It’s just about sugaring season — the annual Vermont ritual when the sweet sap of Sugar Maples warms and runs out of the taps, a time for learning about the sugaring process to see where maple syrup comes from. Our five favorite posts for change makers and communicators taps into a sweet mix of subjects. Here, ICYMI, are our top picks from what we were reading in February.
Monthly top picks: 5 links we loved in February
The Essentials for Giving Birth Around the World (The Atlantic)
To draw attention to the difficulty of giving birth in regions where water is scarce, the organization WaterAid recently dispatched photographers to ask expecting and brand-new moms in various countries to open up their hospital bags. This photo series reveals what expectant mothers in various countries bring with them to the hospital, as well as lightly edited interviews with the moms conducted by #WaterAid. #women
Today’s hoverboard hysteria is like the early panic around bicycles (Medium)
A retrospective about media reactions to change can simply be informative or it can deliver a good laugh. This collection contrasting then and now media stories about two-wheeled transportation will definitely make you smile. “A bizarre two-wheeled vehicle is sweeping the world. It’s being met with ridicule, fear and legislative action. That pretty much sums up present-day reactions to the hoverboard. It’s also how people felt when the bicycle became popular around 130 years ago.” #media #hoverboard
Learning to Think Different (The New Yorker)
This is the story of the rapid rise of AltSchool, a disruptive new technology-based approach to personalized learning for pre-kindergarten to third grade education. Some of Silicon Valley’s top investors and major foundations have invested in the private company. Anyone who cares about early education, equal access and the workforce of tomorrow will want to read the New Yorker’s deep dive into the subject. #EarlyEd # AltSchool
How Gender Neutral Is Guys, Really? (Slate)
I did not realize that guy was originally an eponym for Guy Fawkes, before it extended to become an informal, gender-neutral vocative or term of address, especially in the plural, as in Hey guys. As Stan Carey points out in his analysis of the phrase and its alternatives: “English has rather few options for general-purpose, mixed-gender address” #Language #Gender
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (VIDEO via Vimeo)
“The Present” is a graduation short film by Jacob Frey from the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Be forewarned: This short video creeps up on you with an emotional punch. #Vimeo #ThePresent
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Did we miss anything? Share your favorite changemaker links from last month in the comments below. Tip us off to other great posts for future link roundups by shooting us an email at partners@marketing-partners.com.
