The sacrifices she and her family — her entire family — made and the love that they gave Sebastian this past year has been extraordinary. We’ll never forget the kindness.”
The busy news anchor and writer now plans to take the next week off to bond and spend time with Luke, as Wyatt calls him. For the Anderson-Maisani clan, 2022 is already shaping up to be a great year!
“Wow. I really wish I could spend more time with my kids,” said no parent during the pandemic, ever. Except for Jesse Reilly, a New Orleans dad who left his marketing job of 15 years to make popsicles and spend—you guessed it—more time with his kids as the proprietor of the sweetest speakeasy in NOLA.
Realizing he wanted to make a career change that would allow him to spend more time with his three kids (all under the age of five), he started making popsicles with local Ingredients and intriguing flavor combinations to share with his Bywater neighbors. As his business grew, he had to get creative about how to sell Big O’s Pops while taking care of his kids. Enter the Popsicle Doorbell at 1201 St. Roch St., Reilly’s home. Surrounded by chalk drawings of popsicles and other preschool-aged illustrations, the mystical doorbell intrigued passersby and friends alike—could you really pass up ringing a bell with a sign over it that says “Popsicle Doorbell?”—who would stop for a sweet treat while out for a walk or a ride.
“The doorbell idea really came out of convenience and then COVID happened,” he told VeryLocal.com. “It became a way to sell pops while practicing social distancing.” The popsicles are individually packaged and purchased outdoors via Venmo for $3-$4 a pop (pup pops for your pooches are $2 each). The whole operation allowed the neighborhood to stay connected safely, at a distance. And though his popsicle domination strategy slowed, as did all business concepts during the pandemic, the doorbell allowed his pops to gain some serious street cred. It became the neighborhood’s own quirky secret—remaining secret as only something can during an age of social media: about 5 minutes.
Now, you can catch him selling his popsicles around the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans out of the cooler of a custom adult tricycle, catering events and popping up at events and festivals around town. You’ll soon find him as one of the first vendors in the funky and kid-friendly community space Krewe of Red Beans, which is dedicated to New Orleans and the city’s unique, vibrant culture. If it’s a culture of dads looking for ways to spend more time with their kids, popsicle doorbells and adult bikes with frozen treats in the custom attached cooler, we can see why it needs a dedicated space.
Big O’s Original Pops is scaling up, so don’t be surprised if you recognize them somewhere in your neck of the woods one day. Using local ingredients and popsicle molds in his freezer at first, Reilly now employs a “professional machine that freezes them quickly.” And while his business has grown, he still sources as many ingredients as he can from local farms and businesses. For instance, his blood orange pops are made with fruit from Isabelle’s Orange Orchard in Algiers.
It’s no surprise that the man who gave up a career to dive into something new says that he’s always open to ideas and up for a challenge. “Coming up with new popsicle flavors is part of the fun,” he says. Indeed it is.
Presidents’ Day is fast approaching and with another looong weekend to fill, it’s time to find some swell activities around LA that will both entertain your pint-sized patriots and maybe even teach them about our nation and founding forefathers. We’ve rounded up a list almost as long as the Constitution of our fave presidential to-dos. So fire up “Star Spangled Banner” on the karaoke machine, slap on a stovepipe hat worthy of Lincoln and brace yourself for a President’s Day weekend to remember.
Dive Into American History Lessons (That Are Actually Fun)
SoCal is home to not just one, but two presidential libraries and museums. And now that things are reopening, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is once again hosting its Annual Presidents’ Day Celebration with lots of storytelling, entertainment and even president and first lady look-alikes—ooolala! Or if Nixon's your guy, head over to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Mon. for the unveiling of the official 2022 White House Christmas ornament honoring the Nixon presidency. Some interior spaces at the museum still remain closed to the public due to COVID.
On June 12, 1987 President Reagan stood 100 yards from the Berlin Wall that divided East and West Germany and delivered his infamous "Tear Down This Wall" speech that would prove to be a turning point in the Cold War. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, LA's Wende Museum installed one of largest stretches of the original Berlin wall in the world at 5900 Wilshire Blvd (across from LACMA). Stop by and share this great piece of history with your family.
At the Autry Museum, little cowpokes can ooo and ahh over hundreds of pieces of art and important artifacts that showcase the triumphs and hardships of the American West. Don't forget to try your luck at panning for gold with your little 49ers. It's always a hit with kids.
Kennedy was president during the great space race and a visit to the California Science Center to scope out the Space Shuttle Endeavor is the perfect way to see just how far we’ve come and inspire future space explorers of your own.
Known as the “Battleship of Presidents," the Battleship USS Iowa was the WWII flagship that carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic for meetings with Winston Churchill. It was also the flagship for President Reagan during our nation’s Celebration of Liberty on July 4, 1986. Visitor tours have recently resumed and there's never been a better time to check out this incredible naval history museum.
Finally, don’t throw away your shot to catch Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning juggernaut,Hamilton, at the Pantages Theater before it ends its run in Mar. We can’t think of a cooler way to teach littles about Alexander Hamilton’s history as one of the founding fathers of the United States.
When President Obama was on the campaign trail in 2011, his motorcade famously stopped for a bite and some hand shaking at one of LA's most iconic eateries—Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. As a tribute to the former president's visit, Roscoe's now features the #9 Obama’s Special on their regular menu—3 wings with a waffle or potato salad or french fries.
Not to be outdone, Canter's Deli also hosted Obama in 2014 when he stopped by to speak with a group of Americans who had written to him about their struggles. While he was there, he visited with customers and posed for photos. President Kennedy and President Nixon were also known to have dined here as well.
If you have a hankering for something sweet this Presidents' Day, nothing's more American than good old fashioned apple pie. Visit your favorite local spot for a slice (or whole pie) to go.
One of the things that makes America so special is that it's a true melting pot of different of cultures. At Smorgasburg LA, a weekly pop-up every Sun., you can taste a wide variety of foods from sea to shining sea. Another great pit stop for a wide offering of multicultural cuisines is Grand Central Market downtown—it's fantastic!
Honor Teddy Roosevelt, the founder of our nation’s great parks system, and treat your family to an afternoon filled with sunshine and fun-filled nature exploration. Choose a day hike from one of our favorite destinations, some of which may even have waterfalls!
If you're craving some eye-popping flora and fauna, we highly recommend a visit to The Huntington Garden Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens. There's no more beautiful place to spend the day. And while you're there, pop by the Library to check out the Huntington's famous collections and papers of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.
Given the long weekend, use that extra time to visit a National Park. There are so many close to LA—from Joshua Tree and Cabrillo to Channel Islands National Park and more—there's a nearby spot to explore, including cabins and vacation rentals if you want to extend your stay.
Dive Into American Pop Culture
Throughout history, America has consistently stood at the forefront of filmmaking. For an immersive look at the history of cinema, visit the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that opened last fall. Highlights for kids include the Hayao Miyazaki exhibition (which ends in Jun.) and the Pixar 3D Zoetrope.
If the pandemic's brought us one good thing, it's the return of drive-in movies. On Presidents' Day weekend, Street Food Cinema will feature the movies Up and LaLa Land with a delicious selection of foods on site that are available for purchase.
We could wax poetically all day about the kitsch of Madame Tussaud's Hollywood. Visit your fave celebrities who've been expertly sculpted into wax so real, you may have to do a double take. They'll even pose for a photo or two with you...after all, they're not going anywhere.
American football is an enormous part of our culture, especially when our city not only hosts this year's Super Bowl, but also has a team competing in it (Go Rams!). So even if you didn't snag tickets to the big showdown, football fans can take a tour of the new Sofi Stadium in Inglewood which has been dubbed by some as the "very best in the world." Guests get to run through the tunnel, participate in on-field challenges and more.
Throughout history, America has consistently stood at the forefront of filmmaking. For an immersive look at the history of cinema, visit the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that opened last fall. Highlights for kids include the Hayao Miyazaki exhibition (which ends in Jun.) and the Pixar 3D Zoetrope.
If the pandemic's brought us one good thing, it's the return of drive-in movies. On Presidents' Day weekend, Street Food Cinema will feature the movies Up and LaLa Land with a delicious selection of foods on site that are available for purchase.
We could wax poetically all day about the kitsch of Madame Tussaud's Hollywood. Visit your fave celebrities who've been expertly sculpted into wax so real, you may have to do a double take. They'll even pose for a photo or two with you...after all, they're not going anywhere.
American football is an enormous part of our culture, especially when our city not only hosts this year's Super Bowl, but also has a team competing in it (Go Rams!). So even if you didn't snag tickets to the big showdown, football fans can take a tour of the new Sofi Stadium in Inglewood which has been dubbed by some as the "very best in the world." Guests get to run through the tunnel, participate in on-field challenges and more.
Let’s be honest. If someone gave any parent a mike and a podcast, there would be some interesting reveals that would leave the entire non-parenting world scratching their heads. It’s no surprise that married celebrity couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have raised more than a few eyebrows by discussing their family’s habits publicly, and we like them all the more for it.
During a recent episode of Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, Bell admitted that their whole family co-sleeps. “You know the girls sleep on the floor of our bedroom,” Bell said of their daughters Lincoln, 8 and Delta, 7. Regardless of where you fall on the bedtime arrangement spectrum, one thing is true: there’s no room for judgement in the Parentverse.
The confession came along with a larger part of a story that most parents will also identify with; random unknown smells popping up in the house. Bell admitted to waking up to a pretty awful smell, and thinking it was thanks to her “gassy” family. “I wake up in the morning and I go, ‘Wow nobody’s gas has dissipated, but it also smells like it’s burning,'” she explained on the podcast. After careful investigation, she learned that a spilled protein shake was the culprit. Well, that’s probably good news, right?
Any news from the Bell-Shepard household is welcome, honestly, because they are just so relatable. Whether it’s talking openly about homeschooling during a pandemic, admitting they lie to their kids sometimes, or confessing to things that tend to bring a lot of judgement in the parenting world — you can always count on this couple to be honest.
You’ve heard it before but now we know it’s true. The higher the hair, the closer to Heaven, and we’re pretty sure Dolly is a saint.
Dolly Parton’s Dollywood in Sevierville, Tennessee will start covering 100% of tuition, fees and books for any of their employees who want to further their schooling—any, y’all. Seasonal, part-time and full-time employees in Dolly’s empire, including Dollywood, Dollywood’s Splash Country, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort, Dollywood Cabins and Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show, can enjoy this perk through the GROW U pilot program launching on Feb. 24.
There’s no catch. Dolly’s employees can enroll in diploma, degree and certificate programs offered through 30 learning partners on their very first day of work. Subjects such as business administration and leadership, culinary, finance, technology and marketing are fully covered and partial funding—up to $5,250/year—is provided for 150 additional programs in fields like hospitality, engineering, human resources and art design.
The Dollywood Company’s president, Eugene Naughton, told local Tennessee news outlet WATE, “We know when our hosts are happy and feel cared for that they are going to pass that along to our guests. The creation of the program allows another avenue for us to care for our hosts.”
The company’s tenets include learn more, care more, dream more and be more. “When our hosts strive to grow themselves, it makes our business and our community a truly better place.”
And this isn’t the first instance of The Dollywood Company living their corporate tenets. Dolly’s Imagination Library partners with local communities to provide every preschool-aged child a free book each month, and she gives away over $1 million a year in donations through her Dollywood Foundation.
She read bedtime stories to our children during the darkest days of the Covid lockdown. Oh. And she also gave $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to fund the development of the Moderna vaccine, so she kind of solved a worldwide pandemic, too.
As one of her early songs goes, “Just because I’m blonde don’t think I’m dumb cause this dumb blonde ain’t nobody’s fool.” We couldn’t agree more. She’s a shrewd businesswoman who uses her influence and resources for extraordinary good.
—Shelley Massey
Featured image Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library via YouTube
Barbie has been hard at work as usual. In a new press release, Mattel announced that she has partnered with a team of neuroscientists at Cardiff University on a multi-year study on the developmental impacts of doll play and that the latest findings are now ready. The study has some interesting information on just what exactly kids say while playing and its relation to playing with dolls and understanding emotions.
Published in Developmental Scienceand titledDoll Play Prompts Social Thinking and Social Talking: Representations of Internal State Language in the Brain, researchers used state-of-the-art functional, near-infrared spectroscopy equipment to examine brain activity while kids played with dolls and on tablets. They found that children used internal state language (ISL)––talking about others’ thoughts and emotions––more when playing with dolls than when playing on a tablet. So why is that important?
Researcher Dr. Sarah Gerson believes that “When children create imaginary worlds and role play with dolls, they communicate at first out loud and then internalize the message about others’ thoughts, emotions and feelings. This can have positive long-lasting effects on children, such as driving higher rates of social and emotional processing and building social skills like empathy that can become internalized to build and form lifelong habits.”
Using ISL allows kids to hone their social skills with real people, resulting in strong emotional development as they mature. Since children were so strongly impacted during the pandemic when it comes to interacting with peers, the researchers at Cardiff University assert that doll play provide a necessary outlet for kids to practice skills, scenes and interactions that can be used in real-life.
“Internal state language can indicate that a child is thinking about other people’s thoughts and emotions while playing with dolls. These skills are really important for interacting with other people, learning from other people, and navigating a variety of social situations. It becomes important for making and sustaining friendships, and how they learn from their teachers, and parents,” says Gerson.
Looks like it’s time to grab the box of Barbies and get all the kiddos playing. The research suggested that the study findings are gender neutral and that doll play is critical for everyone.
