intro

Connecting the DOTS is a daily 3-hour class held with my 18-year-old daughter, Veronica. Five days a week we tune into Democracy Now, and watch videos or listen to audio files that give background and context to the news. These are often from Uprising Radio, Unwelcome Guests, History Counts, New World Notes, or my own radio show, Third Paradigm.

We read and discuss articles from Foreign Policy in Focus, FoodFirst!, Rights Action, or other independent sources. In addition, we go chapter-by-chapter through books, starting with Derrick Jensen’s Culture of Make-Believe. While watching, listening, or talking, we prep and cook for Food in the Hood, our weekly neighborhood fundraiser for global charities.

On Saturdays, we watch a feature-length film with the rest of the family, from Netflix or the progressive film club, Ironweed. Sundays are an independent study day with audio that can be listened to while drawing, and a creative writing assignment. The writing project applies imagination and research to people, places, and situations described in the news.

Our purpose is not simply to understand these relationships, but to develop a strategy for change with the whole picture in mind. Add your thoughts and creativity to this solution-oriented conversation, grounded in the alternative media. Please join us!