Lots of adults think a lot about what they have to do and wish they didn’t have to – go to work, pay taxes, and much more. Some see children not having to do all that, and envy them and/or get nostalgic: “Ah, to be free, like a child!” When children hear about that envy…
I have a friend who sometimes does something that bothers me. If we’re talking, and he starts to realize that he’s given me information I’ll use to make a decision he doesn’t like, he tells me he was only kidding, and then he proceeds to tell me the “truth.” And if that “truth” still doesn’t…
There are nine planets in our solar system, and we all had the good fortune to be born on what is probably the only one that can sustain human life. There may be planets in other solar systems that can do it even better, but I think earth is pretty good at it. And I…
Lately, I’ve heard that some schools are being sued, sometimes by pupils and sometimes by pupils’ parents, for not doing the job schools are “supposed to” do. My first reaction to such suits is that they’re nonsense – that educating people is everyone’s job. Teachers, parents, pupils, administrators, and politicians are key players, and ought…
Much of the time, we talk without knowing exactly what we’re going to say until just before we say it. What we end up saying depends on what other people say, and on what we think about what they say. Sometimes we surprise ourselves; through effective conversation, we can learn about ourselves and other people,…
Virginia came to me one night With a question in her eyes She asks important questions, Expecting frank replies. “Daddy,” she said, in a serious voice, Underscored by a thoughtful pause, “I want an honest answer. Is there a Santa Clause?” “My parents once told me there was, And their parents told them, too. And…
As we teach children to read, we try to get them to do so independently. We teach them various strategies they can use to figure out words they don’t know. They can use context or phonetic clues. They can take words apart, figure out the parts, and then put them together again. Some teachers have…
Adults often try to teach children about the glory of delayed gratification. “If you save your money,” we say, “you’ll have it when you really need it. Why get a bunch of stickers or candies now when you could save your money and get something better later?” When we ask children such questions, we want…
It’s great when people who are trying to do similar things can work together, learning from, teaching, and supporting each other. Together, they can move mountains. Or if mountains won’t budge, defeat involves a little less agony if it’s not lonely. I know that teachers have lots they can learn from and teach each other….