Don’t Stop Now: The Importance of Structures and Routines

Posted on June 21, 2014 by jameswhoddinott

arrival_dismissal_routines1

It never is the most exciting presentation or the topic that when looking through the Conference Guide you say “Wow I am going to that one!!” Structures and routines there is just no way to make it sound any more than what it is. Yet it is perhaps one of the most important strategies for schools, classrooms and students when it comes to both behaving and learning.

Some of the gurus like George Sugai with PBIS and Randy Sprick through Safe and Civil Schools know and espouse what good parents have been doing forever. As parents we innately understand the importance of establishing a bedtime routine that can be as simple as bath, story, snack and bed or the morning routine of getting dressed, make your bed, breakfast, brushing your teeth and going to school. These routines that established early bring structure and routine to an often chaotic world around us. These routines not only make us feel safe but mentally prepare our minds for what is happening next.

Checking our data and through informal conversations with other administrators it is apparent that schools suffer through spikes in behaviour at times when the school and classroom routines and structures are disrupted. Report Card writing time for teachers, holiday concerts, or like now the end of the year activities are just some of the examples our data indicates for our school. It is important that during times where there are major disruptions to the structures and routines of the school day or teacher focus that we increase our adherence to those patterns we have established for activities but also to our lessons when the students are back in class. In times of disorder or change whether students or adults what we need is order. Structures and routines provide that.

Teachers still need to keep expectations high, re-teach, model and enforce the school-wide and classroom expectations. Remind students of hallway and classroom expectations. Re-teach those established expectations for assemblies and presentations. When teaching a lesson continue to follow your established learning routines of sharing the outcome, activating the lesson, demonstrating the task, shared examples and eventually group or independent work where students are reminded and re-taught those learning behaviours that are essential and found in CHAMPS or the learning routines established school-wide or in your grade level teams. All classrooms do not need to be exactly the same but the effectiveness of school-wide interventions increase with teacher consistency and when structures and routines are consistent. Does your school establish the routines of how to come into class, how to walk down the hallway, enter a classroom? As a teacher do your students have a seating plan? Do they know to go to their desk, open their book and look to the teacher for next steps? Do students know and have they been taught about being prepared and ready for class? Have you taught those routines and structures? Have you reinforced them and re-taught them? Yes even at the end of the year.

As the school year starts to wind down we often as teachers start also tend to wind down or lose our focus to all the jobs we have to do like report cards, cum files and the list is endless that we forget to reinforce those routines and structures that have worked so well for us over the school year. We took the time throughout the year to teach our routines and structures and they worked. Remember the end of the year is not only a time of increased stress on the adults in a building but also on students. The end of the year marks the start of a transition from one grade to another, school to school, school to graduation which all our unknowns. Perhaps most students or our Universal population do okay but our students who have higher needs or those in the targeted and intensive populations will require extra attention. Remember the end of the year also means the end of the routine and structure of school that for many students causes stress as they look towards summer holidays that they might not be looking forward to as much as we are.

The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.

MIKE MURDOCH

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Dystopian novel imagines world of immortality

Posted on June 16, 2014 by jameswhoddinott

Press Release

Webpage

James W. Hoddinott describes world without societal ethics in new book

‘The Fates’

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Author James W. Hoddinott proffers readers a dystopia of devastating immortality in his new novel, “The Fates”(published by Trafford Publishing)

“We have a society that is increasingly individualistic, putting their needs ahead of all others,” Hoddinott says. “’The Fates’ questions what people are willing to sacrifice to meet their own needs.”

Set in a world without social conscience, “The Fates” follows Dr. Fairholm and Sonya’s discovery of an immortality serum. Due to their discovery, Dr. Fairholm and Sonya become the leaders of a group of people willing to sacrifice anything in order to live forever. When the immortality serum stops working, two “breeders” for the immortal ones lead a revolt to regain their freedom, desiring to live as humankind was meant to.

In this dystopian world, the immortal ones are pitted against a group who believes the spiritual self is the destiny of all humans. In a society where individuals devalue the basic human characteristics that make each person unique, the clashes between these two groups manifest devastating outcomes.

“I want readers to think,” Hoddinott says, “think about choices they would make and choices they are making. I want them to think about society’s priorities and if they are the right ones.”

“The Fates”

By James W. Hoddinott is currently on Winnipeg’s Bestseller list and found at McNally Robinson Booksellers.

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Chapters

About the Author

James W. Hoddinott is a teacher, consultant and currently works as a vice principal. He believes in strength-based education and helping students find what it is that is their gift. He is an advocate for students with special needs and youth at-risk. “The Fates” is his second novel. He is also the author of “When Eagles Dare to Fly.”

Unsolicited review found at Chapters

Winnipeger

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

  1. The Fates

    The Fates

    ☆☆☆☆☆ ☆☆☆☆☆ 5 out of 5 stars.

    The Fates

    · a day ago  

    A Great Read

    Could not put this one down. It has been a long time I have felt that way about a book!

 

 

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Humble Beginnings: One Dad’s Story

Posted on June 14, 2014 by jameswhoddinott
Picture from Snow Storms and Blizzards: Life on the Prairies by Roger Currie

Picture from Snow Storms and Blizzards: Life on the Prairies by Roger Currie

CHAPTER ONE

(A brief excerpt from a work in progress)

Being born during the ‘Dirty Thirties’, the Great Depression as it has become to be known and written about certainly has helped determine, shape who I am. In November of 1933 I was born as a bit of a surprise to my mom, dad and two sisters. I guess more than a bit of a surprise as my mom was forty-four years old and my sister Phyllis was twelve and Connie was fifteen. In some ways I grew up as an only child having to help my parents with the farm. My sisters became more like additional moms to me. Three moms telling me what I needed to do. That may sound terrible to many of you but it wasn’t all bad. Those three women loved me as I became the ‘Apple of their Eye’, the only boy in this household of women, someone to take over the family farm, for in those days that is just the way it was. I would be lying if I told you I knew how poor we were when I was born, but then again when you grow up poor you don’t always know you are poor it is just the way it is. I didn’t know better so things were just the way they were.

My mom Maude Singleton and her family had left the hard times in England in search of a better life farming in Manitoba. Her dad James was not a farmer by trade but in 1889 life had to be better on the Canadian Prairies doing something you didn’t know rather than the dreary existence as a labourer on the streets of London. My dad Frank Hoddinott came from a large family, no longer sure how many there were, but somehow seventeen seems to come to mind. Most stayed in England but my dad came to the Neepawa area where he met my mom and they eventually married in the summer of 1917.

The bitterly cold winter of 1933, the year I was born, followed another summer of drought, dust storms, grasshoppers and poor crops. Most people in the area could barely grow enough food to feed themselves let alone have crops to sell. If we did have crops to sell the price of wheat was low; better to give it away my dad would say; and even if the price was higher there wasn’t anybody who could afford to buy it. If you were lucky enough to own your farm it was almost impossible to have the money to pay your property taxes. Those families that owned farms often had people living and helping out on the farm. No one could really afford to help anyone, we all were barely surviving, but we did. We didn’t blame each other for being poor, we just somehow understood if we were going to survive, we all had to survive. We all had to help each other. We shared what we had. Many farmers helped those without homes by paying them the five dollars a month the government gave farmers to help them out.

I joke about being born in a barn. Well in truth that is just the way things were. No Lamaze classes, just neighbours getting together to help each other when they needed it. There wasn’t a star guiding the shepherds to our family farm on the Arden Ridge. My birth was like all births during the depression, was a gift. A moment in time to remember how precious the gift of life is for my parents, sisters, really all of us. A birth during the depression was also another stress, another mouth to feed, in a family that wasn’t sure how they could feed the people already living, never mind any one new coming into a world where drought and poor crops have been a way of life since the stock market crash in 1929.

There are stories I could share with you about my mom Maude and my dad Frank that happened long before I was born but telling those stories would be hearsay and based on my interpretations of what they told me. Sometimes I wonder why we don’t write more about what our lives were like while we are living them. We write our autobiography long after what happened has happened. Is what we remember still the truth or just tricks our mind plays on us to remember how good or bad things were for us? A way of rationalizing how we act and how we behave. I am pretty sure I never walked to school uphill both ways but I did tell my children that. My children seem to remember me telling them that all I ate growing up was lard sandwiches or that when I played hockey on the frozen dugout on our farm, I used manure, cow droppings for hockey pucks.

Not even sure my story is important as people seem to want to read autobiographies about famous people. Somehow thinking the stories of the famous are more significant or a truer depiction of life, leaving the stories of the not so famous or those of us to easily forgotten, lost forever. Every one’s story is important and worth telling, besides most of us aren’t famous but we do most of the living, dying, crying and laughing so that makes our stories vital if we are truly to understand who we are and where we came from. My story, the story of my family, is just one of the billions of stories that make-up the history of our world, of our civilization. It is our stories that will help people remember who we are and where we need to go.

My name is John. I am in my eighty-first year. My wife hates it when I say that, so I guess I better say I am eighty.

 

 

My mom has been asking me why when I write I don’t write about our family. “Why don’t you tell our story?” I never thought much about it but another Mother’s Day has come and gone and now it is Father’s Day. The story and life of my dad, my mom and family I didn’t really think mattered. In truth all our stories matter. The stories of everyday people are the living history of the world we live in.

James W. Hoddinott

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

 

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Our Inner Struggle

Posted on June 8, 2014 by jameswhoddinott

two-wolves

There is a legend from the Native American culture that speaks of the ‘Two Wolves’ inside each of us. In essence in almost all of the religions or cultures of the world there are similar teachings and stories. Each of us is born with the capacity to do ‘good’ or to do bad or evil. It is this inner struggle we all have, the struggle we have every day to do what is right or what is wrong and it is based on which of the wolves we feed. The difficulty in North American society in particular is for people to understand which of the wolves we are feeding.

‘No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks

Mary Wollenscraft

A student where I work shared with me some of the teachings of her grandmother. She talked about how her ‘Grandmother’ told her that everyone is born equal and a person’s culture is not determined until we start living. The society we each live in combined with our ongoing inner struggle with the influences of human nature; temptation; affects our belief of what is good and what is evil. In the end the choices we make, the actions we do, decide who we become and how we feel about ourselves. Many of these actions are in conflict with who we as humans are meant to be as people resulting in us being unhappy despite at appearing we have everything that should make us happy.

In today’s society there is an over-emphasis on the valuing of commercialism to fulfill our desire to be beautiful, wealthy and independent. Believing this will make us happy. The belief that to be happy means to do the things that make you happy. Seeking to feed the one versus worrying about the good of the many. Media and advertising inundates us with images of what each of us should look like, should be. The more beautiful we are, the happier we will be. The bigger the car, the bigger the house, and the bigger the bank account will make us happy. This culture that is being created that values the needs of the one is not only unattainable for everyone but ignores the key values that throughout history, throughout the world have been the foundations to creating a happy person, a happy family and a happy society.

Growing-up at times our family had little money. I still see my dad sitting at the kitchen table, making sure we all had food on our plates before he took his share. We were taught and modeled from a very young age the importance of sharing. If there were five potatoes and five people we each got one potato. Human nature at times had us each trying to get the slightly bigger potato but we would never think of taking two and leaving one person with nothing. New clothes usually just meant new to us. Don’t get me wrong we were not poor at least not in the way we have poverty today. We had a place to live and food, it may have been simple, but their was something to eat on the table every night. We grew up happy, not because we were rich or beautiful, but because we were fed those things that mattered.

During that time as well Canada’s policies were created to make sure everyone got health care and pension plans were established as well. The Canada Pension Plan even gave benefits to people who had never contributed, with the only requirement being was you were a certain age at the time of enactment you received the benefit. The majority of employers also had pension plans that they also contributed to, with the understanding if their workers are happy and working, earning a decent wage, then they could afford to be part of the economy and create a healthy and strong society. The rationale was simple because you were important, because we all were there to support each other. Canadian society was developed on certain core values and beliefs that drove policy in order to attain those ideals. The vision of what was a happy person was different from it is now. We are now creating policies that don’t have everyone supporting families. Education for instance no longer has to be supported by everyone. It no longer is a societal responsibility.

The rise and almost epidemic number of people with mental illness in North America is now being directly linked to the pressures of striving for more than we need in order to be happy. Feeding commercialism rather than society. Having a cell phone isn’t enough it must be the best cell phone. Making a profit isn’t enough, it has to be bigger even if it is at the expense of others, even if it means taking all the potatoes and leaving none for anyone else. The message that is becoming our new culture is happiness comes from the outside things rather than the inside. Your needs as an individual matter more than the needs of others.

The world has changed and I would never suggest that we go back to the way things were because at that time there was a need to address so many diversity issues, so many other issues of human rights, so many rights of the individual. The world needs balance, people need balance. Given where society is now and where it is headed we need policies that look at fairness for everyone. This is not about politics but doing those things based on what is happening around us and taking us back to the vision of the society we wanted to create. Fulfilling our vision as people, as a nation. We must take politics out of politics. A healthy society, a healthy person means identifying what it is we want our country, ourselves to be.

What is our vision for ourselves, for our community, for our country? We then do what is necessary to get us there. We feed the parts of us, the parts of our society that is going hungry.

We all must ask ourselves which part of the wolf we are feeding.

Poem

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The Launch

Posted on June 5, 2014 by jameswhoddinott

Bestseller List June 8th      Bestseller List June 1st

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‘The Fates’ Book Signing

On June 4th I had the opportunity to discuss, read and celebrate my latest novel ‘The Fates’. I would like to thank McNally Robinson Booksellers for the great venue to hold the event.

Discussing the Book

Discussing the Book

I am thankful to everyone who has encouraged my journey from a storyteller to an author. I am thankful to all the readers who have shared with me their feelings on how my first novel “When Eagles Dare to Fly’ was able to move them, be it to tears at times. It is their encouragement that gave me the courage to write my second novel. As I shared at the launch, I write to provoke thought, to share stories and allow the reader to experience the lives, emotions and thoughts of the characters.

_DSC2491

Having the opportunity to read a portion of my book to the audience brought my characters to life, made the characters real. Works of fiction allow us to truly experience and question the life of each character. I shared a portion of the book that takes place just outside the soon to be opened Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg.

I picked up Lisa first and then Josh so they could place their hand on his head and look into his bronze eyes. I know it was just a bronze statue but even the first time I looked into his face, into his eyes it seemed as though he was there, he was there looking right back at me. The statue had been given to “the Friends of the Human Rights Museum” by the government of India and placed in its current location in 2010 long before the opening of the museum so he could walk amongst the people. It is so ironic as I stood there holding Josh in the air so that he could be close to this beacon for human rights and dignity and there were no people for him to walk amongst. There was just the three of us. Gandhi stood as this man for nonviolence, of fair treatment for all, even when faced with the atrocities of the British government and eventually by his own people who didn’t believe the two religions could live together. I wanted Josh and Lisa to know all Gandhi stood for, get a sense for what our capacity as humans really is. I stood motionless staring into the eyes of a bronze statue and if you asked me at the time I would have sworn to you he was crying. It wasn’t Gandhi’s tears I saw but rather the reflection of mine. “Ms. G., we should go now,” Josh quietly said to me. “I will remember, I promise.”

Not sure what he meant by that but he was right. We needed to go. We quickly made our way toward the museum but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I opened the doors.

Two Aspiring Writers

Two Aspiring Writers

_DSC2488

To be supported by family, friends, readers and potential readers is a humbling experience. So thank-you to everyone who attended my launch as well as those who sent me well wishes from all over the world. I hope when you read my stories it will allow you to feel each story with your heart, mind and soul.

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_DSC2526

 

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James W Hoddinott Book Launch

Posted on May 27, 2014 by jameswhoddinott

Webpage

Come join me for the Book Launch Tomorrow Night at McNally Robinson Booksellers in
Winnipeg. That is June 4th at 7:00 pm. There will be a signing, a reading as well as refreshments and light snacks served.

‘The Fates’ and ‘When Eagles Dare to Fly’ are both available in stock at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg. Please click on link below to order on-line or visit the store to pick-up directly.

mcnally

To view a short clip about ‘The Fates’ please look at the promotional book video by clicking below.

fates book video

This book follows society’s search for immortality. The Fates explores a society made up of those that put their needs ahead of all others versus those that believe the spiritual self is the destiny of all humans. The decisions of the youth of today are influenced by increasingly uncontrolled and self-centered ideas. The path is being set in our world where through media, we are changing culture. Conflicts in this society where individuals devalue the basic human characteristics that make each of us unique manifest in some devastating outcomes. Imagine a world without a social conscience.

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What if: People Mattered

Posted on May 25, 2014 by jameswhoddinott

 SocialInclusionWordCloud

 

Image from Home for Hope

Every society’s greatest resource is its people. Yet it seems when it comes to determining policy; be it government or economic; decisions seem to have little to do about people. In Manitoba Schools we operate under a ‘Philosophy of Inclusion’ that guides our efforts towards ensuring that ‘everyone is safe, valued and accepted’. Schools in Manitoba must submit ‘School Plans’ that have outcomes that indicate what each school is going to do to improve student achievement academically and socially. Schools are supposed to include parent, community as well as student voice when developing their plans.

WHAT IF local, provincial and federal governments were held up to the same standard and level of accountability?

WHAT IF our government operated under the belief systems that everyone is safe, valued and accepted?

WHAT IF the people of our city, province and country were given a voice in developing policies that improved the outcomes of the people in every community across Canada?

Canada's Oliver Twist

Canada’s Oliver Twist

In Canada and globally we see an increasing number of people in poverty. We see an increase in the gap between those that have and those that do not have or are not fully included in the benefits of citizenship. We have a large number of Canadians that have given-up on looking for work. Given-up on being included into our society. The long-term cost of ignoring poverty is staggering.

WHAT IF the people mattered and investment by business was into the people and families who worked for them. Their portion of tax was determined on their re-investment into their workers and communities.

WHAT IF a company’s goal was to create full-time work, pensions for employees, and have workers who were able to be contributing members to our economy?

WHAT IF we taxed corporate ‘dead money’.

WHAT IF University Education, job training was free or affordable so that it was accessible to everyone.

WHAT IF people could find work, pay taxes, support their families and communities

tommy douglas

In Winnipeg we are having a Municipal election occurring in the fall and like most places we get stuck on the little things rather than the creation of a long-term vision. When you are stuck on the issue of the day it is difficult to connect it to people. We actually have one candidate’s whose campaign seems to be centred on fixing potholes. Fixing potholes although a problem it is not going to take this city forward to where we need to be in 5 years, 10 years and moving forward to a sustainable future.

WHAT IF people mattered more than potholes?

WHAT IF cities were designed to be people friendly? Where we could have places to meet, get to know our neighbour, every part of our city was not only unique but connected to the city as a whole.

WHAT IF we put efforts into reducing poverty, homelessness and creating a society that no matter what circumstance you found yourself in, you mattered?

WHAT IF we listened to the voices of those people who are currently not included in decisions? Imagine what the poor, the young, the disenfranchised would tell us what our city, province and country needed.

There are countless WHAT IFs but we need to have local, city, provincial and federal policies where people matter. Focusing on the economic and social well-being, health, education, safety and inclusion of every citizen no matter race, culture, gender or social circumstance is the only way to create a society where everyone is safe, valued and accepted.

WHAT IF….

 

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‘The Fates’ Book Launch

Posted on May 23, 2014 by jameswhoddinott

McNally Robinson Booksellers
presents
James W. Hoddinott
launching his second novel
The Fates

  

Wednesday June 4, 7:00 pm
Grant Park in the Atrium

This book follows society’s search for immortality. The Fates explores a society made up of those that put their needs ahead of all others versus those that believe the spiritual self is the destiny of all humans. The decisions of the youth of today are influenced by increasingly uncontrolled and self-centered ideas. The path is being set in our world where through media, we are changing culture. Conflicts in this society where individuals devalue the basic human characteristics that make each of us unique manifest in some devastating outcomes. Imagine a world without a social conscience.

James W. Hoddinott has worked as a teacher, resource/special education teacher, and consultant and currently works as a vice principal. James is interested in making a difference in his own life and the lives of others. He is a believer in strength-based education and helping students find what it is that is their gift. He is an advocate for students with special needs and individuals who have not yet found their way. He also believes in creating healthy communities which understand the importance of people. James is also the author of When Eagles Dare to Fly. 

Visit James online at his website and his blog.
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#BringBackOurGirls: Have we found our Voice

Posted on May 18, 2014 by jameswhoddinott

help me

When will the world finally stand-up and say ‘Enough’? This is not the kind of world we want. The issue of ‘Human Trafficking’, ‘Modern Slavery’ and ‘Poverty’ are all issues that demand our attention, need action and are interrelated.

According to Dr. Melissa Farley, a psychologist and researcher with the non-profit Prostitution Research & Education based in San Francisco, “You cannot understand prostitution unless you understand how sex, class and race all come together and hurt a person at the same time. People are chosen in prostitution because of the extreme imbalance of power. The poorest, the most vulnerable women, are basically made available for constant sexual access.”

Prostitution is Not a Choice, Soroptimist White Paper

The #BringBackOurGirls campaign hopefully has raised this global problem to the forefront and finally people are speaking out. The kidnapping of 300 girls in Nigeria is horrific in any society but unfortunately is a far too common occurrence in Nigeria but also is a world-wide problem.

Many of us think because we live in North America or Europe we are immune to the atrocities that we often ignore or think occur only in what we describe as Third World Countries. In Canada the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) just published a report that focused on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women. The numbers are staggering for a country that prides itself on equality and issues relating to human rights. What is lost in the numbers is Aboriginal woman, Aboriginal people are also overrepresented when it comes to poverty. Examining the numbers in further detail one also quickly recognizes that violence and exploitation  of woman, particularly those in poverty, in Canada and the world is a serious issue and requires immediate action by everyone.  It must be noted the majority of missing and murdered Aboriginal woman according to the RCMP report were not involved in prostitution but were victims of poverty.

It would be premature to focus on research outcomes without first addressing the context of the research. Violence against women is a significant societal issue. According to the World Health Organization, it affects one-third of women around the globe and represents a health problem of “epidemic proportions.”1

Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Operational Overview

On January 30th, 2014 Rachelle Browne wrote an article for the National Post about Inuit babies and children are being sold by their families, sometimes into prostitution, this according to a report funded by the Department of Justice exploring the wider issue of human trafficking in Canada. The article implores us to ‘Start Waking-Up’ in particular when it comes to issues regarding the protection and well-being of children.

For those of you who think this couldn’t happen in your country, think again. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services ““After drug dealing, trafficking of humans is tied with arms dealing as the second-largest criminal industry in the world.” The ‘Not for Sale’ campaign indicates that there are over 30 million people enslaved world-wide and is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Issues related to child pornography, prostitution and free or cheap labour as the world seems to be adopting a money no matter what the cost attitude. Countries seem reluctant to deal with criminal activity of this magnitude, even at times seeming to portray the exploitation of woman as their choice rather than seeing them as victims.

In Germany what was hailed by many to be a victory for sex trade workers when ‘Prostitution’ was legalized has according to Spiegel International on-line in an article written in 2013 called Unprotected: How Legalizing Prostitution Has Failed has increased the number of prostitutes as well as human trafficking.

There is evidence that a higher-than-average number of prostitutes were abused or neglected as children. Surveys have shown that many can be considered traumatized. Prostitutes suffer from depression, anxiety disorders and addiction at a much higher rate than the general population. Most prostitutes have been raped, many of them repeatedly. In surveys, most women say that they would get out of prostitution immediately if they could.

Be prepared if you decide to read the article as some of the information is disturbing and is occurring in one of the world’s so-called civilized societies. Germany is now often being referred to as the world’s largest Brothel as bus loads of so-called tourists visit marginalized prostitutes in deplorable and unhealthy situations. In North America some states have already decriminalized prostitution and in Canada similar discussions are being made. If we look at Germany and even the Netherlands we would recognize this increases victimization and crime against women.

Some U.S. states have already decriminalized prostitution for minors. Will they see more minors exploited? If the Dutch experiment is a guide, the answer is “yes.” Lawmakers in the Netherlands got it wrong by legalizing prostitution. Legalizing or decriminalizing it only leads to criminals taking advantage of a much more lenient environment and exploiting it

Amsterdam’s Legalized Prostitution Experiment Failed, Miserably

The situation may not be as bleak as it may at first appear. Countries like Sweden have seen a reduction in prostitution since it decided to view prostitutes as victims. This has resulted in the people buying sex as the criminals. Iceland is considering trying to tackle the problem of on-line pornography. Without a question that is a monumental task as on-line pornography has exploded and become a blight to the Internet. We must not only look at prosecuting those that view and distribute on-line pornography in particular child pornography but we must get at the big business of human trafficking and human slavery. There are many individuals making huge money off of the ‘backs’ of woman.

This requires more than laws and the enforcement of those laws but we need to change our beliefs about what is acceptable. We are all born equal and we must find a way that we remain equal no matter what race, culture or circumstance we find ourselves in. We must change our attitude to buying sex and viewing sex on-line. Money or wealth cannot be the measure of success as no one is successful who is becoming rich as a result of the enslavement of others.

It is time for all of us to find our voices.

 

A Must Read:

Prostitution is Not a Choice, Soroptimist White Paper

Other Articles:

Inuit Women Are Being Trafficked Through Dating Sites, Rachel Browne

Immigrants Are Being Kept As Cannabis Slaves in Britain and Ireland, Rachel Browne

Staggering report exposes US sex trafficking, by Trymaine Lee

 

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The Fates: Website Launch

Posted on May 16, 2014 by jameswhoddinott

Webpage

I am excited to announce my new webpage found at http://www.jwhoddinott.com

The Fates official book launch is scheduled for June 4th at 7:00 pm at McNally Robinson in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Please join me for a book signing, reading and refreshments. I will also talk about the 2nd Edition of When Eagles Dare to Fly and some exciting opportunities for High School English Teachers.

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