I was never good at research. No teacher ever taught me how to do it. I have a sister who’s great at it. A brother who’s great at it. Daughters who are great at it (they got that from my ex-wife, not from me). Every year, I taught children a little bit about research, but…
In 1969, having recently seen “Man of La Mancha,” I was full of zeal and commitment. When I heard my first speech welcoming new teachers, I was all ears when the speaker, an eloquent nun, said we must see the Dulcinea in every child – the inner person who can be so much better than…
I’m writing this article on July 4, 1995. You’re reading it later than that. Today many people will be celebrating a time when lots of people got together to make a statement that was quite bold. There were also a lot of people who probably thought the rebels were trouble- makers: These are a bunch…
Every year I taught second grade in Wellesley, we took children to Nahant to explore the tidepools. They loved that field trip, and it was a great way to close our unit on ocean life. But there was something else going on in the mind of at least one nervous teacher. I counted the number…
I’ve been waiting for the right moment to write about coping with children’s exuberance. I wanted to pick a moment when I was feeling exuberant, and could think about how it might be difficult for other people to deal with me. But as most writers know, ecstatic moments don’t make you feel like sitting around…
Honesty is a good thing. People feel irritated, furious, disappointed – all kinds of bad feelings – when they discover that someone has lied. Sometimes we get cynically used to dishonesty. We expect politicians, salespeople, any people who stand to gain by hiding things, to lie whenever the truth doesn’t fit. It makes us feel…
Some children are just naturally neat. They don’t seem to have to put any effort into it. They’re very lucky. They end up with lots of free time while others are busy straightening up their desks, rooms, or whatever. And they get lots of appreciation; neatness is a quality that pleases adults more reliably than…
How’s your financial life? It’s a question that’s often complicated in its own right, and it’s made more complicated when you have children who are curious about it. There’s a few generations whose parents experienced the Depression, and for many of them (myself included), talking about finances with the children was a no-no. Children grew…
Sometimes a person is said to be “good with kids.” I think the phrase implies some special talent or insight. A friend suggested that I write an article examining what makes people “good with kids,” and I searched my soul for “the” answer. I thought about my childhood, and tried to remember whether there were…
Many creatures great and small, but not all of them, start out needing their parents. I’m not sure, but I think the complicated creatures need their parents longer than the simple ones. Human beings need them for years. The actual degree and duration of this dependency among humans varies greatly. Bill Cosby, in his book…