I used to get intimidated by people who seemed to have what they called “silent understandings” with people. I thought that my own use of words was kind of obsessive, and that some day, if and when I really got my act together, I’d be able to have silent understandings with people, too. So far,…
It’s scary that some people seem to think of children mostly in terms of what they’ll buy, or what they’ll convince their parents to buy. Commercials and children’s entertainment often seem to be designed based on what advertisers think they’ll be able to sell, not on what they think will have good effects on children’s…
We’re a culture that puts a lot of faith in research. I have some faith in it myself. But sometimes I wonder what kind of thinking would motivate anyone to volunteer for a control group. Other times, I wonder about the experimental group. If I were supposed to die of some terrible disease in six…
If you were to take a casual look at the way I live my life, you would think I needed children. I spend lots of time with children. The songs, stories, poems, and articles I write are mostly for and/or about children or adults who spend a lot of time with children. Both my former…
I once read a book that had very practical advice for parents. I don’t remember the name of the book, or the author, but I particularly remember one bit of advice it gave: “If you deserve a break today, hire a babysitter and go to a slow food restaurant.” My children were the age the…
Today, on the bus, I heard a woman behind me yelling angrily at the children who were with her. As far as I could tell, the children weren’t doing anything for which they deserved to be yelled at; they were just being children. But angry yelling seemed to be this woman’s way of speaking to…
I remember Boy Scout camp. I was only there for two weeks when I was eleven, but it was far away from where the rest of my family was, and that was more important than how long it lasted. Some of my friends were there, but they were too busy defining themselves to think about…
Once, I was with a class that was gathered on the rug, listening and responding to the teacher. It was a usual scene – some children were lying on the rug, some sitting up straight, and one standing. All were focussed on the words people were saying, and each was comfortable in his/her own way….
Ten year old Merlin was having a bad day. There are many things Merlin doesn’t know yet that most other third-graders know. That’s true every day, but usually, Merlin’s teacher, his parents, and many other people in his life work hard to keep him thinking about what he does know, and what he can and…
Sometimes the work of teaching makes it so you can’t see the forest; there are too many trees to think about. As I sat in Pam Szczesny’s third grade classroom this morning, I took a moment to look at the forest. Children were working on writing their own individual creation myths, and they were deeply…