Starting in preschool, gender equality lessons are taught — and it doesn’t stop there. They have 3 laws that protect women at work, ban gender discriminatory advertising, and prohibit strip clubs for feminist reasons. In 2009, Iceland was the first country to completely close the gender gap in education and health.

In 2016, it was 87% of the way to closing gender gaps in all sectors.

Check out the laws and practices that Iceland uses to support women’s rights:

1. Women’s equality is protected by law

2. Equal pay for equal work is mandatory (by 2020)

3. Companies’ Boards must include at least 40% women

4. Best parental-leave policy in the world

5. Students learn gender equality is important (preschool to college)

6. Paying for sex is illegal; strip clubs are illegal; prostitutes are victims

Imagine the world if all nations had these laws and practices in place? That would be a more peaceful and enlightened world.

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Children of alumni (aka legacies) are more likely to get into elite colleges than students with equal qualifications without the legacy card. Remember that a hundred years ago, elite colleges were predominantly white, male, and wealthy.  So if the legacy tradition has been in place for decades, these elite institutions have been discriminating against women and people of color simply by reserving the right to admit children of alumni.    At the start of the 20th century, these legacy policies were a deliberate strategy to keep Jewish students out of elite colleges. When children of alumni’s GPA and SAT scores were lower than Jewish students, these elite colleges needed to give their legacy students an advantage. This was blatant discrimination.    One of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, rejected the system of hereditary privilege of the English monarchy. He hoped America could be a natural aristocracy based on virtue and talent. And today in 2019, I’d like to see the end of the legacy loophole.   [Source]

Think you can pay tutors to write your child’s college app essays? Not if you want them to get into college and do well once they get there!

When a tutor gets paid to edit dozens of essays, it’s in the tutor’s best interest to completely rewrite them as quickly as possible. But just because the essay is excellent, doesn’t mean that the student will get into a top college. Actually, perfect essays will probably do the opposite! Yup! Remember college admissions officers read thousands of essays and they can quickly spot an essay that isn’t written by the student.  They review each student’s entire application so they see the student’s GPA and SAT/ACT scores, quality of the school, caliber of courses taken, and extracurriculars. That means that if this tutor wrote an excellent essay from a college graduate’s refined perspective and writing style, it might not match up with what the admissions officer would expect to read from an average high school student.  In other words, the essay probably won’t pass the sniff test. 

In the unlikely chance that this student got into their dream college by submitting an essay that a tutor wrote for him, he’ll likely fail out. I see this happening every year.  How can parents expect their child to do well in college when the entire class of incoming students have far superior critical thinking and writing skills than their child? This unfortunate child will harbor feelings of incompetence as he struggles to pass courses. His parents will need to pay tutors to write his essays for classes just to graduate.  This student couldn’t possibly go on to graduate school because his college GPA will not be competitive, and forget him passing the GRE or other grad school exams. 

So if your child is not a prolific writer, don’t pay someone to write their essays.  Instead, hire a tutor who will teach him how to write these essays.  It might take 15-20 drafts but with each draft, your child’s writing skills will improve. First they should start with carefully reading the essay prompts.  20% of my students write essays that don’t address the prompt – a big no-no in the eyes of college admissions officers.  Then they’ll need to brainstorm about experiences they’ve had that address the prompts.  If they’ve done a project, that will be the focus for all of their applications. Next, they’ll write an outline, and then a rough draft.  In the following 3-4 drafts, they’ll add more content and details, and then they’ll start editing grammar and word usage.  In the final drafts, they’ll be polishing the essay and checking its tone and clarity. If the student reads it and it doesn’t sound like they’re telling the story, then they will continue to work on it until it does. When they’re done, the student will be proud of the essay and ready to start the next one.  Each essay will get easier to write and when they’re done with all of their applications, your child will be ready to tackle college-level essays and head off to college with success.

Do your child a favor by not paying someone to write his essays.  Stay away from companies that give you package deals because they’ll be motivated to do heavy editing or rewrite essays that your child could never write. All of my college advisory specialists are trained and dedicated to helping students write excellent essays and retain each student’s individual voice. They don’t rush through the process because the student’s writing won’t improve. Sure, you want your child to get into a top college or university, but you want them to get in on their own merits and you want them to have the skills to hold their head up high and enjoy their college experience. 

[Source]

Have an “IDEA WORTH SPREADING”?

TEDx is an excellent platform to share your thoughts, discoveries, and projects, and TEDxMeritAcademy is currently looking for speakers for our 2019 event.

Check out our previous TEDxMeritAcademy events. If you would like to speak at our TEDxMeritAcademy event on Saturday, July 27^th, 2019, please contact us at info@meritworld.com or 831.462.5655.  We’re reviewing applications now and will be announcing the new speakers in May!

When 50% of female homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner, domestic violence is a serious problem in America. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has decided to change the definition of domestic violence and sexual assault to consider physical harm ONLY.  This eliminates the very root and nature of abuse that includes power and control, patterns of behavior, sexual violence, and emotional, economic, and psychological abuse.

What does this mean?

If a woman’s partner isolates her from friends and family, monitors and controls her actions, verbally abuses her, or controls her access to money to support herself and her children, she is NOT considered a victim of domestic violence.  Only actions that are felonies or misdemeanors are considered domestic violence.

Why is this a problem?

Victims will need to report the abuse and the abusers will need to face criminal punishment. Many victims are afraid that such calls will result in more aggravated assaults against themselves and loss of financial support that may cause homelessness for themselves and their children (if their abuser goes to prison). These women need the oversight and protection of domestic violence support programs so they can get out of these abusive relationships before it’s too late. Trump’s domestic violence program may restrict vital programs to just those who are victims of crime, not the survivors who don’t report their abuse. Most relationships start off rosy and some gradually become abusive.  This happens over time and it’s during this time that advocacy programs need to support victims so they can get away from their abusers.

We need to check in with loved ones to ensure that they are safe, and if they are not, we need domestic violence advocacy programs and funds in place to protect them.

Sleeping in on the weekend doesn’t help you catch up after late nights all week.

If you’re staying up late and getting up early during the week (sound like you?) and you love to sleep in on the weekend to catch up on sleep, a new study by Current Biology found that you might become less healthy than your sleep-deprived peers. Why? That’s counterintuitive.

Sleep deprivation may cause weight gain and chronic illnesses like diabetes because it alters your metabolism. Changing sleep cycles between the week and the weekend can further aggravate sleep deprivation. Because most people work or go to school during the week, this alternating sleep cycle can continue for years, even decades.

Want to be well rested and healthy? Set a regular bedtime EVERY night of the week, and don’t eat snacks after 9:00 pm. You’ll be more energized and you’ll be healthier!

[Source]

When parents take control of their children’s lives, their children never learn personal accountability.  If a parent cuts down all obstacles before a child (thus, lawnmower), that child is missing a lot of important lessons and experiences.  Parents shouldn’t need to wake their children up or remind them to study for tests in high school. Sure, in elementary, and even for some middle school students need parents to set rules and guidelines to help them establish good ethics and a sense of responsibility. But, in high school?

I see this behavior all the time. Parents set the alarms, drive the kids to school, get them to extracurricular activities on time, and help with homework. Why would a kid ever worry about taking responsibility for things when they know their Lawnmower Mom will make sure everything is handled. It’s no wonder why some parents bribe their children’s way to college admissions – they start doing this in elementary school and continue through college.

According to a New York Times poll, many parents never stop doing things for their kids.

76% remind their college students about deadlines

74% make doctor’s appointments for their adult kids

15% call or text their college students to wake up for tests or classes

11% call their adult child’s employer to discuss issues at work

22% help their kids study for college exams

16% write part or all of their employment or internship applications

14% helped set up internships and jobs

12% gave their adult children more than $500 per month for rent and living expenses

11% helped their kids write college essays

So if you think you’re helping your child by taking all of the responsibility upon yourself, think again. You’re not. You’re actually setting your child up for failure when you actually stop doing the work for them. My girls used the Merit Planner to get organized and took it upon themselves to reach their goals.

[Source]

Now that you’re happily on your way to a UC next year, you’ll need to take the Analytical Writing Placement Exam (AWPE) on May 11th, if you haven’t already satisfied the requirement.  You’ll receive a letter from UC with information about the location and other information in early April if you need to take the AWPE.

Students aren’t required to take the AWPE if you have any of the following scores:

– 30 or better on the ACT, English Language Arts; or

– 680 or better on the SAT, Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing section; or

– 3 or above on either the AP English Language or AP English Literature; or

– 5 or above on an IB Higher Level English A: Literature exam; or

– 6 or above on an IB Standard Level English A: Literature exam; or

– 5 or above on an IB Higher Level English A: Language and Literature exam; or

– 6 or above on an IB Standard Level English A: Language and Literature exam; or

– Successfully completed a UC-transferable English composition college course.

Go to www.ucop.edu/elwr for more information.

Have you encountered parents who don’t say “NO!” to their children? I vividly remember a mother of a 4-year-old girl pulling me aside and telling me that “we” don’t say no or anything negative to our daughter. I had hosted a treasure hunt with a dozen other children at my house, and this child wasn’t actually invited (she was a guest of a guest). Taken aback, this was the first time I had ever heard of this type of parenting. It took me a few minutes to grasp the concept and try to understand how I could have a conversation without using the “no” word with the little girl, while leading a group of children on a treasure hunt.

This parenting concept is interesting because I have been learning about “framing” conversations to ensure that your message is clear. Check out Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate by George Lakoff. I try to avoid using negative words and phrases to create a positive experience. For instance, when I hear “No problem,” my gut response is to brace for something awful until I realize it’s a double negative (which is a positive) and all things are good. So instead, I say, “That’s great! Or, my pleasure!” so my words feel good as they are received.

I guess my point is about how some pushy parents demand that others refrain from using the “no” word. It’s one thing to choose your parenting style; it’s another to expect others to do the same when dealing with your child. In this case, lead by example. When others use the “no” word, talk to your child so they learn how people communicate differently.

As we announced earlier, Susan Tatsui-D’Arcy has been pronounced 2019 California Mother of the Year by American Mothers, Inc.  We’re very excited about this, so we’re sharing more content from the official announcement.  Today’s content comes from her page on americanmothers.org, which you can find here.

More about Susan

Susan Tatsui-D’Arcy was born and raised in Southern California and currently lives in Santa Cruz, California. After her first child was born, Susan set up a preschool so she could spend more time with her daughter and provide engaging activities for her. She invited other children to join to create a stimulating and social environment. Realizing that no existing school met the standards she wanted for her children, she opened an elementary school for accelerated students that expanded with her children as they advanced each year. When her daughters were in middle school, Susan created ProjectMERIT to inspire teens to find their niches and pursue independent projects and then expanded Merit Academy to include high school and college advisory. Susan has written eleven books on parenting, education & time management. Susan is the CEO and founder of Merit Academy and Merit Educational Consultants. For fun, Susan skis, ATVs, and manages her aquaponics garden and permaculture fruit orchard.  

What is your favorite memory as a mother?

My favorite memory as a mother was reading aloud the 1500-page biographies that I wrote about my daughters to each of them. I recently completed this 15-year project and bound their biographies in 7 volumes. I read passages from the biographies to them while we were driving on a road trip. We laughed because they hadn’t heard many of the stories. They were intrigued to see many of their personality traits started when they were very young. Sharing these stories and photos with my girls is one of my favorite memories; I hope they share them with their future families.

 What is the craziest thing one of your kids has done?

My 14 year old daughter wanted to make alcohol fuel from rotten veggies so she asked me if she could buy the materials to make it. I gave her my credit card and she ordered the parts online. A few days later, I received a phone call from the FBI inquiring about my purchases of parts to build a 5,000-gallon still! I put them on hold, so I could talk to my daughter. She had decided to build a big still so she could make enough fuel for the year! Luckily, the FBI had a sense of humor!

What was your biggest misconception about being a mom?

I thought that once I figured out the parenting thing when my girls were toddlers, I’d know how to handle all of the future stages of development. Nope! It seemed that as soon as I figured out how to deal with tantrums, hurt feelings, and fairness, they inevitably would present me with something unexpected — sending me back to square one, again! Being a mom is one of the most challenging — and wonderful — things I’ve done!

Throughout the coming year, Susan will speak to mothers across California about two of her passions: Setting up free child care for mothers, and guiding students to do projects that will help them get into top colleges, while solving regional and international problems. 

Susan will be honored at the California Mother of the Year® gala in La Cañada Flintridge on April 13th where she’ll talk about her plans to speak to moms at multiple events via many different media platforms throughout the year. 

Susan is also a nominee for the National Mother of the Year® award, which will be announced in Washington D.C. on April 30th.  

Link to Mother of the Year Announcement: 
https://www.americanmothers.org/honor-mom/mother-of-the-year/2019-honorees/

More about American Mothers, Inc

The California Chapter of American Mothers Inc. is an inter-faith, non-political, non-profit organization which recognizes and supports the important role of motherhood with service and education.  American Mothers Inc. is a nonprofit organization founded by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s mother Sara Delano Roosevelt in 1935, and it has been honoring Mothers of the Year in all 50 states every year since. Many outstanding individuals throughout America have also served as officers, leaders, supporters and award recipients of this organization such as First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, Congresswoman Lindy Boggs, and Hillary Rodham Clinton.