Many children I’ve known have tried to have pen pals, and some have succeeded. In the past, it’s taken a kind of dedication that, for some children, may no longer be necessary. If you relate to someone only through the mail, conversations can be difficult – especially if, after several weeks or months, you receive…
Parents, teachers, children, and other people often get cast in roles they’re expected to play. They do, say, or write something that impresses other people, either because they do it so well or just because at least they DO it. It may or may not astound people, but at least it impresses them enough to…
There are all kinds of dangers in this world, and we don’t want our children to end up in the emergency room of the hospital, pictured on a milk carton, or dead. We want them to live long, healthy, happy lives. And so we do what we can to make sure that’s what happens. Of…
Communicating by e-mail with one of my former pupils, I was recently reminded of the wall that often exists between teacher and pupil (one of the many things Caleb Gattegno taught me was that we should try to use the word “student” only when that’s exactly what we mean). There’s already something called a “generation…
There’s a kind of anti-intellectualism among some artists (and parents of artists) that places the untutored genius high above the one who had a teacher, studied, and finally created some good stuff. I’ve had that mindset to some degree for a long time, and still do, somewhat. I’ve been proud of the fact that I…
I spent this evening not teaching. There I was, with Molly, a five year old girl who didn’t know some things I did know, and who “knew” some things I knew weren’t true, and I let it be. Being the chronic compulsive teacher I am, I really felt like teaching, but it just wasn’t the…
Two girls came into class today quite animated. They had come to school by bus, and according to their story, the bus driver had made the girls sit in the back of the bus and the boys sit in front. With smiles on their faces, they told me they were angry. I believed them. There…
Everything’s relative. But having heard gruesome stories about what has been happening in some families, I think, in retrospect, that my family has been relatively functional. I think many families have been. It’s traditional, in my crowd, to blame one’s parents for one’s problems, but I’ve heard stories that make me grateful to my parents…
I have a good friend who respects my thinking about children and parents. He asked me what to do about a situation that’s bothering him. His daughter, Rochelle, is being bothered by a girl named Juliana, who seems to need to be “best” at everything, and to make sure everyone knows it. While I’m flattered…
Something happened today that I can’t help writing about. Perhaps by the time I’ve written a few paragraphs, I’ll have thought of a point I’m trying to make. But for now, I just have to tell you what happened. All the children in one reading group had just read a story, and they were supposed…