The contemporary flat Earth movement is a relatively small but firm group of believers who are supported by mystical factors and often mix with conspiracy theories, which can contribute to their beliefs and ideologies.

These believers are not united by their belief but by their distrust of authority, and there is no singular coherent flat Earth theory among them.

The flat Earth movement can be found on social media platforms, which host supporters globally and provide a space for them to share their ideas.

Some public figures, such as Kyrie Irving and Mohamed Sobhy, have sparked controversy with their statements supporting the flat Earth theory.

The characteristics of people who are most likely to subscribe to flat Earth beliefs are not explicitly stated, but it is mentioned that human society is changing from possessiveness to feeling, and most people on Earth are uneducated and resort to illusion of competition.

The resurgence of the flat Earth idea in the modern world can be attributed to a return to medieval way of thinking, as well as the influence of books such as "The Lost Earth Truth 1" by Radu Cinamar.

The flat Earth movement is often described as a kind of missionary work that covers up fanaticism, rather than a legitimate scientific theory.

Despite the lack of scientific evidence, the flat Earth movement continues to exist and spread through online platforms and private groups.

The potential risks or dangers of flat Earth beliefs to children or teenagers include the potential for misinformation, lack of critical thinking, and harm to their physical and mental well-being.

Teenagers who associate with someone who holds flat Earth beliefs may be at risk of being misled by misinformation and lack of critical thinking.

To address the situation when a teenager's friend or family member holds flat Earth beliefs, parents or caregivers can maintain good communication with teenagers to build trust.

They can also get to know their friends to understand their social environment and encourage teenagers to meet new people.

To balance their desire to protect their teenager from potentially harmful influences with the need to respect their teenager's autonomy and relationships with others, parents should respect their teenager's autonomy and relationships.

Good communication helps parents guide children and is essential in navigating the complexities of adolescence.

Parents should give up imperative dialogue and expectations, instead focusing on building trust and mutual respect with their teenager.

Setting boundaries and self-discipline is essential for freedom, and parents should prioritize building relationships over being overly controlling.

Encouraging open communication helps build trust, and parents should express concerns honestly and listen to their teenager's perspective.

Critical thinking is a crucial skill for evaluating information and making informed decisions, which is especially important when encountering controversial topics like the flat Earth movement.

Teaching critical thinking skills to evaluate information is essential, as much online information is false or propaganda, and schools often focus on remembering facts rather than thinking.

Media literacy combats misinformation and disinformation, and critical thinking is key to evaluating information, making it an important component of school systems.

Institutions of higher learning teach critical thinking to draw conclusions based on reason, which is necessary for separating facts from opinions and evaluating information.

A majority of children and teenagers lack media literacy skills, which makes them vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation, including the flat Earth movement.

Young people get news from social media without understanding algorithms, and only 24% of young people receive media literacy lessons in school, highlighting the need for increased media literacy education.

Media literacy education helps students evaluate information and make informed decisions, and it is an indispensable civic quality for digital citizens.

To effectively counter or address flat Earth beliefs in a constructive and respectful manner, parents or caregivers should prioritize emotional connection to build trust.

This can be achieved by practicing positive discipline for learning, cultivating open communication for expression, and fostering trust and consistency for reliability.

It is also essential to lead by example to model values and behaviors, which can help prevent the adoption of flat Earth beliefs.

Avoiding absolute expressions, refraining from comparing partners to their parents, and showing engagement and willingness to work on issues can also help in addressing these beliefs.

Effective communication is crucial for healthy relationships, and acknowledging differences promotes respectful dialogue, which is vital when discussing flat Earth beliefs.

Having an open and respectful conversation with a teenager about flat Earth beliefs requires listening to their feelings and affirming them to start the conversation.

Asking teenagers about their concerns and feelings is essential to understand their perspective on the topic.

Avoiding emphasis on shortcomings can help alleviate anxiety and create a safe space for discussion.

Paying attention to the teenager's mental health and anxiety is crucial when discussing sensitive topics like flat Earth beliefs.

Disentangling the parent's concerns from the teenager's concerns can help prevent misunderstandings and promote effective communication.

Open-ended questions can encourage teenagers to discuss their beliefs and opinions without feeling judged.

Listening to teenagers' opinions without judgment is crucial to building trust and encouraging critical thinking.

Providing age-appropriate information can help teenagers think critically about the information they consume online.

Encouraging self-esteem can prevent teenagers from following risky behaviors or adopting misconceptions like flat Earth beliefs.

Ultimately, promoting critical thinking and media literacy skills in children and teenagers is essential for preparing them to navigate the challenges of the modern world and make informed decisions about controversial topics like the flat Earth movement.

The contemporary flat Earth movement is a relatively small but firm group of believers who are supported by mystical factors and often mix with conspiracy theories, which can contribute to their beliefs and ideologies.

Title:

Content: "The Lost Earth Truth 1": The level of the earth seems to be the "gold rush" of our time.
Photo Credit: iStock
What we want you to know is
Through the multi-dimensional advanced high-tech "heterogeneous meta-helmet", scientists learned that the earth is full of four-dimensional entrances, the third dimension of the material plane and the fourth dimension of the etheric plane are originally "twins".
Written by Radu Cinama
Tiping said it was the "gold rush" of this era.
Based on a reference to the House of the Cabal, which hides the door to multidimensional interaction, I found an informative note that I had never seen before, floating among dozens of notes on my desk.
In general, I prefer to work in electronic form or wait for notes or files in digital format, but given my particular interest in the Dimension Portal, I decided to check everything on my desk, including the latest events.
I do not know the reasons and methods, but the information I found was ignored.
After reviewing notes and data summaries, I discovered an event called “Ground Floor – References ”, a“ movement ” that I ’ ve heard has made waves among people, but I never thought it would become a theme for our department.
The illusion of this idea is obvious, especially for those who have good judgment and personal experience of our planet from the perspective of outer space.
I was a bit confused and didn ’ t know if I should read a few pages of summaries about the ground floor.
I went to Lieutenant Nikola and asked him about it.
He told me that the information came from the operations department of another SRI division, an acronym for the Romanian Intelligence Agency, which has the status of a second level notice.
The lieutenant made it clear that the only reason this information reached our department was because it triggered an abnormal "phenomenon" in the world, but in our country, the number of "followers" is relatively small and the proportion is reasonable, and the level seems to be the "gold rush" of our time. It makes you speechless, even in a state of “shock. ”
I can understand that the paranoia and other obscure interests of hundreds of years ago amplify the lack of knowledge, which may occupy the minds of a relatively small number of people, but it is unreasonable to allow it to develop to the level of the international movement of the 21st century.
From a heavenly point of view, I wonder if human stupidity can rise above that level, but I don ’ t quite believe in that prospect.
However, even the most bizarre phenomena must be taken into account, at least taking into account the crowd and their opinions, which is one of the Secret Service's tasks.
I did read the summary, which revealed the main points of the problem very clearly, but did not give any conclusions.
Severe retrogression into the Middle Ages
On the same night, I took advantage of Cesar ’ s free time and shared the ground level problem with him, more as a social case than a research direction.
Cesar laughed loudly, talked about the topic for a while, and then suddenly turned to some very interesting questions.
He told me that three or four years ago, the issue was introduced to him and discussed with other colleagues in the intelligence department because there were signs that the idea was trending toward a consensus.
Out of respect for readers, I don ’ t usually include such a discussion in my series.
It requires only a little wisdom and minimal scientific training to understand, and arguments in support of this theory are tantamount to ignorance and fanaticism.
Beyond this, however, Cesar reveals some psychological cues that seem to be of some importance to general knowledge and social experience.
When discussing topping with Cesar, the first point involves a large number of followers.
“The mechanism for this strange theory of increased follower numbers is related to human isolation, ” says Cesar.
“It ’ s as if the population is divided into two distinct categories, but this separation is actually based on each person ’ s level of consciousness, which is directly related to their vibration frequency. ”
“But, ” I replied,“ I don ’ t know what caused this outbreak, and more and more people are insisting on these ‘ arguments ’ without meaning. ”
It's more like a stupid virus. "
“This major shift in thinking patterns is not at the same wavelength as what is commonly understood in the world today.
In other words, such new ideas have nothing to do with the knowledge of our time.
This is an effective method, because the earth is flat, and the idea is strongly supported by mystical factors, as well as by those who are keen to see things stagnant and not progressing.
This is the best way to control it: take people away from reality, let them dream nonsense, support their fantasies, and encourage them to project.
Therefore, it is controlled by imposing on the masses what they want.
Followers of earth thought, firmly believing in it, will seek to meet others, gather, and even separate themselves from others, because they will see others as fools deceived by lies.
In other words, they will be convinced that they are the ones who “discovered ” the truth. While it is sad to hear the news, unfortunately, the situation is quite real. ”
“Although I have this report under my nose, I can ’ t believe it has reached this point.
I feel like this is an ugly dream, as if some people in the world have voluntarily gone back hundreds of years.
That's how I feel.
Incredibly, people ’ s minds today are still influenced by delusions that defy not only decent intelligence but also scientific reasoning, making everything frenzied.
Look at the results! ”
I showed Cesar ’ s estimated numbers and charts.
"I know.
We've talked to other colleagues, "he said.
“Your surprise is evidenced by the huge difference in conceptualization and vibration frequency that people are beginning to feel.
This is a reality that has become increasingly prominent over time and cannot be ignored.
This is part of the isolation I told you about.
In principle, people interact with those who are evolving and those who prefer to stay in purely physical, crude or involuntary groups.
Those in the first category perfect themselves, recognize the changes that are taking place on Earth, and experience certain emotional states and specific sensations.
That ’ s why it ’ s incredible for some people to think about problems in a medieval way, such as followers of the Earth Theory. ”
Cesar saw the astonishment on my face and hurried to prove what he said again.
“Yes, I ’ m not exaggerating.
This is a return to the Middle Ages, because these people cannot evolve; instead, they return to a more archaic state of consciousness, closer to their true level of consciousness. ”
“Why can ’ t they evolve? ” I asked in surprise.
Of course, I know the answer, but it ’ s always a pleasure to capture Cesar ’ s explanation.
In addition, there is always a new element that can enrich my knowledge.
“Because the current state of things they attract has nothing to do with the higher vibrations of the Earth, this feature is becoming more and more apparent. ”
“For the followers of the Earth Plane, their consolation lies in the frenzy of these primitive ideas, which are maintained as free spirits and ideas are blocked.
The same was true during the Inquisition: a set of foolish and erroneous ideas was raised into law, and any violation of those ideas was enforced. ”
When I think about it all, I hope I ’ m wrong.
“Are we back in the Middle Ages? History has set off a wave of extreme ideas.
Ancient people already knew that the earth was round, but the situation deteriorated in the Middle Ages, when there was a revival of modern science, but was this only to take us back to the Middle Ages now? ” (The author undoubtedly refers to the knowledge shared by Pythagoras and Aristotle, who both asserted that the earth is round, and the argument made by Eratonius in ancient Alexandria.)
Cesar calmly replied, “We don ’ t; but for the part that has degraded, yes. ”
Several factors contributed to this.
Followers of the Earth ’ s theory are indignant at their opinionated views, their refusal to think logically or rationally on the basis of real arguments and evidence, their denial of evidence, and their deceitful defense of their position.
In general, this is a kind of missionary covering up fanaticism.
The psychological factor of the earth level, the mind pulls people's distance
We note that whenever fanaticism prevails, society is confronted with a lack of insight and the limitations of personal freedom.
Cesar gave me an example that better explains how this dilemma can be achieved in the context of a relatively developed civilization.
"This phenomenon is the same as in quantum physics.
If there is enough energy, the electrons can jump into higher orbits.
If there is not enough energy, it can be kept at a slightly higher level and relatively stable; but at some point, the remaining energy will be released in the form of photons, and the electron will return to the orbit where it was originally found, back to where it started.
In quantum physics, this is the basic orbit of electrons.
In other words, electrons with these characteristics will return to the level where they have a safe orbit. ” I interjected, clinging to the subject.
“I know that throughout human history, the idea that the earth is flat has long existed in some religions.
Modern astronomy has developed extensively since then.
Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto have only been discovered for about two hundred years.
In this sense, the ground floor is actually not very old, its memory is still fresh.
Perhaps that is why some humans return to the state they once knew. "
“This is another factor, ” Cesar acknowledged,“ in any case, human society is changing from ‘ possessiveness ’ to ‘ feeling ’, that sense of possession, egoism, competition, and violence tends to be gradually replaced by pure and positive emotions and feelings, which are fundamental to love, altruism, and compassion. ”
I have some doubts.
“It ’ s hard to believe, because almost all of us are seeing the spread of these negative manifestations. ”
“At first glance, it might be so.
Remember, however, that most people on Earth are uneducated, and they ‘ resort ’ to this illusion of competition, money, commerce, and lack of spirituality.
A large number of people who are addicted to this dream, tend to oppose those who are guided only by spiritual values and seek a pure life with a clear meaning, and have achieved a balance at this point.
This is what we call isolation. "
In fact, what Cesar wanted to say is that everyone is invited to participate in the great spiritual transformation of humanity and our planet, with the desire and dignity to demand that his life be the germ of light, spirituality and hope that we can enter a bright future.
This is an excellent ideal, but so far too few people have followed this ideal.
Book Introduction
This excerpt is from The Lost Earth Truth 1: The Hidden History of Holographic Time Travel, published by Daxi Culture.
Written by Radu Cinamar
Translated by: Sandra
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Radu Cinamar became famous after revealing an unprecedented and mysterious collaboration between the US and Romanian militaries.
American and Romanian troops have made an expedition under the Romanian Sphinx in the Bucegi Mountains and discovered the greatest archaeological discovery of all time: a mysterious chamber about 50,000 years old, containing a holographic record of human history of the Earth, biological resonance imaging technology, and three mysterious tunnels that lead to secrets deep in the heart of the earth.
Despite the political intrigue, confusion, and restrictions surrounding this great discovery, the expedition leader allowed Radu Sinamar to visit and explore the artifacts.
Since then, Radu ’ s life has been a labyrinthine adventure, filled with strange events, secret connections, and unusual people and things.
This book delves into ancient history in an unprecedented way, through the interaction of advanced technology ’ s “heterogeneous helmets ” with the author ’ s cerebral cortex and intuition, presenting more than 70 stunning images of the scene, the result of which is holographic projection, explaining and illustrating the DNA changes that took place over thousands of years and how humans evolved into what they are today.
Reveals the mystery of how multiple alien civilizations influenced and guided human DNA to evolve to a higher level.
Some of the hot spots in human history, which in the past either remained unknown or were only considered from a mythological point of view, include: Atlantis, Troy, Shambhala, and Huppelburia.
Disrupting the myths of the past, this book provides rich and accurate communications from the actual scene of holographic technology, combining esoteric knowledge and some scientific factors.
Special emphasis is placed on the "intersection" between the physical dimension and the etheric dimension and on the cracks or entrances between the dimensions.
In addition to revealing the ancient history of mankind, this fascinating work also describes a time out to see the origins of humanity and its hope for the future.
Book Features
Time-lapse decoding! The beginning of important human change
Through the multi-dimensional advanced high-tech "heterogeneous meta-helmet", scientists learned that the earth is full of four-dimensional entrances, the third dimension of the material plane and the fourth dimension of the etheric plane are originally "twins".
And you can see the "cosmic record" in the holographic image!
You can also overlook the cross-section of the earth, covering the deep human genetic technology and high-dimensional cosmic civilization, and no book in its amazing history has been exposed so far!
Editor-in-Chief: Weng Shihang
Editor-in-chief: Bohan Pan
Tags:

These believers are not united by their belief but by their distrust of authority, and there is no singular coherent flat Earth theory among them.

Title:

Content: Last Chance To Dance! 2022 Sundance Film Festival Coming To A Close

Posted by Larry Gleeson

2022 Sundance Film Festival Awards Announcement, Satellite Screenings, & Final Day on the New Frontier Spaceship Top Highlights of the Ninth Day of Festival Programming

PARK CITY, UT (January 29, 2022) – Sundance Film Festival welcomed audiences to its ninth day of screenings and conversations featuring some of the most notable visionaries in independent film, new media, and culture-at-large.

The festival announced the Audience Awards alongside Grand Jury and Special Jury Prizes for films in the U.S. Dramatic, U.S. Documentary, World Dramatic, and World Documentary Competitions, NEXT, and the Short Film program. Winners included Nanny (U.S. Dramatic), The Exiles (U.S. Documentary), All That Breathes (World Cinema Documentary), Utama (World Cinema Dramatic), Cha Cha Real Smooth (Audience Award, U.S. Dramatic) and Navalny (Audience Award, U.S. Documentary; Festival Favorite Award). All winners are detailed here. Screenings of the award-winning films will play online all weekend long.

The New Frontier Spaceship also celebrated its last day in orbit with Artist Spotlights and an open discussion hosted by Amelia Winger-Bearskin and Jesse Damiani on NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and the rapid proliferation of decentralized, autonomous organizations (DAOs).

The festival’s Satellite Screens kicked off yesterday as well. From Maryland to California, eight feature films from the 2022 lineup are playing this weekend at seven partner locations around the country where they are celebrating independent film and supporting like-minded arthouse theaters.

Each year, Sundance serves as a cultural launchpad, helping to expand audience horizons through film and the conversations that occur the minute that credits roll. Continuing to foster this spirit of discussion into 2022, Sundance Film Festival programs a series of panels across discipline and topics to keep the conversation going.

DAY NINE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 2022 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS
    • U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic: Nikyatu Jusu for Nanny
    • U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary: Ben Klein and Violet Columbus for The Exiles
    • World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic: Alejandro Loayza Grisi for Utama
    • World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary: Shaunak Sen for All That Breathes
    • Audience Award: U.S. Documentary: Navalny
    • Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic: Cha Cha Real Smooth
    • Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic: Girl Picture
    • Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary: The Territory
    • Audience Award: NEXT: Framing Agnes
    • Festival Favorite Award: Navalny
    • Directing Award: U.S. Documentary: Reid Davenport for I Didn’t See You There
    • Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic: Jamie Dack for Palm Trees and Power Lines
    • World Cinema Documentary: Simon Lereng Wilmont for A House Made Of Splinters
    • Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic: Maryna Er Gorbach for KLONDIKE
    • Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic: K.D. Dávila for Emergency
    • Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary: Erin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput for Fire Of Love
    • U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Uncompromising Artistic Vision: Bradley Rust Gray for blood
    • U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Ensemble Cast: John Boyega, Nicole Beharie, Selenis Leyva, Connie Britton, Olivia Washington, London Covington, and Michael K Williams for 892
    • U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Impact for Change: Aftershock
    • U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Creative Vision: Descendant
    • World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Documentary Craft: The Territory
    • World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Excellence In Verité Filmmaking: Midwives
    • World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Innovative Spirit: Leonor Will Never Die
    • World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Acting: Teresa Sánchez for Dos Estaciones
    • NEXT Innovator Award presented by Adobe: Framing Agnes
    • Short Film Grand Jury Prize: The Headhunter’s Daughter
    • Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction: IF I GO WILL THEY MISS ME
    • Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction: Dania Bdeir for Warsha
    • Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction: Samir Karahoda for Displaced
    • Short Film Jury Award: Animation: Joe Hsieh for Night Bus
    • Short Film Special Jury Award: Ensemble Cast: Zélia Duncan, Bruna Linzmeyer, Camila Rocha, Clarissa Ribeiro, and Lorre Motta for A wild patience has taken me here
    • Short Film Special Jury Award: Screenwriting: Sara Driver for Stranger Than Rotterdam with Sara Driver
    • Previously announced:
      • 2022 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize: After Yang
      • Sundance Institute | Amazon Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction: Su Kim for Free Chol Soo Lee
      • Sundance Institute | Amazon Studios Producers Award for Fiction: Amanda Marshall God’s Country
      • Sundance Institute | Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Nonfiction: Toby Shimin
      • Sundance Institute | Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Fiction: Dody Dorn
      • Sundance Institute | NHK Award: Hasan Hadi for The President’s Cake
  • NEW FRONTIER ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
    • FLAT EARTH VR
      • Lucas Rizzotto (Lead Artist) shared insight on how the project started as a joke in response to the idea that VR is an “empathy machine,” and asked whether that is still the case when the premise is entirely delusional.
      • Lucas discussed how he actually consulted flat Earthers in designing the experience and learned that ultimately, “flat Earthers are not united by their belief, but by their disbelief.” There is no singular coherent flat Earth theory and everyone has different ideas of what a flat Earth means and looks like.
      • Lucas also expressed concern about VR propaganda, and how XR creators could use their work to spread misinformation and emotionally manipulate and control audiences in showing them a “reality” regardless of whether or not it’s based in truth. He urged XR creators to be mindful of the impact their work could have and how it may be used by others in a way they might not have intended.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

The Festival takes place digitally via our enhanced online platform at Festival.Sundance.org, on the New Frontier Spaceship, a bespoke immersive platform allowing festival-goers to gather virtually, and in-person at seven Satellite Screens venues around the country during the Festival’s second weekend. Additional programming includes a daily talk show (“How to Fest: Daily”), and Satellite Screen conversations as well as partner offerings in the Festival Village.To note, all talks are available online via live stream or posted later on festival.sundance.org to view globally. Sign up for an account at festival.sundance.org to access online. All times are U.S. Mountain Time.

ABOUT SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

The Sundance Film Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most groundbreaking films of the past three decades, including Flee, CODA, Passing, Summer Of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, On The Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Precious, The Cove, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth, Napoleon Dynamite, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Reservoir Dogs and sex, lies, and videotape.

The Festival is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute. 2022 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, AMC+, Chase Sapphire, Adobe; Leadership Sponsors – Amazon Studios, DIRECTV, DoorDash, Dropbox, Netflix, Omnicom Group, WarnerMedia, XRM Media; Sustaining Sponsors – Aflac, Audible, Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Dell Technologies, IMDbPro, Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold, Rabbit Hole Bourbon & Rye, Unity Technologies, University of Utah Health, White Claw Hard Seltzer; Media Sponsors – The Atlantic, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Shadow and Act, Variety, Vulture. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists. Visit sundance.org/festival for more.

The flat Earth movement can be found on social media platforms, which host supporters globally and provide a space for them to share their ideas.

Title:

Content: How did Muslim scholars refute the flat Earth theory a thousand years ago?
The flat earth is currently one of the most famous scientific myths widespread in the Arab world, and has private groups on social media met by supporters from all over, and in recent days has been controversial because of statements by the Egyptian artist Mohamed Sobhy.
There are two histories to this theory, not one; the first is ancient and the second is modern.
A number of Greek philosophers believed that the earth was flat, and the ancient Scandinavian and German peoples also believed that the earth was flat and surrounded by oceans, and the common belief in ancient China was that the earth was square and flat while the sky was spherical.
But it ’ s really surprising to know that early astronomers assumed its sphericity, and they were from almost every culture: Pythagoras, who lived about 2,500 years ago, proposed the sphericity of the Earth based on his observations of the moon during the eclipse.
Pythagorean's observations are still evidence of a refutation of the flat Earth theory: Pythagorean observed that the shadow that the Earth casts on the Moon during the eclipse is always round.
Regardless of the moon-facing part of the planet, eclipses occur everywhere in the world.
The idea of a lunar eclipse is simple: put a big lamp in the middle of your room and turn off the rest of the lights, stand at a distance of one meter from it, now turn around while you reach your hands in front of you with a tennis ball, when you give your back to the lamp and pass the tennis ball in the shadow extended in front of you because of your body, this is the eclipse.
To Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes, born 276 BC, was the first to measure the circumference of the Earth using a simple method involving the angle of the Sun at different locations.
Eratosthenes was astonished to read that the columns in the ancient Egyptian temples of Aswan on the afternoon of June 21 of each year did not leave a shadow under them, and the mystery of the wonder was that the columns in Alexandria left a shadow under them on the afternoon of the same day.
Eratosthenes came to the conclusion that the earth must be convex and not flat, otherwise the columns in Alexandria would appear shadowless, and then after reflection Eratosthenes came to the clever idea that we could measure the length of the shadow in Aswan which is zero, and its length in Alexandria, and then measure the distance between Alexandria and Aswan, and infer the circumference of the earth.
The story goes that he sent a man to measure the distance, so that with some simple geometry he could measure the circumference of the Earth, which he concluded was about 39,348 kilometers.
Eratosthenes' account was transferred to the Arabs from among the sciences they translated.
According to Carlo Nelino in his book "Astronomy: A History of the Arabs in the Middle Ages", the Caliph al-Ma'mun al-Abbasi (who ruled from 813 to 833 AD) asked two teams of astronomers to test these calculations and come up with the most accurate measurement of the Earth's circumference....
The safe astronomer.
The method adopted by the Arabs is to go out into a perfectly flat desert, and then rely on the inclination of the polar star in the sky.
The ancients realized that the position of stars in the sky is affected by your place on Earth, the further you travel south, the lower the polar star in the sky until it disappears completely after the equator, and the more you travel north, the higher the polar star sky until it became above your head in the North Pole, which means that the Earth is round, otherwise the position of stars in the sky changes with your place on it.
The height of the polar star (and all other stars) is measured in degrees, and it is like to put a protractor in front of your eyes, the horizon is at zero, and then look at the protractor from the side to find at what degree the polar star stands, and this is something you can do exactly as the ancients did, and now astronomical software is easily available.
Al-Ma'mun astronomers measured the height of the polar star, then moved north once and south once, until the amount of inclination of the polar star changes by one degree, and then measured the distance north and south, and this measured distance is one degree from the circumference of the Earth's circle, and it can know the rest of the circumference of the Earth, because the Earth is a ball, and like any ball, rotation around it requires 360 degrees.
The first team of Al-Ma ’ mun astronomers went out to the Sinjar desert, a small city in northwestern Iraq today, and the second team to the Palmyra desert in eastern Syria, and carried out the same experiments in both places. In the Sinjar desert, for example, the height of the polar star was about 35 degrees. south of the wedge site until the measurement dropped by a degree.
According to al-Ma ’ mun ’ s astronomers, the scale of one degree was about 56 parsecs and two-thirds parsecs, which Nalino calculated — according to Edward Kennedy of the American University of Beirut in a paper published in the Encyclopedia of the History of Arab Sciences — to be 111.8 kilometers, a value used by later researchers such as al-Biruni and al-Toussi.
Calculating the circumference of the Earth in this experiment, it turned out to be about 410,248 km, which was close to modern measurements (40075 km) in the most accurate way at the time.
Note that the difference between the two measurements is about 1,100 years, and the reason for the difference is not related to the same method but to the ellipse of the Earth, as the distance between the two latitudes increases slightly as we head north.
Abu Rayhan Al-Biruni
The second attempt was by Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, born in September 973 AD, who used the best and easiest formula to calculate the circumference of the Earth in his time.
The Al-Biruni method is based on triangulation, where the sunset is observed from the top of a high mountain overlooking flat ground to the horizon, the astrolabe measures the angle the sun descends relative to the observer on the top of the mountain, where the line connecting the observer on the top of the mountain and the horizon makes the sunset clock touch the planet Earth.
It is known that the tangent of a circle perpendicular to its diameter, and then we have a right-angled triangle at the horizon, and we can measure the radius of the Earth by knowing the height of the mountain, which is mathematically easy.
Currently, the same calculations can be applied by high school students, for example, in all countries of the Arab world, who have a good amount of trigonometry study.
In a study published in the International Journal of Sciences, an Italian team repeated al-Biruni ’ s experiment and concluded that its results for the radius of the Earth are equal to 3,928.77 English miles, which compares favorably, being 2% different, with the average reference radius at the measurement latitude, which is 3,847.80 miles.
Pakistani physicist Mazhar Mahmood Qureshi, in his book An Introduction to Muslim Contributions to Science and Technology, points out that al-Biruni ’ s experience in what is now Nandana Fort in the mountains of northern Pakistan is a typical example of the use of experimental scientific methods.
The most important book of al-Biruni astronomical is "The Law of Masoudi", in which al-Biruni collected all the astronomical problems of his time, and the way of al-Biruni was to present the origins of the matter and the views of the Indian, Greek and Arab astronomers and then weighted between them.
Modern history of flat earth
But at that point, you might ask yourself: if the sphericity of the Earth was obvious to Muslim scholars and their comrades in other parts of the world in ancient times, why did it come back?
In 1849, the English writer Samuel Rowbotham published a pamphlet entitled "Oil Astronomy" (from the Greek letter zeta, not oil), in which he defended the theory of the flat earth, and followed this with another entitled "The Instability of Modern Astronomy and its opposition to the Bible".
In 1883, Rowbotham founded oil societies in England and New York, shipping thousands of copies of his books to talk about flat earth.
Meanwhile, William Carpenter, a printer and native of Greenwich, England, supported Rowbotham and advocated his theory, learning it from John Jasper and preaching to more people than any cleric of his generation in the southern United States. Once.
From here the myth began to branch again in the United States, and then to Europe, and then to the Arab world and the rest of the world, but in this context it was mixed with conspiracy theories concerning secret groups trying to control the world by deluding people that the earth is round.
The proof of the sphericity of the earth is not new, and has a long history in which Muslim scholars have made an influential contribution, but because the “flat earth ” has been transformed from ignorance of the nature of science into a conspiracy theory it has been imported along with other famous theories into our Arab world.
Source: Al Jazeera + Websites

Some public figures, such as Kyrie Irving and Mohamed Sobhy, have sparked controversy with their statements supporting the flat Earth theory.

Title:

Content: “Everyone Gets Hit in the Head”: Travis and Jason Kelce Boldly Claim 20% NFL Players Are Flat-Earthers

Samnur Reza
Published

Eight-time NBA All-Star and Mavericks point guard, Kyrie Irving, has time and time again claimed that the earth is flat. Sadly, this belief is widely held around the globe. When discussing the same and if there are NFL players who also call themselves flat-earthers behind closed doors, Jason Kelce and his brother Travis boldly claimed that a good chunk of the NFL locker room actually believes the earth to be flat.

During a recent episode of the New Heights podcast with comedian Andrew Santino at the discussion table, the younger Kelce said, “We’ve mentioned on the show that conspiracy theories help bring NFL locker rooms together,” before asking the guest, “What are your conspiracy theories?”

Without skipping a beat, Santino posed the question about what percentage of NFL players actually believe in the Flat Earth theory. In response, Travis claimed that at least 10 to 15 athletes in every locker room are flat-earthers. Jason Kelce, however, added that if someone were to conduct an anonymous poll about it, the number of flat-earth believers could potentially jump up to 20%, equating to approximately 11 players out of a 53-man roster.

“Dude, honestly, there are at least 10 to 15 guys in every locker room; I would imagine,” Travis remarked, followed by Jason adding, “If you took an anonymous poll like nobody had to disclose their name or anything like that, you’re over 15% of an NFL locker room… Maybe over 20.”

This revelation baffled the Ricky Stanicky actor, but Travis consoled him by jokingly saying, “Dude, everyone gets hit in the head.” Nevertheless, while the Kelce duo’s numbers may be somewhat exaggerated, there have been some instances when NFL players have openly admitted believing in the earth being flat.

Darius Slay, Sammy Watkins, and Others Are Flat-Earthers

As per Sports Illustrated, free agent wide receiver Sammy Watkins claimed back in 2017 that the earth is flat. But he isn’t the only NFL athlete on that list, as Eagles CB Darius Slay told Tori Petry of DetroitLions.com back in 2018 that the earth is flat.

“I mean, I think it is (flat), we’re walking flat, so how is it round?,” claimed the All-Pro cornerback.

Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen followed suit just last year and claimed the same thing. “PSA,” Queen wrote in a tweet. “Earth is flat. Thank you. Carry on!!”

The list goes on! Former Texas Tech safety, Tyler Owens, apparently told reporters at the Scouting Combine that he doesn’t believe in space or any other planets. Thus, he finds the Flat Earth Theory ‘interesting’ and ‘valid’.

“Nah, I don’t believe in space…. like, you know, I’m religious, so I think like… we’re on our own right now. I don’t think there’s, like, other planets, and stuff like that. I don’t know,” Owens said, as per DailyMail.

Even Seahawks QB Geno Smith has claimed that the whole thing is still up for debate. Moreover, Jason Kelce once revealed that, out of curiosity, he had asked one of his coaches about the Flat Earth Theory and if anyone believed in it. Right there and then, an athlete nearby said, “I mean how you know it isn’t?”

Despite its absurdity, the debate will rage on till the end of time, it seems. However, there are simple experiments that can be conducted in front of a flat-earther to convince them otherwise, as perfectly demonstrated by Wired.

About the author

Samnur Reza

Samnur Reza, or "Rocky," is an NFL editor for the SportsRush. Although his love for football began with Tom Brady, he’s now a devoted fan of Jalen Hurts and is keeping his fingers crossed for the first ring. When asked how he remains loyal to the Eagles, he channels his inner Jim from The Office and responds, 'On a wing and a prayer.' Much like his love for football, Rocky is a dedicated cinephile with an impressive amount of screen time. He’s also fond of cats and has a furry friend named ‘Eva’.

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What NBA star claimed that the earth is flat?

What NBA star claimed that the earth is flat?

The characteristics of people who are most likely to subscribe to flat Earth beliefs are not explicitly stated, but it is mentioned that human society is changing from possessiveness to feeling, and most people on Earth are uneducated and resort to illusion of competition.

The resurgence of the flat Earth idea in the modern world can be attributed to a return to medieval way of thinking, as well as the influence of books such as "The Lost Earth Truth 1" by Radu Cinamar.

The flat Earth movement is often described as a kind of missionary work that covers up fanaticism, rather than a legitimate scientific theory.

Despite the lack of scientific evidence, the flat Earth movement continues to exist and spread through online platforms and private groups.

The potential risks or dangers of flat Earth beliefs to children or teenagers include the potential for misinformation, lack of critical thinking, and harm to their physical and mental well-being.

Title:

Content:     People Are Sharing Debunked Conspiracy Theories That People Believe Anyway, And I Kind Of Can't Believe Some Of These

    "Not only is the entire conspiracy surrounding it completely implausible, it's also so easily defeated. It's just random garbage with a thousand predictions that haven't come true. Just give it up already. Even most doomsday cults give up after four or five faulty predictions."

    Sometimes you hear someone repeat a conspiracy theory that is obviously total nonsense — and it makes you say to yourself, "People still believe that?"

    Redditor u/Gaza1121 recently asked the people of Reddit, "What conspiracy theory is so easily disproven that you don't understand how it's still going?" At the very least, these answers might help people get a clue about a thing or two:

    1. "Flat earth."

    —u/Vivid_Reading_2159

    "I’ve truly never understood what the big conspiracy is about this — who would benefit from lying about the earth being a globe? I understand most other conspiracies and what the purpose that they would serve, but this one is so moronic it’s just beyond me. Why do they think we would be lied to about gravity?"

    —u/PM_ME_YOUR_SUBURBS

    2. "Elvis faked his death. If he was going to do that, wouldn’t he have chosen a more dignified way to go?"

    —u/jb40018

    3. "Dinosaurs never existed."

    —u/Outrageous_Winner663

    4. "That JFK, Jr. didn’t die and was going to come out of hiding to be Trump’s VP."

    —u/jwt0001

    5. "That the Holocaust was a hoax."

    —u/Left-Star2240

    "Eisenhower demanded they photograph and document it because he knew people would try to deny it happened. 'While I was touring the camp I encountered three men who had been inmates and by one ruse or another had made their escape. I interviewed them through an interpreter. The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty, and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick. In one room, where [there] were piled up 20 or 30 naked men, killed by starvation, George Patton would not even enter. He said he would get sick if he did so. I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to 'propaganda.'"

    —u/bostonwolf

    6. "The moon landing. The entity with the most at stake for the US successfully landing on the moon was the USSR, who also had the ability to track the spacecraft and refute that it landed. They never said a word."

    —u/314159265358979326

    7. "Vaccines cause autism."

    —u/llcucf80

    8. "That the grieving families of children shot in American schools are 'crisis actors.'"

    —u/InverseRatio

    9. "Today I discovered that there's large groups who believe that 9/11 was CGI and there never really were any planes. Hundreds of people in an Instagram post talking about how fake it looks and it's clearly edited. Then I realized anyone under the age of 22 weren't alive for it — and if they're under 25 and they don't remember it, and any teenagers from outside of the tri-state area might not even know anyone who was there."

    —u/Stonewall30nyr

    10. "Obama birtherism. A lot of other bonkers insane conspiracy theories are more insane in a 'supernatural insanity' sense, but they're also so far out there that you can barely apply common sense to them. What would motivate the lizard people? Who knows? They're lizard people! Whereas, let's see, a not-particularly-well-off woman living in Hawaii is pregnant — and the powers that be are somehow aware that her biracial child is someday in the future going to want to run for president."

    —u/Alex_Werner

    11. "Cancer has been cured and big pharma is sitting on it because it is more profitable not to cure cancer. The first problem with this is that there are multiple types of cancer. So there can't be a one size fits all cancer cure. Second is that a cancer cure would be exceedingly profitable for whatever company created it."

    —u/Thick-Worry5028

    12. "QAnon. I mean, they made a fucking documentary series about it and outed its creators. Not only is the entire conspiracy surrounding it completely implausible, it's also so easily defeated. It's just random garbage with a thousand predictions that haven't come true. Just give it up already. Even most doomsday cults give up after four or five faulty predictions."

    —u/Noobeaterz

    13. "Chemtrails."

    —u/you-are-number-6Q

    "I met someone who was into chemtrails — they thought everything was lithium poisoning and that the colors of the sunset was lithium in the atmosphere. They had a good hot dog stand, though."

    —u/SuspiciousStable9649

    14. "Jet fuel is a hoax and airliners run on compressed air."

    —u/Amberskin

    15. "The earth is five thousand years old."

    —u/cblume

    16. "The 2020 election was stolen."

    —u/prodigy1367

    17. "One I see sometimes as a math major, is that 0.999...does not equal 1 in the Real numbers. There are some math quacks out there who adamantly insist, no matter how you prove it to them otherwise, that 0.999...and 1 aren't just two ways of writing the same number."

    —u/bodyknock

    18. "Charles de Gaulle was King Charles's biological father."

    —u/joecoin2

    19. "The Titanic switch. I still have a hard time understanding how there are people that genuinely believe that shit."

    —u/daviepancakes

    And finally...

    20. "The republican party is fiscally conservative and believes in small government."

    —u/Psychogopher

Teenagers who associate with someone who holds flat Earth beliefs may be at risk of being misled by misinformation and lack of critical thinking.

To address the situation when a teenager's friend or family member holds flat Earth beliefs, parents or caregivers can maintain good communication with teenagers to build trust.

Title:

Content: Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Editor-in-Chief
Wael Lotfy
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Editor-in-Chief
Wael Lotfy
Father's first year.
How can children be protected from social pressures?
Social pressure can be defined as the feeling of being forced to do the same things that your peers do in order to be accepted and liked in a group, and it is common for this situation to occur during adolescence, where young people want to cope with the fear of being rejected or criticized, this may make them more likely to do what others do, even if it is wrong or risky.
According to Bright Side, we collected 10 tips that can help parents guide their children in dealing with social pressures.
1.
Try to maintain good communication with your children.
Maintaining good communication and strengthening your relationship with children is key to overcoming difficult moments as a family, parents are advised to let them know that they always want to listen to them and talk to them about any topic, this way you will create a basis for them to trust you and feel that they can have conversations about uncomfortable situations, such as social pressure.
To achieve good communication, take turns listening to what both of you are saying, at all times avoid being aggressive, cruel, not listening, blaming, and it is advisable to ask questions and share your concerns about something, rather than presumptuous and critical.
2.
A meeting with their friends.
It is important to get to know the friends of your children, it is possible to do this by inviting them to your home, providing them a safe and pleasant space where they can have a good time, with appetizing food and a good sense of humor.
3.
Encourage them to meet new people.
One of the reasons they succumb to social pressures is that they want to have friends, be accepted, and belong to a group that gives them security if parents encourage and support their children to practice different activities where they can meet their new peers, they will have the opportunity to make friends in different environments and avoid the desire to integrate into just one environment.
4.
Teach them to think about the consequences of unsafe behaviors
To help children make safer decisions, as well as teach them wrong or risky behaviors, it is advisable to ask them to think about the consequences of what their actions may cause for themselves and others.
These ideas may help if:
If they break the rules or misbehave at school, tell them they can be fired, lose privileges at home (such as field trips or playtime), and that this may affect their grades.
• If they think that stealing something from a store and it is supported by their friends is a joke, it is important for them to know that this may have legal consequences and that it is not a game.
Before they do something they ’ re not sure about, they might ask themselves: Will this make me feel proud of myself afterwards?
5.
Create the word "safe" in case they need help.
This is a practice that can get kids out of trouble when they feel uncomfortable or afraid in a situation, special symbolic words or phrases will allow them to make a call or send a message to tell their parents to come looking for it, without telling their friends the real reason, because they may be embarrassed or shy.
For example, if a teenager is at a party and feels uncomfortable, they can call their parents or send a message with the phrase they previously agreed upon for those situations, such as, “Mom, I have a severe headache, can you look for me? ”
That way, without asking further questions, the mother will know that she needs your help.
6.
Let them know it's okay to say no sometimes.
Being alone in front of a group and having to say no can be overwhelming for them at times, if they have friends with the same values, maybe they can find some support so that together they can refuse to do the wrong thing without fear of ridicule.
7.
Identify and monitor the time they spend on the Internet
Nowadays, the digital environment is a way in which children and adolescents can be exposed to social pressure, so parents and caregivers are advised to set limits taking into account the age of their children.
Here are some tips that may be helpful:
Determine the time they spend online, and distribute it in balance with other activities such as homework, family time, and extracurricular activities.
Monitor the content they consume: Check the ratings of the TV or streaming programs and the movies and video games they watch, you can also review their online search history and view the apps on their phones.
Parents can make watching movies and series as a family a habit, surf the internet together, this way they can analyze what they are watching and promote family values.
Ask them which celebrities or influencers they like and inquire about the aspects they value about them, to see if there ’ s something specific to explain to them about the difference between what a person shows on their social networks and the other side isn ’ t.
Be on the lookout for issues such as cyberbullying and explain to teenage children practices that can harm them when they are online.

They can also get to know their friends to understand their social environment and encourage teenagers to meet new people.

To balance their desire to protect their teenager from potentially harmful influences with the need to respect their teenager's autonomy and relationships with others, parents should respect their teenager's autonomy and relationships.

Title:

Content: Supplement
Happy PaMa # 469
Happy Pa Ma
6A Parents: Parental Adolescence: Learning to Care and Discipline
Children ’ s youth is full of challenges.
At the same time, this is also the parents of adolescence, we seize the opportunity to grow?
When children enter puberty, both physical and psychological growth is rapid.
We respond to the children of this period, can neither beat nor scolded, but the past communication methods in adolescence began to be useless, how do parents deal with the problem of teenagers at this time?
Have you ever thought that parents should also take advantage of this period of "parental adolescence" to grow up quickly on the road to upbringing?
Give your child “respect ” for each other.
Adolescent children, hate a long discussion, from their parents and answer to know one or two.
Parents often complain that children answer their parents' questions, usually with "words" or "words", and sometimes only with "elephant words" and only with voice.
In the face of such a child, how should we establish effective communication?
First of all, parents should give up the imperative dialogue, and also put down the expectation that children will obey the instructions.
Adolescent children expect their parents to trust themselves more than ever, and if our expectations run counter to their expectations, parent-child relationships will only grow further apart.
Adolescent children still often make mistakes, and we can go from blaming to talking to friends.
To remind instead of blame, to suggest instead of instructions, try to give the child space, but also to give the child "face", the child will give you relative respect.
Secondly, the stable emotions of parents is also one of the important indicators that children feel respected. Stable emotions can give children a sense of security and give them a signal that parents can have a good conversation with themselves.
Compare heart to heart, the child will also give you enough "face", everyone "come and go".
Set boundaries, self-discipline, freedom.
We all agree that love and discipline need to be balanced.
Adequate love is important. At the same time, children need to observe boundaries through self-discipline.
Adolescent children value freedom, but let them understand that freedom is based on the child ’ s self-discipline.
Through acceptance, we set boundaries with children, and at the same time, children learn how to trade self-discipline for freedom.
In a social environment, as a citizen, we should enjoy certain freedoms while respecting the law.
Our children should also grow up in such an environment, we give certain freedoms, those freedoms are not given unconditionally, but because the child is self-disciplined on the line.
Bring this social microcosm into the child ’ s life.
Therefore, when the child's behavior deviates, parents do not need to scolding for this and destroy the relationship.
On the contrary, it should not be lukewarm to move out of the line, so that the young people themselves bear the consequences.
Of course, in the end, it is necessary to fully forgive, and in the process, it is necessary to accept that the child will (again) make mistakes.
In this mechanism of mutual respect, children can learn to exchange self-discipline for freedom.
Adolescent children seem to be an unstable nuclear element, anytime, anywhere, but also because of different factors biochemical reactions, can not help but explode.
At this time, the test of parents is the same as that of children, and in the adolescence of parents, they also try to learn how to respect the child, so that the upbringing is full of love, rather than constantly debiting points in the relationship.
Communicate well with your children and get through everyone ’ s adolescence.
Filed to: vinic dad
Author Profile: The father of three children (eldest daughter C, Lung Fung Mimbo A & B), in order not to waste wonderful grace to become a teacher of Hong Kong quality sports 6A character education, hoping to integrate the theory of psychology into 6A parenting, and share the concept of positive education to parents, especially fathers.
(Criticism of works published by this website is aimed at pointing out errors or deficiencies in relevant systems, policies or measures, with the aim of correcting or eliminating these errors or deficiencies and improving them through lawful means, with no intention of inciting hatred, dissatisfaction or hostility towards the government or other communities.)
[Happy PaMa # 469]
Related words: parent-child pen array Vinic dad 6A parents
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Good communication helps parents guide children and is essential in navigating the complexities of adolescence.

Parents should give up imperative dialogue and expectations, instead focusing on building trust and mutual respect with their teenager.

Setting boundaries and self-discipline is essential for freedom, and parents should prioritize building relationships over being overly controlling.

Encouraging open communication helps build trust, and parents should express concerns honestly and listen to their teenager's perspective.

Title:

Content: Sunday, July 21, 2024

Doctor Love: Betrayed Bestie

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Dear Dr. Love,
I got into a big fight with my live-in boyfriend, and afterward, I went into my bedroom to be away from him. My best friend, who was there, didn’t ask me how I was doing. Instead, she sat with him in the living room, watching TV and listening to him go on that I’m no longer the same person and I’m crazy. She didn’t even defend me! I am really upset that she never came to see me and asked how I was doing. She doesn’t seem like a true friend to me. Since then, I have been treating her more like an acquaintance rather than a friend. I am not sure if I should continue our friendship and sit down to try to repair our relationship. Do you think she is worth it? /s/ Betrayed Bestie

Dear Betrayed Bestie,
Your disappointment is valid. Friendship, like any relationship, is built on mutual support and understanding. It’s possible your friend didn’t know how to navigate the conflict and defaulted to a passive stance. However, before deciding to cast her aside, consider having an honest conversation. Share how her actions made you feel. True friends will value your feelings and seek to make amends. If she responds with empathy and a willingness to understand, then perhaps the friendship is worth salvaging. But if she remains indifferent, you’ll know your answer. Growth often comes from uncomfortable conversations, and clarity is the best outcome, whatever it may be. /s/ Dr. Love

Dear Dr. Love,
What do you say (if anything) when your 19-year-old son likes a certain rapper who advocates for violence and racism? Some of the lyrics are frightening and very offensive! Our son says he does not agree with the rapper’s comments but still follows him on social media and still likes his music. I am not sure I believe him and fear he is identifying with these alarming messages. I know my son is no longer a child. I also know that as his mother, no matter how old he is, I should always want what is best for him. I’m trying to respect boundaries. I’m also extremely concerned. /s/ What Can I Say?

Dear What Can I Say?,
Parenting a young adult is like walking a tightrope over a canyon—you need balance and a clear head. It’s essential to understand that music can be a complex expression of many things, not just an endorsement of the lyrics. Start by having a calm, non-judgmental conversation with your son about why he likes this artist. Is it the beat, the flow, or perhaps the way the music makes him feel?
Express your concerns honestly but listen to his perspective too. It’s an opportunity to discuss values and the impact of media. Encourage critical thinking about the messages in the music and how they align or conflict with his beliefs. Your goal is to guide him towards thoughtful consumption, not to create a divide. Respecting his autonomy while sharing your wisdom can build a bridge rather than a wall. /s/ Dr. Love

Dear Dr. Love,
Six years ago, our daughter married her high school sweetheart, a wonderful young man we love like a son. When they were planning their wedding, her soon-to-be father-in-law promised a small amount of money for the wedding, which I didn’t expect since the bride’s parents usually paid for everything. I thanked him anyway, and we never received the money. They are well-to-do, so I don’t understand why they didn’t give the money they offered. I’ve held a grudge ever since, although my wife advised me to forget it. Recently, our daughter gave birth to a son, and we offered to take care of expenses for his christening ceremony and party. The mother-in-law offered to bake! They stood by while we worked to set up the party and watched when we broke everything down.
As we loaded all the gifts and supplies into the cab in the pouring rain, the father-in-law handed me a very small gift bag that we forgot and said, “I looked for the smallest thing to help you out!” I was livid! What an incredible insult! I was ready to punch him in the nose and spend the night in jail! Am I wrong in my feelings?
/s/ Angry Father of the Bride

Dear Angry Father of the Bride,
Ah, the old dance of family dynamics and unspoken expectations. Your frustration is understandable. Yet, carrying a grudge for six years is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to suffer. Your feelings are valid, but they need a productive outlet. Reflect on what’s more important: holding onto this anger or the relationship with your daughter and her family. You can’t control others’ actions, only your reactions. Perhaps the father-in-law’s comment was a misguided attempt at humor or an awkward gesture. Consider a candid, but calm, conversation with him about your feelings. If you find it difficult to let go, it might be time to seek inner peace through forgiveness, not for him, but for your own well-being. Holding onto anger only chains you to the past and prevents you from enjoying the present and future with your loved ones. /s/ Dr. Love

Doctor Love is the islands, and possibly the world’s greatest authority on just about everything. The Doctor answers questions concerning any subject except religion or politics. Persons needing additional assistance or counseling should contact Family Services Division at 227-7541. The opinions herein are not necessarily of The San Pedro Sun. Write Doctor Love at PO Box 51, San Pedro Town, Belize, or email: [email protected]

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For the first time in the history of the island's community newspaper, The San Pedro Sun is appealing to their thousands of readers to help support the paper during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 1991 we have tirelessly provided vital local and national news. Now, more than ever, our community depends on us for trustworthy reporting, but our hard work comes with a cost. We need your support to keep delivering the news you rely on each and every day. Every reader contribution, however big or small, is so valuable. Please support us by making a contribution.

Local News

Critical thinking is a crucial skill for evaluating information and making informed decisions, which is especially important when encountering controversial topics like the flat Earth movement.

Title:

Content: PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

Blockbuster, MySpace, and Borders Books.

These are just a few, high-profile names of companies whose failure to innovate and adapt to changing times or anticipate the future resulted in their demise. In the case of each of these companies, there was a critical time when they could have embraced the innovations disrupting the market, or even purchased the disrupters for a fraction of what those companies are now worth. Instead, these companies clung to their market strategy and operational models until they were no longer viable, and the company died.

Public schooling in the U.S. and around the world developed at a time when we could be fairly focused on reading, writing, and arithmetic to prepare students for factory and clerical jobs. Soft skills such as empathy, problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity were not necessarily seen as crucial. Today, this model may not be enough. According to the World Economic Forum, the United States is in the back half of OECD nations when it comes to soft skill proficiency. And 44 percent of U.S. executives say lack of soft skills is the biggest gap in the U.S. workforce.

PayScale, a workforce data company, surveyed business managers to try to identify skills college graduates who are new entrants to the white-collar workforce are missing today. They surveyed 63,924 managers and 14,167 recent graduates during the study conducted in 2016.

The study identified some deficiencies in “hard skills” such as writing proficiency, public speaking, and data analysis, but when surveyed regarding “soft skills,” managers were even more united in their opinions. According to PayScale’s survey, 60 percent of managers claim the new graduates they see taking jobs within their organizations do not have the critical thinking and problem-solving skills they feel are necessary for the job, and 36 percent reported lower-than-needed interpersonal and teamwork skills. This comes at a time when the world of work is rapidly changing, commerce is more and more global and collaborative, and technology solutions are replacing humans for many routine activities.

Some 87 percent of millennials admitted to missing out on a conversation because they were distracted by their phone. Ironically, in a world that is increasingly connected, we as individuals, as families, as a society, are becoming less connected. A Gallup poll shows that families eat together less and less and 51 percent of teens would rather communicate digitally than in person (even with friends).

I experience this in my own life as well, even though I am far from the hip Millennial, sipping a pour-over coffee while I work remotely on my laptop. Eight years ago, if my wife and I found ourselves waiting in line at the grocery store we had a conversation. Now we are more likely to both pull out our smartphones and check our email or social media in silence, somewhat oblivious to the people and things transpiring around us. This is the new normal for our kids, so we shouldn’t be surprised when we find them lacking in the areas of empathy and real human interaction.

Education researcher Ellen Galinsky identified seven essential life skills that encompass most of the soft skills necessary for the future of work.

They are:

  • Focus and self-control
  • Perspective-taking
  • Communicating
  • Making connections
  • Critical thinking
  • Taking on challenges
  • Self-directed, engaged learning

If our schools are going to truly close the achievement gap and prepare our students for the future, we need to continue our efforts to increase literacy and mathematical reasoning, but we must also attend to these soft skills that are so crucial to success. We can intentionally plan instructional activities that require students to focus on incrementally increasing amounts of time and exercise self-control in the area of digital connectivity. We can help them seek out varied perspectives instead of blindly consuming the highly curated information that social media feeds them based on their natural interests or bias.

We can develop projects that require students to collaborate and connect with a variety of people and communicate effectively in a variety of ways (face to face, digitally, graphically, etc.). These activities need to include instruction in communication skills such as giving and receiving constructive feedback, how body language and tone impact your message, how to ask clarifying questions and paraphrase to check for understanding, etc. We also need to plan projects so that students feel safe taking on challenging work that pushes their limits without fear of failure. We can help our students develop both hard-academic skills and the soft skills that will set them up for a successful future.

Scott W. Paulin is UUSD director of Alternative Education.

Teaching critical thinking skills to evaluate information is essential, as much online information is false or propaganda, and schools often focus on remembering facts rather than thinking.

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As I See It: We need to be critical thinkers

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Of all the books I read about education, the book that influenced me the most was “Teaching as a Subversive Activity” by Neil Postman. I wish every educator would read it.

The author wrote that teachers have a primary duty to teach critical thinking skills. Another way to put it is that we should teach students to develop a manure detector. What is the reason that we believe something as fact? How do you know it’s true? What is the motivation of the speaker/writer? Are they trying to sell you something? Why do they want you to accept their “facts” and ignore others?

Unfortunately, schools today focus on remembering facts, not thinking. Students regurgitate the facts on tests and quickly forget the information.

Today we are overwhelmed with information. Much of the information out there is false. Wrong. Not based on fact. Propaganda.

Many are convinced the “lamestream media” is biased. Fox News was created to tell the Republican story. It is biased. Fox ignores or minimizes any bad behavior by Trump or the GOP.

The "steal" is an example. Every claim made by Trump about the 2020 election has been proven false. Even after states recounted the votes, the true believers do not accept this as fact. Even when the U.S. attorney general (appointed by Trump) said that the election was fair, many still disbelieve.

Who is spreading this false information? Trump and his toadies. In 2016 he claimed that if he lost, it was because the election was crooked. He even said the Electoral College should be scrapped. But he won. He lost the popular vote by 5 million. In 2020, he again claimed that if he lost, it was because the election was unfair.

What facts have been presented to provide the election was stolen? None. But true believers ignore the facts and hang onto their leader’s false words. His followers have no critical thinking skills. They accept that every word coming out of Trump’s mouth is true. Every word. Alternative facts.

After the election, Trump invited his followers to Washington to stop the count of the electoral votes. He planned a coup. The Capitol was invaded. The leaders of the GOP House and Senate said it was a riot, and directly blamed Trump. Within a week they changed their tune. Fox News was horrified at first, but has now erased any blame on Trump. GOP leaders follow along. Sheep.

The validity of the pandemic is another event that has been challenged. Every accredited doctor in the health care profession has warned us of the danger. They have suggested how we can stay safe: vaccines and masks. Yet a sizable number of Americans think it is a hoax. The “lamestream media” repeatedly shows citizens who did not get vaccinated and are in hospitals on respirators. They warn others to get the vaccine.

The trouble is, the skeptics don’t trust these sources. Fox tells the truth. The rest lie. Don’t trust anyone but Trump. Yet all the Fox commentators got vaccinated, as did all the GOP members of Congress. And 1 million Americans have died.

There is no alternative truth. Truth is truth. Question your assumptions. Go to various sources. Don’t depend on only one.

If you think you know everything and you are not a work in progress, you are stuck.

“All I want is the truth.” — John Lennon

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Media literacy combats misinformation and disinformation, and critical thinking is key to evaluating information, making it an important component of school systems.

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Content: Media literacy key to combat misinformation, disinformation

Is media literacy the key to combating misinformation and disinformation?

Well, this was the subject of a conversation hosted by the Caribbean School of Media and Communication (Carimac), University of the West Indies, Mona Campus Jamaica; The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) on November 13.

TT journalist Wesley Gibbings was the main presenter at the conference titled A Conversation on Media Literacy.

In his presentation, he said media and information literacy, intrinsically including a higher level of digital literacy, provided the region with the opportunity to achieve a human-rights-compliant approach to addressing issues of misinformation, disinformation and other mass media dysfunction.

He was one of five panellists, which included director of UWI, Mona’s Western Jamaica Campus Dr Patrick Prendergast; secretary general of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union, Barbados Sonia Gill; president of the Media Institute of the Caribbean TT-based Kiran Maharaj and Carimac graduate student Kayla Keane.

Gibbings said the overriding assumption was that equipping consumers of media content with an ability to distinguish fact from fiction and truth from lies had the potential to greatly “diminish the impact of unreliable supply of news, information and other content.”

He added it was an important issue to consider, especially if it was conceded that digital content, in particular, would continue to grow and escape even through “the finest mesh of regulation.”

“More prohibition, as attractive as they appear to Caribbean decision-makers, is thus destined to be futile,” he said.

Through demand-oriented media literacy, both direct and collateral social damage could be avoided or minimised.

“The lower the demand, the greater the hindrance to supply,” he said.

It did not provide a comprehensive shield, so most defenders of rights agreed that the protections afforded to the subjects of social media or all media content, under common law and statute, should continue to apply, he said.

Gibbings said even the founding principles of free speech captured by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights identified duties and responsibilities and, with them, “widely accepted” limitations.

There were debates regarding the applications of these limitations alongside what was to be considered on questions of media and information literacy, he said.

Gibbings said there were nuances to consider when it came to this: issues such as defamation, threats to national security, and incitements to discrimination, hostility or violence.

He added there was also the principle that addressed the infringement of other rights, such as privacy.

“This should clear off the air among those under the misguided assumption that people who advocate for freedom of expression are somehow envisaging a situation of untrammelled liberty,” Gibbings said. Though it was true that more freedom was preferred over less freedom, he said.

Gibbings said media and information literacy addresses these concerns at several levels by actively engaging a wide cross-section of interested partners inclusive of state and non-state partners, with a special look to those involved in mass communication and this was not restricted to traditional media.

He added that media literacy was already part of the curricula in schools in some countries.

This expanded traditional emphasis on critical-thinking components in the school system, he said.

“One indirect impact of this is that the state becomes specifically involved in administering and evaluating progress on this as a national responsibility,” he said.

There was also the possibility of wider youth engagement, through this, in dissecting and influencing digital trends and becoming advocates for responsible media consumption, Gibbings said.

The conversation included discussion on critical thinking and the structure of news in today’s digital world.

The conversation lasted a little over two hours.

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Institutions of higher learning teach critical thinking to draw conclusions based on reason, which is necessary for separating facts from opinions and evaluating information.

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Letter: Critical thoughts on critical thinking

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Sometimes I think it would be lovely to not have to think, not to have to ponder difficult questions about life, faith and public policy. Those thoughts don’t last long. The ability to think and draw conclusions based on reason are things that separate us and make us superior to other species.

We’ve created institutions of higher learning that don't seek to indoctrinate us but to teach us to think critically. I understand that’s a problem for some conservatives who seem to be satisfied with biased conservative media outlets doing their thinking about public policies for them. The problem is that so much of what those outlets report is nothing more than sophomoric, fear-mongering propaganda.

Neither Charles Herbster nor Jim Pillen seem to believe Nebraskans are capable of thinking critically — otherwise, they wouldn’t be so afraid of critical race theory, which neither seems to understand.

Theories are just that — theories. They aren’t conclusions or even written in stone. People can embrace them, reject them or modify them. Theories are neither scary nor dangerous unless one fears critical thinking.

Remember that Galileo was tried and convicted by the church for supporting Copernicus’ theory that the Earth is round, spins daily, and rotates annually around the sun. Some folks so troubled by critical race theory probably still think that the Earth is flat.

Chuck Bentjen, Beatrice

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Feb. 27 marked the 30th anniversary of the Nebraska Environmental Trust, which has funded conservation projects in all 93 counties. Nebraskans…

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A majority of children and teenagers lack media literacy skills, which makes them vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation, including the flat Earth movement.

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Content: Survey Shows Australian Children and Teens are Interested in News, but Lack Media Literacy Skills

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A recent survey conducted in Australia reveals that the majority of children and teenagers have a significant interest in the news. However, this interest has decreased since a similar survey conducted in 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also found that young people are increasingly getting their news from social media, but many do not understand how algorithms determine the news they see. This highlights the need for more focus on media literacy education in schools.

The survey involved 1,064 children and teenagers aged eight to 16 from various regions in Australia. When asked about the news they accessed the previous day, 83% of young people said they received news from at least one source, and one third of them used three or more sources. Comparing the results to the 2020 survey, there has been a decline in news engagement among young people. In 2020, 88% of young people consumed news from at least one source, with family, friends, teachers, and television being the main sources. This decline mirrors a similar trend in adult news consumption during major national events.

Family and friends were found to be the top sources of news for young people, with high levels of trust reported in these sources. However, social media has become increasingly important as a source of news, surpassing television for teenagers. Around 37% of children and 63% of teens reported often or sometimes getting news from social media. Interestingly, only a small proportion of young people intentionally use social media to find or get news, but they often encounter news while using these platforms for other purposes. YouTube was most preferred both children and teenagers as a source of news on social media.

The survey also revealed a lack of knowledge about algorithms among young people. Only 40% of those aged 12-16 were familiar with the term “algorithm” in relation to news. Algorithms are used technology companies like Google and TikTok to select news based on users’ preferences, potentially influencing the news people consume. While some viewed algorithms as helpful for enhancing the relevance of news, only 27% trusted algorithms to curate balanced and accurate news.

The lack of awareness about algorithms suggests that children are not receiving sufficient media literacy education in school. Only 24% of young people reported having a lesson in the past year to help them determine the truthfulness and trustworthiness of news stories. Additionally, less than one third of respondents reported being taught how to create their own news stories.

The study found that young people with a higher level of engagement with news were more likely to ask critical questions about the news they consume. This emphasizes the importance of media literacy education in promoting critical thinking and empowering young people to analyze and interpret news stories effectively.

Overall, the survey highlights the need for increased media literacy education in schools to help children and teenagers navigate the online news landscape and understand the role of algorithms in shaping the news they encounter.

Sources:
– News and Young Australians in 2023., CC BY-NC-SA

Young people get news from social media without understanding algorithms, and only 24% of young people receive media literacy lessons in school, highlighting the need for increased media literacy education.

Media literacy education helps students evaluate information and make informed decisions, and it is an indispensable civic quality for digital citizens.

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Content: Local Local Focus
Zhucheng Yuxian Junior High School won the Silver Award twice in six years
▲ Indoor course on “Good Matchmaking ” (Photo / courtesy of Hsinchu City Government)
Hsinchu Zhendao reporter Tsai Wen-chi / Hsinchu reporting
The Ministry of Education announced the winners of the 111-year Teaching Excellence Award, and the representatives of Yuxian Junior High School in Hsinchu City won the Silver Award for the second time in six years. The Academy Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Chen Chang-hsien, acting mayor of Hsinchu City, said that Hsinchu City was the first county and city in the country to have air conditioning in class. Improve the learning environment and aesthetically pleasing campus space.
He said that the school has been built 66 years, since the 105 school year planning and design, 108 years of work to carry out a large-scale campus renovation. In recent years, the city government has invested 320 million yuan to demolish the old school buildings, build a new Yuying building, set up a half outdoor exhibition space and more than 200 square meters of suspended library tour, which is a new landmark for Yuxian middle school. Explore the school trail, reshape the school gate landscape and sports ground, and create a “knowledge playground ” for learning.
The Education Department said that through the "NEWS GO" media literacy course, Yuxian Junior High School allows children to develop their critical thinking and practical actions to create a quality listening environment through the four stages of notice, exploration, wisdom and share and action.
Among them, the winning program is “Discovering the Truth — Thinking in the Face of False Messages ” and“ Spreading Love — Practicing the Power of Motivation into Action ”. The wisdom of "photo-deception", "video-deception" and "fraud", and further through the production of self-media to convey the power of good, and exert the influence of positive values.
Yue Hsien Kuo Lieutenant-Colonel Huang Shu-wen says, "Media literacy is an indispensable civic quality for digital citizens. The Internet is full of false information. Scams, video games and scams constantly challenge our perception that what we see is true and what we hear is true.
Under the leadership of Principal Huang Shu-wen, Yu-Hsien Junior High School has brought together teachers from various fields of Chinese, social, life technology, general education, and performing arts to create a cross-disciplinary community of "media open eyes and laughter". As a citizen of the active media who can produce real information and carry out public supervision, he has the ability to use the media in a positive way.
This year, Yuxian Guozhong has won the highest honor in the education field. This year, Yuxian Guozhong not only has a self-media creation course to spread the stories of home and hometown, but also let the teachers and students of Yuxian Guozhong Middle School, the only medium literacy base school in China, exert their greatest influence together. "New Media".
The Department of Education (ED) hopes to continue to share private lessons with teachers through professional efforts, expand to national exchanges, provide creative teaching modules, so that teachers who are willing to work together to promote media literacy education can easily get started, and let more school children benefit, and create a new vision of "education" and "media".
In addition, the overall campus transformation of Yuxian Junior High School has also won the Best Environmental and Cultural Gold Award of the 2021 National Construction Excellence Award, the 2021 National School Architectural Landscape Architecture Park Smelter Award, and the Landscape Pathway has won the 2020 National Road Good Performance Award.
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To effectively counter or address flat Earth beliefs in a constructive and respectful manner, parents or caregivers should prioritize emotional connection to build trust.

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Content: Parenting tips: 5 steps to build a secure relationship with the child

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Parenting is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding yet challenging journeys in life. As parents, we all strive to provide a nurturing environment where our children can grow and flourish.

Parenting is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding yet challenging journeys in life. As parents, we all strive to provide a nurturing environment where our children can grow and flourish. Central to this journey is building a strong and secure relationship with our children, one that fosters trust, communication, and mutual respect.

Here are five essential steps to help you cultivate a secure bond with your child:

1. Prioritise Emotional Connection

Emotional connection forms the cornerstone of a secure parent-child relationship. Children thrive when they feel loved, understood, and valued. Make it a priority to connect with your child on an emotional level every day. This could involve spending quality one-on-one time together, actively listening to their thoughts and feelings, and expressing empathy and support.

Create opportunities for meaningful conversations where your child feels safe to open up about their joys, fears, and concerns. Validate their emotions and show genuine interest in their experiences. By fostering a strong emotional connection, you lay the foundation for trust and intimacy in your relationship.

2. Practice Positive Discipline

Discipline is an integral part of parenting, but it's essential to approach it in a positive and constructive manner. Focus on teaching your child right from wrong rather than simply enforcing rules through punishment. Use discipline as an opportunity for learning and growth rather than a means of control.

Set clear and consistent boundaries, and enforce them with empathy and understanding. Encourage cooperation and problem-solving rather than resorting to harsh discipline methods. By practicing positive discipline, you demonstrate respect for your child's autonomy while guiding them toward responsible behaviour.

3. Cultivate Open Communication

Effective communication is key to building a secure relationship with your child. Create an open and supportive environment were communication flows freely. Encourage your child to express themselves honestly and respectfully, and be receptive to their thoughts and opinions.

Listen actively to what your child has to say, without judgment or interruption. Validate their perspectives and encourage them to communicate their needs and concerns. Be willing to have difficult conversations and address any misunderstandings or conflicts that arise with patience and understanding.

4. Foster Trust and Consistency

Trust is essential for any relationship to thrive, and it's particularly crucial in the parent-child dynamic. Be consistent in your words and actions, and follow through on your promises. Show reliability and dependability in your interactions with your child, and they will learn to trust and rely on you.

Avoid making unrealistic demands or promises that you cannot fulfill. Be honest and transparent with your child, even when discussing challenging topics. By fostering trust through consistency and honesty, you create a secure foundation for your relationship to grow.

5. Lead by Example

As a parent, you are your child's first and most influential role model. Lead by example and demonstrate the values and behaviours you wish to instill in your child. Model kindness, empathy, and respect in your interactions with others, and your child will learn to emulate these traits.

Show resilience in the face of adversity and demonstrate healthy coping mechanisms for managing stress and challenges. By embodying the qualities, you wish to impart to your child, you not only strengthen your bond but also empower them to become confident and compassionate individuals.

In conclusion, building a secure relationship with your child requires patience, dedication, and a commitment to nurturing their emotional well-being. By prioritising emotional connection, practicing positive discipline, fostering open communication, cultivating trust and consistency, and leading by example, you lay the groundwork for a strong and enduring bond with your child. Remember that every parent-child relationship is unique, so be open to adapting these tips to suit your family's individual needs and dynamics. With love, understanding, and mutual respect, you can create a supportive and enriching environment where your child can thrive and flourish.

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This can be achieved by practicing positive discipline for learning, cultivating open communication for expression, and fostering trust and consistency for reliability.

It is also essential to lead by example to model values and behaviors, which can help prevent the adoption of flat Earth beliefs.

Avoiding absolute expressions, refraining from comparing partners to their parents, and showing engagement and willingness to work on issues can also help in addressing these beliefs.

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December 28, 06: 00
Keep Relationships: 5 Forbidden Phrases You Can ’ t Say to Your Beloved
Learn a few phrases that can destroy your union, as well as how to avoid them or what to replace them with.
All this will help to maintain harmony and mutual understanding with your beloved man.
Relationships require skillful communication and understanding.
Words have power, and mismatched expressions can be harmful.
We ’ ll look at five phrases that threaten to undermine trust and harmony in your relationship.
And we will also offer alternative ways of communication that will help strengthen the connection.
1.
Do not dramatize: "You always..." or "You never..."
The couple discusses problems in the relationship from a position of respect and mutual understanding.
Photo © Shutterstock
Absolute expressions in disputes can cause your partner a feeling of injustice and a desire to protect himself.
When we say “You always ” or“ You never ”, it is often perceived as an exaggeration, which can make dialogue difficult.
Instead, discuss specific actions or events that have triggered certain feelings in you.
Express them clearly and constructively, without drama.
2.
Don ’ t compare yourself to your parents: “You ’ re just like your mother / your father. ”
Comparing a partner with his parents, especially in a negative way, is not worth it.
Such behavior on your part can deeply hurt the pet and cause conflict.
Because a person probably perceives such phrases as an attack on his personality and family values.
Instead, focus on the specific behavior that is bothering you and discuss it calmly and respectfully.
3.
No indifference: "I don't care"
Exchange of feelings and opinions in a relationship.
Photo © Shutterstock
When you say, “I don ’ t care ”, it can be perceived as a lack of interest in the feelings and opinions of the second person in the couple.
It also gives the impression that you do not care about solving problems that arise.
Instead, show your engagement and willingness to work on the issue, share your feelings and suggestions.
4.
Avoid controlling phrases like, "You should..."
Attempts to control or dictate what your loved one should or should not do can cause resistance and negativity.
Phrases like “You should ” are often perceived as an attempt to limit personal freedom.
It is better to express your expectations and assumptions so that they sound like an invitation to dialogue, rather than an order.
5.
Do not put the conditions: "If you love me, you would..."
How do couples work together to solve problems?
Photo © Shutterstock
To question a partner ’ s love or use it as a condition for certain actions is also wrong – it can cause feelings of guilt or pressure.
Such a phrase is not only unfair, but also can damage the credibility and sincerity of the relationship.
Instead, express your needs and desires openly, avoiding ultimatums and conventions.
The ability to communicate is the key to a successful and long-lasting relationship.
By avoiding these five phrases and replacing them with more positive and constructive alternatives, you can significantly improve communication and strengthen mutual understanding and trust in a couple.
Cover ©
Shutterstock
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Effective communication is crucial for healthy relationships, and acknowledging differences promotes respectful dialogue, which is vital when discussing flat Earth beliefs.

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Content: Let’s talk it over… | Conscious Parenting Revolution

In the United States last year, we were just weeks away from a presidential election. The last few weeks, months, and even years have been fraught, politicized, and polarized. With everyone yelling over each other, there’s not a lot of listening going on. As I teach in the Guidance Approach to Parenting, effective communication is […]

The Thrive Global Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.

In the United States last year, we were just weeks away from a presidential election. The last few weeks, months, and even years have been fraught, politicized, and polarized. With everyone yelling over each other, there’s not a lot of listening going on.

As I teach in the Guidance Approach to Parenting, effective communication is crucial to maintaining healthy relationships and creating a physically and emotionally safe environment.

We’re always going to come across people who we disagree with. Getting into a shouting match, battling it out over social media, or pretending people who think differently than you don’t exist aren’t productive ways to handle those disagreements.

Instead, we need to acknowledge our differences, engage with each other as human beings, and encourage open and respectful dialogue.

This video-yes, it’s an ad, but worth the watch-is a great example of what effective, compassionate communication can look like:

“Worlds Apart”

Next time you’re talking to someone with different views than yours (your toddler or your teenage maybe?), don’t judge. Don’t try to convince. Don’t even look for all the things you might have in common. Simply focus on the person sitting across from you. You don’t “win” the conversation by proving that your point of view is the right one. You win by making a genuine connection with another human being.

Really listening can be hard when someone else’s perspective is so different than your own. Staying out of judgment is key. Also seeing beliefs as an attempt to meet needs. Beliefs tie into our values and give us a way to explain and understand our lives. If we see everyone else’s beliefs are doing this for them too, shifting a belief could be a fisk to belongingness with their tribe. A belief could tie directly back to a need for connection or understanding.

Successful dialogue doesn’t always mean you walk away from being on the same side. Goodness knows we don’t always see eye to eye with our kids. It’s about showing up, connecting, and listening to what the other person has to say.

Want more support to transform your family dynamics? Join us for the 5 Day Parenting Reboot

Originally published at https://www.consciousparentingrevolution.com on October 23, 2020.

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Having an open and respectful conversation with a teenager about flat Earth beliefs requires listening to their feelings and affirming them to start the conversation.

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The Harvard Gazette

How to help your kids with classroom anxieties

Humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan?

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How to help your kids with classroom anxieties

Graduate School of Education experts offer guidance as another pandemic school year begins

As children return to school, they will not be the only ones with plenty of homework to do. Parents, teachers, and administrators need to be prepared with strategies to support students who are dealing with anxiety and uncertainty as they start another school year shadowed by the pandemic, according to experts at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Most students were at least partially remote last year and academic progress was all over the map. This year is expected to be more in-person, and students are returning with concerns about whether they’re going to fit in and whether they can keep up in classes, said Nancy E. Hill, Charles Bigelow Professor of Education.

“The first thing parents can do is listen and affirm,” said Hill, a psychologist who studies parenting and adolescent development.  “Parents should take the time to ask their children how they’re feeling about going back to school, what they are excited about, what they are worried about, and what we can do to help allay their concerns. Even in the asking, there’s an affirmation and understanding that this is a difficult period.”

Teachers and administrators should have a blueprint to help students figure out how they are going to make up for missed work, but such plans should not emphasize shortcomings, Hill said. Students may be apprehensive about learning loss, teachers’ expectations, and lagging behind their classmates.

“I think one of the chief academic anxieties that many students are going to feel is this pressure and sense that somehow they’re behind,” Hill said.

Teachers should brace for a challenging year as they struggle to guide students who are reeling from isolation, loneliness, and anxiety brought on by the pandemic. Some students may also be experiencing grief if they have lost loved ones to COVID or had family members who were very sick.

“There are some kids who have endured traumas of one kind or another,” said Rick Weissbourd, a senior lecturer at HGSE. “There are a lot of different things going on, and it varies a lot by race and class.”

Parents and teachers should pay extra attention to students’ mental health, said Weissbourd, who is also the director of Making Caring Common, a national effort to foreground moral and social development in child-raising. Parents must work hard to “disentangle” their concerns from those of their children and to help them manage anxiety.

“What parents are worried about may not be what kids are in fact worried about,” said Weissbourd. “It’s important for parents to inquire, find out, and listen to what kids are concerned about.”

It’s equally important that parents reconnect with teachers and start building relationships to create strong school communities. On its website, Making Caring Common includes a relationship-mapping strategy to help teachers and students solidify ties.

“The relationship-building and the community-building are critical every year, but are going to be especially critical this year,” said Weissbourd.

Many schoolchildren may fear that their relationships with peers, teachers, and caregivers were altered by the pandemic, and those connections are key to their learning and development, said Junlei Li, Saul Zaentz Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education, and co-chair of the Human Development and Education Program. Younger students in particular need to feel that they are accepted and that they belong, he added.

“Children need to feel they’re welcome as they are, that their teachers want them there, and that they’re not behind — because when you tell them they’re behind, you’re actually telling children they don’t belong there,” said Li. “Learning and development can be built on the foundation of belonging and finding a place for yourself.”

For teens, friendships are especially important because they help their socio-emotional development, said Hill. Parents should do everything they can to give their teenagers time and space to reconnect with friends, without diminishing their own relationships with their children.

“I would encourage parents to reach out and make intentional connections with their teens and not look at them and think, ‘Oh, they’ve grown. They’ve got it all together,’” said Hill. “Warmth, love, and care, and all those warm feelings that we sometimes think teens don’t need — they need them more than ever.”

Asking teenagers about their concerns and feelings is essential to understand their perspective on the topic.

Avoiding emphasis on shortcomings can help alleviate anxiety and create a safe space for discussion.

Paying attention to the teenager's mental health and anxiety is crucial when discussing sensitive topics like flat Earth beliefs.

Disentangling the parent's concerns from the teenager's concerns can help prevent misunderstandings and promote effective communication.

Open-ended questions can encourage teenagers to discuss their beliefs and opinions without feeling judged.

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Content: How can you save your children from serious social media challenges?
The dangers of social media outweigh the benefits and fun of engaging in it, especially for children and adolescents, as children often feel compelled to participate in what their friends and peers are doing in all the challenges they see through social media platforms, whether serious or positive, in order to keep up with them or get along with them.
How can parents talk to their children about the serious challenges of social media?
Educational and family specialist Dr. Ayesh Nawaisa believes that the technological revolution has led to a large spread of social networking sites and related applications, giving children the opportunity to participate directly in the content industry and share it with others.
“This shift has been largely reflected in children ’ s behavior, and the relationship with social media has reached the point of daily addiction for many hours.
This was accompanied by difficulties for parents in monitoring the content and what their children watch as a result of economic and social conditions related to the parents' preoccupation with work and the fulfillment of the requirements of life. "
Regulated and targeted use of websites
He added that it is necessary to restore prestige to families and the role of mother and father in raising children and directing them towards the right path through the regulated and directed use of various communication sites and applications, and alert children to the negative health and social effects resulting from excessive use of these sites, and the need to explain the dangers of participating in the challenges popular through social networking sites.
The Jordanian educational expert stresses the need to guide children to the importance of employing these technologies and websites to reflect on the improvement of their learning and new skills, adding that "the challenge is great for parents, and children must participate in addressing the negatives resulting from the use of these sites."
Ideas for dialogue with children about challenges
Hana Al Ramli, an information technology expert and internet culture consultant, offers a range of ideas for a dialogue with children about the challenges that spread across social media:
Before starting the dialogue, identify the topics you would like to discuss, and make sure you understand the potential dangers of common challenges.
Start with open-ended questions to engage your children and encourage them to participate, such as “What sites do you use? ” or“ What do you like about them? ”
Give your children an opportunity to ask questions and discuss continuously.
• Respond to their needs, and make them feel comfortable asking any questions or concerns.
Ask them what they know about these challenges, and whether they have seen or heard of anyone doing them.
• Listen to their opinions and feelings without judging or criticizing them.
Counsellor Hana offers examples of questions:
How do you feel about these challenges?
Why do you think some people are taking on these challenges?
What would you do if someone asked you to do one of these challenges?
How can you help a friend who is or is thinking about doing one of these challenges?
The information technology expert adds:
Listen carefully and respectfully to your child ’ s opinions and ideas, and don ’ t interrupt them.
• Share your fears and expectations.
You can explain to your child why some challenges are not appropriate and what kind of dangers they pose to them.
Ask him what he knows.
You can begin to discover the challenges your child likes, and the challenges he enjoys.
You can also ask him if he has encountered any problems or dangers.
Encourage them to think critically and independently about these challenges, not following participants in this type of game or succumbing to peer pressure.
Help them develop self-esteem so that they don ’ t feel the need to convince others of risky behaviors.
Provide information in an age-appropriate manner, focusing on possible adverse effects.
Communicate with your child after the dialogue to follow up on the discussion and make sure they understand correctly.
Try as much as possible to have regular conversations with your child about their online experiences.
Viral Social Media Challenges
Viral social media challenges are defined as typically involving users who film themselves performing unusual, dramatic, funny, or risky actions, and sharing that content with others who can then perform the same action, thereby accepting to complete the challenge and keep sharing it, Verywellfamily has published.
Dr. Noushin Amin Eldin, president of the Children ’ s Council and the Media at the American Academy of Pediatrics, said: “There ’ s a feeling that if other people are doing this, it might be fun to try to imitate them, even if it ’ s a new idea that they didn ’ t think of before. ”
Some of the challenges of social media are extremely risky, especially when they involve medications or otherwise affect the body.
She explains that some of the challenges come in the form of practices with unknown results, which pose a risk to children ’ s health.
In 2013, the so-called “cinnamon challenge ” spread, with a large number of teenagers around the world daring to eat a spoonful of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds, without water, resulting in aspiration pneumonia or permanent lung damage.
The challenges of social media are very serious because they involve peer pressure and group thinking, leading vulnerable children to risk their health or lives.
Source: Al Jazeera + Websites

Listening to teenagers' opinions without judgment is crucial to building trust and encouraging critical thinking.

Providing age-appropriate information can help teenagers think critically about the information they consume online.

Encouraging self-esteem can prevent teenagers from following risky behaviors or adopting misconceptions like flat Earth beliefs.

Ultimately, promoting critical thinking and media literacy skills in children and teenagers is essential for preparing them to navigate the challenges of the modern world and make informed decisions about controversial topics like the flat Earth movement.

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Content: Missouri legislation aims to help kids practice critical thinking in K-12

Concerns over AI-generated media spur efforts to reinforce Missourian’s scrutiny of information
Published: Dec. 15, 2023 at 6:31 PM CST|Updated: 8 minutes ago

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (WGEM) - A bill pre-filed in the Missouri House of Representatives would create a new pilot program aimed at helping K-through-12 students be more resilient to misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories.

State Rep. Jim Murphy, R-St. Louis, is filed the bill as concerns grow about the spread of AI-generated media circulating online and with it, huge potential for confusion and chaos.

“Unfortunately, today, children are receiving so much information, and they receive it in so many different ways that we never had to deal with as adults,” Murphy said.

The media environment has dramatically expanded in the last three decades, beginning with the surge of cable TV in the late 1980s, continuing with the rise of the internet in the 1990s, and escalating with the adoption of social media in the 2000s.

“Artificial Intelligence is now going to be the challenge of the of the next generation,” Murphy predicted.

The “Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Act,” if passed, would launch a program in select schools to develop strategies for how to improve student’s ability to think critically and process incoming information whatever the source.

Amy Simons, a professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, said each person’s media consumption, if not proactively managed, can become exclusively managed by an algorithm, the top priority of which is usually to retain the user’s attention.

“The media landscape is both saturated, and it’s splintered,” Simons said. “So, we are increasingly, – because of the way that algorithms work and the ways sources of information are fed to us on our social media streams or through ads, – we are becoming more and more insular.”

The idea behind Murphy’s bill is to build a student’s natural, healthy skepticism of what they see and hear and understand their own bias and that of others.

It’s the same process employed by journalists in verifying their information.

“That’s something that really today we need to be training everybody to do,” Simons said. “That’s not just a skill journalists need.”

In October polls shows Americans have the lowest trust and confidence in news media ever.

Murphy said the more consumers understand about how their news sources verify information, the easier it will be for them to know which news sources to trust.

“We’re gonna have to make everybody a journalist in their own way, they have to learn how to how to verify what they’re seeing,” Murphy said.

Copyright 2023 WGEM. All rights reserved.

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Don’t know much about history: National Assessment of Educational Progress test shows failing scores for eighth-graders

Last year, the National Assessment of Educational Progress surveyed eighth-graders about their knowledge of U.S. history and civics. A sample civics question presented the results of a hypothetical presidential election with three candidates. Candidate A won 30 states, 271 electoral votes (50.4%), and had 47.9% of the popular vote. Candidate B won 20 states plus the District of Columbia, 266 electoral votes (49.4%), and 48.4% of the popular vote. Candidate C won 0 states, 0 electoral votes, and 2.7% of the popular vote. Who won the election? the multiple-choice question asked.

Only 45% of eighth-graders were able to correctly identify that Candidate A became president by winning the Electoral College.

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The likelihood that an eighth-grader would answer civics and U.S. history questions correctly fell slightly between 2018 and 2022. On average, the performance of eighth-graders on the U.S. history assessment has returned to the 1994 level, when the federal government began tracking history performance in a consistent way. And in civics, scores fell for the first time, reverting to 1998 levels.

Are these declines attributable to the pandemic? Perhaps in part, as many students attended school remotely in the 2020-21 school year that preceded the 2022 assessment. We did see some declines in reading and math performance during those years, and good reading comprehension is essential for understanding and responding to complex questions that require reasoning.

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But these declines on the 2022 U.S. history and civics assessments must be understood alongside the relatively low levels of knowledge displayed by U.S. students in previous years. The prevailing interpretation is that federal, state and local policies focused their attention on reading and mathematics proficiency, crowding social studies out of the curriculum, particularly at the elementary and middle school levels.

Addressing the gaps in our students’ knowledge and understanding requires significant movement on two fronts. The first is ensuring that students have an adequate understanding of the facts of U.S. history. Only through knowledge of these facts can we interpret what they mean, and construct accounts of the course of the development of the U.S. as a nation.

In recent years, though, many facts have been contested, with partisan politics arguing for one set of facts over another. The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan was reported to say, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” In state after state, however, political leaders have been choosing their own facts, suppressing key facts about the nation’s history, and its treatment of its most vulnerable citizens. (And, of course, we have seen the denial of basic facts such as who won a Presidential election.) These political disputes over what counts as a fact may have a chilling effect on what teachers seek to teach their students about U.S. history. They also have restricted the scope of the books and other curriculum materials on which teachers rely to convey our history.

The second front is the cultivation of critical thinking skills. There is some irony in the fact that the rise of expansive social media tools has actually reduced young people’s exposure to divergent social views and understandings of the world. Once, no one on the Internet knew if you were a dog. Now, no one knows if you’re a bot, or a crackpot conspiracy theorist. Crazy interpretations of events are just as accessible as grounded ones, and young people often lack the tools to tell the difference. Prof. Sam Wineburg at Stanford University has demonstrated just how susceptible youth—and adults!—are to the firehose of information, both credible and incredible, that the Internet provides.

The good news is that Wineburg has shown that critical thinking skills can be taught to high school and college students. Students can ask, “Who says?” and “What’s the evidence?” They can learn to read laterally, looking across several sites addressing a particular topic, rather than being swayed by a single webpage with bells and whistles. And they can practice what Wineburg terms click restraint, recognizing that it’s better to look at a set of Internet search results and choose one or more that look especially trustworthy, rather than simply clicking on the first one that pops up.

Students also can learn to move on from sites that present as facts things that they know are not true, which requires a base knowledge of facts. Thus, factual knowledge and critical thinking skills must work hand-in-hand, and our education system must organize itself to instill the ability both to comprehend and to evaluate information about our social, political, and cultural history. Anything less threatens the future of democracy in the United States.

Pallas is the Arthur I. Gates Professor of Sociology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

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