Have you ever wondered why none of my articles rhyme? I know how to rhyme; if I wanted to rhyme them I could. But rhyming plays games with the mind; I’m afraid if I did, you’d think I was fooling around, and that wouldn’t be good. I want you to read what I write and…
Did you ever find yourself wishing your children or parents were more like some other children or parents you’ve seen? We’re not supposed to think that way. We’re supposed to appreciate the people we’ve already got, and if we compare at all, our family is supposed to compare favorably. We’re supposed to feel lucky that…
When we were children, we didn’t always get to do what we wanted to do and have what we wanted to have, even if it was available and affordable. If something we wanted appealed to someone bigger than we were, we sometimes had to wait our turn, scrounge for leftovers, or give up altogether. When…
Living alone has its drawbacks, but for me, one of its blessings is that I can be who I want to be. Being disabled makes that even more feasible. Alone, I don’t seriously embarrass people by being noticed in public. And disabled, I don’t elicit disapproving looks from strangers who think I should act my…
I’ve referred to the Children’s Music Network a few times in my articles. It’s a major part of my life, and I realized, today, that if you don’t already know about it, this is an appropriate medium through which to tell you about it. So here goes: The Children’s Music Network is a network of…
Some children want to know why neatness and correct spelling have to be such a big deal. After all, they know what they mean by what they write, and so do plenty of other people. When they’re first starting to write, I agree with them. Of course it’s more important to communicate than to spell…
I’d like to add a verb to the English language: “sible.” There already is “sibling,” which can easily be used as the present participial form of the verb and still be used as a noun when necessary. “Parent,” after all, became a verb during my lifetime, so there’s a precedent. And I’m not seriously worried…
Some parents have a quick explanation of the phenomenon I described in my last article: children feel comfortable and safe at home – comfortable and safe enough to let out the demons they keep locked up while they’re in school. Since they’re more uncomfortable and insecure in school, their teachers happily do not get to…
You nervously enter your child’s classroom for the first time. You love your child, and you know that beneath the obnoxious, stubborn, self-centered style your child presents, there is a tender, sweet, generous person. You’re not sure how much you’ll console the teacher for having to deal with your child and how much you’ll come…
There were certain things I tried as a teacher, and they worked so well that I tried them every year, and they worked almost every year. On the one hand, I didn’t want to be like Mr. Goldman, my eighth grade Latin teacher, and become so predictable that people would tell jokes about me. I…