Brittani Banks

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Articles

How a Worker Cooperative Is Mitigating the Stray Animal Crisis in Texas

1 month ago | independentmediainstitute.org | Damon Orion |Brittani Banks

Click here to read the article on the Observatory. Houston’s Pet Care Co-op empowers humans and helps animals survive. By Damon OrionThe popularity of support animals attests to the mental health benefits of bonding with a pet, such as decreased stress, anxiety, and loneliness. According to the Mayo Clinic, having pets may also positively impact cardiovascular health and blood pressure control. Unfortunately, many animals that could be treasured companions never get that opportunity.
Looking to the Lessons of the Early Roman Republic and Venice for Guidance

Jan 24, 2025 | independentmediainstitute.org | John Ruehl |Brittani Banks

IMI World Affairs writer John P. Ruehl has produced a three-part series that looks beyond the near-monopoly that the late Republic and early Imperial period have on the public consciousness with regard to inspiration for contemporary politics.
How Republics Succeed, Falter, and Fail

Jan 13, 2025 | independentmediainstitute.org | John Ruehl |Brittani Banks

Click here to read the article on the Observatory. The United States today faces inherent challenges that have weakened the republic, making lessons from the Roman Republic even more necessary to avoid greater political instability. The U.S. enjoys many strengths that give it an edge over other republics, such as a decentralized and innovative economy that draws global talent and unmatched military strength.
Enrollment in Nature Schools Soars as Families Rediscover the Benefits of Outdoor Learning

Jan 10, 2025 | independentmediainstitute.org | Damon Orion |Brittani Banks

Click here to read the article on the Observatory. Nature schools are taking education outside the box. By Damon OrionAuthor, journalist, and child advocacy expert Richard Louv famously coined the term “nature deficit disorder” to describe the detrimental effects of children’s disconnection from nature. His assertions are backed by data that strongly suggests a link between increased exposure to nature and improved cognitive function, brain activity, and mental and physical health.
Announcing Observatory Classics

Dec 20, 2024 | independentmediainstitute.org | Brittani Banks

The Observatory is pleased to announce the release of Classics. This virtual library houses public domain books that are of cultural/historical significance to all readers, including academics/researchers, experts, and students. Our editors have thoughtfully updated these transcribed texts to improve upon what was previously available by adding contextual and editorial notes, as well as user-friendly formatting—and they are all available for free to readers.
Cities Made Differently: Try Imagining Another Urban Existence

Nov 21, 2024 | independentmediainstitute.org | Brittani Banks

Click here to read the article on the Observatory. We know from history that there are many ways we can live together—let’s explore the idea. By David Graeber and Nika DubrovskyIn thousands of ways, we are taught to accept the world we live in as the only possible one, but thousands of other ways of organizing homes, cities, schools, societies, economies, and cosmologies have existed and could exist.
How a Struggling Boston School Found Success in the Roots of its Haitian American Community

Oct 27, 2024 | independentmediainstitute.org | Jeff Bryant |Brittani Banks

The following is an excerpt of an article that was originally published on the Progressive. Click to read the full article online. The school’s success is a counterpoint to Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign and a testament to the resiliency of public schools when they embrace their local communities. In 2016, Boston’s Mattahunt Elementary was a school on the brink.
Chicago Teachers Want to Transform Their City into a ‘System of Care’—Will Dems Go Along? - Independent Media Institute

Sep 30, 2024 | independentmediainstitute.org | Jeff Bryant |Brittani Banks

Click here to read the article on LA Progressive. Headbutting and friction continue in the battle of big ideas vs. entrenched leadership. There was an ironic moment in former President Barack Obama’s speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago when he brought up the passing of his wife Michelle’s mother Marian Robinson who, he noted, was raised in the South Side of Chicago and attended Englewood High School.
Can Vice-Presidential Pick Tim Walz Make Democrats the Education Party Again?

Aug 13, 2024 | independentmediainstitute.org | Brittani Banks
Observatory Special Report on How Investors Are Exploiting Public Education

Jun 14, 2024 | independentmediainstitute.org | Jeff Bryant |Brittani Banks

Click here to read the article on the Observatory. For-profit operators and their investors use complex business arrangements and networks of related companies to enrich themselves and do little to improve education. Ever since charter schools were created in the 1990s, there’s been a persistent question1 of whether or not the schools introduce an element of profit-making into the public education sector.