Cross-posted at MotherTalkers.
Good morning fellow moms, dads and caregivers!
I am back with your weekly parenting news update. Here are some topics we recently discussed at MotherTalkers:
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco recently heard arguments whether millions of women who work or used to work at Wal-Mart can join a class action lawsuit against the retail giant for pay discrimination, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. According to the plaintiffs, Wal-Mart showed a pattern in all 41 regions it serves of paying women, on average, $2,000 per year less than men who held the same positions. Men were also promoted at a greater rate than women, the women's attorney said.
Just to show you that the unemployed are not the only people lacking health insurance, 1 in 5 U.S. workers currently has no healthcare coverage, according to the Associated Press. In related news, parents at MotherTalkers discussed the benefits their companies have slashed to stave off layoffs in light of a news story showing that less working mothers are taking advantage of benefits like flextime in order to keep their jobs.
We had a long discussion about the lack of funding for gifted programs in schools. The conversation was sparked by this Newsweek column, in which a mom griped that there were more resources poured into her special needs son than her gifted daughter. What if her daughter can come up with a cure for autism? Personally, I agreed with the women on our site who said the purpose of a public education is to make sure everyone is served, not provide a specialized turbo education for a few kids. That said, there were many good suggestions on how to meet the needs of gifted children within a public school classroom. Are any of your children gifted? How are they educated?
For some light reading, check out this blog written by the grandma who was recently called out by the New York Times for being an uninvolved "glam-ma." Also, check out The Great Zucchini, a wonderful profile in the Washington Post Magazine about a guy who has the unique ability to make preschoolers laugh and makes a six-figure salary doing it.
By the way, I gave in and opened a twitter account. I am still getting the hang of it, but you can follow me at ElisaBatista. Do you tweet? I am actually not a technophile and am still reeling over the Facebook changes. The horror!
What's up with you?