When people think of teaching, they often think of someone standing in front of a bunch of people and talking. I guess one of the reasons that image is so common is that the last years of many peoples’ schooling involve a lot of lecturing. Teachers in the upper grades and in college often spend…
In every elementary school in which I’ve taught, all children in each grade have been promoted together in June. There may have been some mystery about which teacher they’d get, but they could easily figure out which grade they’d be in just by adding one to the grade they’d just finished. Children knew that they…
In my essay entitled “Knowing Thyself” I made the point that adults shouldn’t be telling children who they are – that people ought to be free to figure that out on their own, and parents and other adults ought to concentrate on accepting those self-definitions. But a friend of mine who has preadolescent children read…
Having lived with gradually progressing disability for about ten years, I’m getting to know some things about what help is available. I’m also getting to know that many people have preconceived notions about what will help me, and when I suggest that their ideas may not be so helpful, some think I’m being stubborn. And…
Most Sunday mornings, I go to services at the local Unitarian Society. It’s not the way I’d choose to spend my time if I had lots of options. I’d rather just hang out with people; I’m not into organized religion. But lots of people are into it, and Sunday mornings can get to be lonely…
There’s a simple truth that can make teaching, learning, and the rest of life much more possible, even when they’re starting to seem just about out of the question: if a job is too big, it often helps to break it up into smaller parts. We don’t have to get overwhelmed and give up. We…
I think it was Socrates who said, “Know thyself.” What a deceptively simple thing for him to say! In some ways, we do start out knowing ourselves. We know what we need: food, comfort, warmth, and company. And those needs start out being a big part of who we are. Everybody else has the hard…
I was talking with Meredith, a student teacher who has been working with the fourth grade class in which I volunteer. At a certain point in our conversation, she said, “I have a lot to learn.” I answered, “You’ve already learned the most important thing.” With a baffled look on her face, she asked, “What’s…
When there’s an assembly or other large group gathering in school, children are usually supposed to sit quietly and listen. What they’re supposed to listen to may or may not be fascinating. It may even be quite difficult to listen to. Children often have things they want to say to each other, or just want…
Many children get to see and hear their parents and/or other adults read. They also sometimes notice ways math shows up in everyday life – the calendar, the checkbook, the thermometer, and more. But I’ve noticed that adults who write tend to wait until children are not around. So children tend not to see adults…