#5SmartReads - May 23, 2023

Genevieve “Jenny” Dreizen is the co-founder and COO of Fresh Starts Registry, the first and only platform for everything you need to begin again, including divorce or breakup, moving, career changes, stepping into your truth, or starting again after grief.

Jenny is passionate about creating usable, efficient, and beautiful systems to run Fresh Starts to maintain their Experts, Support Specialists, and Freshies. When not planted in front of her multi-screen setup, Jenny might be found baking brownies, working on a poem or essay, or doing her favorite thing - going for a walk and buying herself a little treat.

The Path To Gender Equality Starts… With Dishes (Self Magazine)

Alex Manley recently released this book "The New Masculinity: A Roadmap for 21st Century Manhood" and we are very excited to read this piece from them about equity.

In this case festive equity, IE who washes the dishes at the end of a party. I am a loud domestic equity supporter, after my own experience of serious domestic inequity, it's something I seriously champion and therefore, obviously, inhaled this piece. Alex outlines in the piece how something as small as who scoots up to collect and wash the dishes at a party is a far larger issue of social conditioning which we need to push against in order to ever become the society and culture many of us want to see.

Domestic equity may seem like it's an issue of who does what in the home, a line drawn down the exact center of a chores list, but the reality is domestic equity is about allowing our children to develop into themselves and caretake their loved ones as their truest beings. And frankly, I just love that.

This Sensor-Filled ‘Smart’ Classroom Is Designed To Improve Literacy (Fast Company)

The piece from Elissaveta M. Brandon discusses a new classroom technology called the "sensor smart classroom" that uses sensors to track students' engagement and progress in literacy activities. The system works by detecting students' movements and interactions with books, and can provide real-time feedback to teachers on how students are engaging with the material.

The technology has been found to be effective in improving literacy skills among young students. While the whole thing sounds a bit futuristic and maybe with a concerning hint of big brother, I generally think childhood literacy is important. By using sensors and providing real-time feedback, students can receive personalized support and guidance, while teachers can gain insights into how to better support their students' learning. It's exciting to see how technology can be used in creative ways to enhance the classroom experience and help students succeed.

Realistically though, given the lack of funding to most schools for basic fundamentals this feels like an exciting, over swing - I am more interested in seeing teachers being paid appropriately than making kids' classrooms into an episode of the Jetsons.

IVF, Ozempic, And Cutting Through My Cycle Of Shame (Cosmopolitan)

Weight, body image, society, pregnancy- these are all super tricky topics and intensely personal to boot. I so appreciate Wynter Mitchell getting vulnerable and authentic in this piece.

She walks the tricky line of body acceptance and the life we want being just beyond our reach. And the promise of medication as a key to that life. Mitchell addresses the intersection of body security, IVF, medically prescribed weight loss and weight loss medication. When we hear about Ozempic so much through the media, real people's stories can be lost. I so appreciate Mitchell sharing her story for nuance.

The Battle Of The Standards: Why The US And UK Can’t Stop Fighting The Metric System (The Verge)

I really enjoyed this excerpt from the book "Beyond Measure" by James Vincent, discussing the ongoing anti-metric sentiment in the United States and the United Kingdom. Vincent explores the historical and cultural reasons behind this resistance to the metric system, from the American Revolution to the current day.

The article provides an interesting look at how something as seemingly simple as a measurement system can become intertwined with national identity and politics. I love how this article is a fascinating read that sheds light on a quirky aspect of American and British culture.

As a future expat I have an interesting relationship with these differences and how they form culture in small and large ways (small like a centimeter, large like a meter - I'm learning!).

Ready To Buy A Home? Ask Your Realtor These 8 Questions Before You Hire Them (Martha Stewart)

I love this piece by Wendy Rose Gould about the questions to ask a realtor when you're looking to buy a home. I am a classic perfectionist and doing anything I've never done before scares the heck out of me - what questions do I ask, how do I approach the experts in the field without feeling like a total dingdong, how do I vet experts I have no rubric for?

Gould is here to save the day. From making sure you're connected to the right realtor, adept advice from Emily Clancy LoPorto, to asking what the process looks like, a brilliant recommendation from Melissa Zimbelman, this piece has you covered. Most of all a piece like this tells me it's more than okay to ask these questions, and actually part of your due diligence when entering this working relationship. Sometimes all I need is permission to ask questions, and this piece grants me that!