Stateside: Raising age limit for tobacco; debating social studies standards; doulas for teen mothers

Today on Stateside, two members from the Michigan State Board of Education discuss the ongoing debate over social studies standards for the state's K-12 public education system. Plus, a new program offers trauma-sensitive doula and midwife services to teen mothers who are survivors of sexual abuse.

Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below. 

State ed board members weigh in on controversial social studies standards

• This week, the public gets a chance to weigh in on the latest draft of proposed social studies standards for Michigan schools. These particular standards have become a hot button political issue after a draft released last spring was decried by critics as having a conservative bias. Now, another round of revisionshas conservatives crying foul.
• Tom McMillin is a former Republican state representative and current treasurer of the State Board of Education. Democrat Casandra Ulbrich is the president of the Board. They joined Stateside to share their differing perspectives on the revisions, and talk about why they matter for Michigan students.
• For more information on how to give feedback on the proposed social studies standards, click here.

Bacon: Yzerman’s Detroit homecoming is good news for Red Wings

• It was the news that fans have been hoping to hear: former Red Wings player Steve Yzerman is coming home to Detroit as the team’s new general manager and executive vice president. Michigan Radio’s sports commentator John U. Bacon talks about fans' reaction to the news, and how long he thinks it’ll take to see the team back in the playoffs.

Lansing program provides doulas to support teen moms who are survivors of sexual abuse

• Research suggests that girls who suffer childhood sexual abuse are more likely as teenagers to engage in the kind of risky sexual behaviors that can lead to pregnancy. And for many of those young women, pregnancy and birth can be traumatic experiences, triggering memories of their abuse. There's a new effort underway to help by offering trauma-sensitive doula and midwifery care for young women at Angel House, a home for pregnant and parenting teen girls in Lansing.  
• Tashmica Torok is the founder of the Firecracker Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works with children who have survived sexual trauma. Connie Perkins is a midwife and doula who runs Red Cedar Birth and Botanicals. The two discuss what they hope to offer the teens they are working with in this program, and how doulas can help survivors through the process of pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood. 

From miscarriage to motherhood, Polly Rosenwaike examines the “baby years” in debut short story collection

• We’re just a few short weeks away from Mother’s Day when people get together to celebrate and appreciate the mothers in their families. But there’s so much more to motherhood than the sentiments contained in a greeting card, and it’s not all sweetness and roses.
• Polly Rosenwaike explores the many facets of womanhood and motherhood in her debut short story collection Look How Happy I’m Making You. Rosenwaike tells Stateside about her own experiences as a mother and discusses what inspired her to write this collection.

How raising the legal age to buy tobacco to 21 would impact public health in Michigan

• More and more cities are passing “Tobacco 21” laws that prohibit people under the age of 21 from purchasing tobacco products. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has announced plans to introduce a bill that would raise the federal age limit for buying tobacco from 18 to 21. A University of Michigan study finds that doing so could prevent thousands of premature deaths in Michigan.
• One of the researchers looking into what happens when a "Tobacco 21" law is passed is Holly Jarman, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She tells us how raising the age for tobacco purchases would impact public health in Michigan.

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