Nourishing Ideas

What Belonging Feels Like
“All my life, I thought everyone was having a good time, except for me. When I was in the army, we’d go to bars and everyone was laughing. I’d laugh, too, even though I didn’t feel like laughing. I’d make jokes about women that I didn’t believe, because I thought they were what the guys wanted to hear. People liked me, but it was the pretend-me. It wasn’t me.

It wasn’t until I’d been in here [prison] for several years, and finally made some real friends, that I found out that everybody in that bar felt that way. People feel that way everywhere. I was envying everybody, and everybody was envying me, and we were all laughing and none of us had a goddam friend in the world. Hell, that’s why we were in the army in the first place!”

This is an excerpt from wonderfully insightful article posted on the Belonging Initiative blog. Read more...

Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies (JUMP Math)
JUMP is a numeracy program founded in 1998 by mathematician, author and award-winning playwright John Mighton. JUMP believes that all children can be led to think mathematically, and that with even a modest amount of attention every child will flourish.

Helping children understand mathematics is the bottom-line issue that JUMP Math is striving to address. JUMP is aware that there is causal linkage between a child’s academic success and his or her future contribution to society. We strive to increase children’s chances of success, to reduce socio-economic disparities, to engender a sense of belonging and, most importantly, to endow voiceless children with opportunity.

John Mighton is the author of two worthwhile reads, The Myth of Ability and