When I was in elementary school, one of my favorite activities was show and tell. Things happened to me. I did things. I got stuff. But when I got to school, I had to let the teacher know whether I was going to buy lunch. Boring. Then I had to do a worksheet or something….
I believe, despite what could be considered some evidence to the contrary, that everything we really need to teach and learn can be presented and received effectively in a way that’s enjoyable. I believe that there are ways to avoid the drudgery that’s often involved in school, and that avoiding it doesn’t have to involve…
I feel funny writing an article about organization and predictability. I never felt as if they were my strong points as a teacher. There were times, as a teacher, when I tried to convince myself that they weren’t so important. And there were days, weeks, even years when I rose above my natural tendency to…
As our children go through school, they’re bound to meet up with situations, teachers and/or children who, to put it mildly, aren’t quite right for them. Adults, too, sometimes have to spend a lot of time working with people they’d rather avoid altogether, and/or doing things they’d rather not do. We have more power over…
We ask children to read the directions at the top of a worksheet before doing the worksheet. We stress how important it is to read those directions. I remember teachers telling us again and again about a worksheet that didn’t even have to be done if you followed directions closely; the beginning said, “Read this…
I wrote, in my last article, that I do not volunteer to be an authority figure. I know what I meant when I wrote that, but it’s not quite that simple; I feel the need to clarify the statement a little. I don’t mean that the children now have a new forty-eight year old playmate,…
A boy named Jeremy, like most people, likes to do what he does well. What he does well is converse and move around. And he does both really well. You should see him on the soccer field. Or have a conversation with him. As long as Jeremy is doing what he does well, he’s happy…
I know parents who believe that they have found the “correct” way to parent. Some lecture other people on the “correct” way, and disapprove of people who parent “incorrectly.” Some of these people do have lovable, competent children, and should take some credit for parenting effectively, but I’m wary of attempts to turn one person’s…
I have a new friend who is about to become a father. When I last wrote about babies, I wrote that babies were not my favorite people – that they had potential, but that I’d rather relate to them after they’d reached more of it. As I wrote that, I was thinking of time I’d…
When I was busy in my teaching career, I told myself and others that I would be more attentive, sensitive, and all that if I just had more time. I’d pay more attention to the little things that mean so much. Sometimes I got skeptical looks; people thought my career was just an alibi. So…