{"id":3542,"date":"2015-09-19T11:23:11","date_gmt":"2015-09-19T16:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stager.tv\/?p=3542"},"modified":"2020-07-25T18:58:05","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T23:58:05","slug":"iprofitoffahmed-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stager.tv\/?p=3542","title":{"rendered":"#IProfitOffAhmed.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years ago, Dr.\u00a0Leah Buechley<\/a>\u00a0delivered a\u00a0stunning address<\/a>\u00a0at Stanford University’s\u00a02013 FabLearn Conference<\/a>. In her speech, Dr. Buechley challenged\u00a0MakerEd.org’s<\/a>\u00a0slogan, “Every Child a Maker,” in light of\u00a0the lack of diversity displayed by a commercial entity often associated with its activities,\u00a0Maker Media<\/a>. (Note: The non-profit advocacy group,\u00a0MakerEd.org<\/a>\u00a0and the company,\u00a0Maker Media<\/a>,\u00a0share a founder and similar names, but are indeed separate entities regardless of any confusion in the marketplace.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Buechley shared stunning statistics on the lack of diversity represented on the cover of Make Magazine (the flagship of the enterprise), the lack of editorial diversity in\u00a0<\/span>Make<\/em>, and the cost of the most popular kits sold by <\/span>MakerShed<\/a>, the retail arm of Maker Media.<\/span><\/p>\n

I highly recommend that you take some time to watch<\/a> Dr. Buechley’s Stanford Talk.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These are\u00a0not the words of a cranky critic. Leah Buechley is one of the mother’s of the maker movement (small m). She urged those with enormous capital, influence, and connections to take their mission of “Every Child a Maker” more seriously. A change in behavior needed to accompany this rhetoric in order to truly m<\/span>ake the world a better place. Maker Media and its subsidiaries have\u00a0gained access to The White House, departments of education, and policy-making discussions. With such access comes great responsibility. Every educator and parent has seen the pain inflicted on public education by corporations and other rich white men who view the public schools as their personal plaything.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, I wrote the article, Criminalizing Show & Tell<\/a><\/em>, to tell the outrageous tale of a 9th grade young man who was arrested, cuffed, detained, and suspended from school for bringing his invention to class. He hoped his creativity would gain him support in a school culture hostile to his complexion, name and religious beliefs. In my article<\/a>, I addressed the steps that must be taken to correct this abuse of power, deprivation of rights, and violation of sound education principles.<\/p>\n

Since then, Ahmed Mohammed has become the cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre\u00a0of the Internet. Why, he got tweeted by @potus AND got his very own hashtag, #istandwithAhmed. What Ahmed\u00a0has NOT\u00a0received is an apology from the school district that brutalized him or the police force that wrongfully arrested him. In fact, the school district<\/a>\u00a0continued their victim-blaming in a letter to parents<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0and the Irving, Texas police chief thinks that his force handled everything perfectly as <\/a>well<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But hey, he got a #hashtag! Case closed, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don’t think so.<\/p>\n

\"Makershed
Home page of Makershed.com on 9\/19\/15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This morning I awoke to this tone-deaf\u00a0email from Makershed<\/a>\u00a0announcing their\u00a0Stand with Ahmed<\/em> clock kit sale. Worst of all, only 3 of the 12 clocks are actually on-sale.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>
Sale page on the Makershed web site 9\/19\/15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If tasteless isn’t your style, how about sweet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My social media stream is full of postings like this one.<\/p>\n

\"Ahmeds<\/a><\/p>\n

Hooray! Ahmed is getting lots of presents. Who doesn’t like presents?<\/p>\n

A few pesky questions remain:<\/p>\n