Most things are optional. Death and taxes have been rumored to be the only requirements, but, in fact, even taxes can be waived, and often are. But before most people realize how free they are, they go to school. There have been times when I’ve been able to get a budding rebel to acquiesce by…
Sometimes, a child may come to you and say, “Look at this!” or “Listen to this!” The child has just created or discovered something. Whatever it is may or may not be amazing or even recognizable to you. I have mostly seen and given three categories of reactions. The first type of reaction is typical…
Sometimes, a child may come to you and say, “Look at this!” or “Listen to this!” The child has just created or discovered something. Whatever it is may or may not be amazing or even recognizable to you. I have mostly seen and given three categories of reactions. The first type of reaction is typical…
When you ask a child a question, and you don’t seem to be getting an answer, it’s seems natural to deduce that the child doesn’t know the answer. Rather than prolong the agony, you quickly ask someone else, provide the answer yourself, or change the subject. Part of that reaction may be concern about the…
Children can get quite upset about things that may not seem very important to us. Having the right pencil, sharpened just right. Being called on in class. Getting to show the class the thing you found outside yesterday. All of a sudden, there is a distraught look, a gush of tears, or a fight. And…
Sometimes a child seems to learn something ahead of schedule. Most parents I’ve known, including me, react to the learning by thinking this child has “the gift.” As a member of a group sometimes called “the chosen people,” once persecuted by a group sometimes called “the master race,” I like to think everyone has “the…
Some families live in their own houses, and some have to rent living quarters. This is a simple, well-known fact of life, but it’s important to be aware of the effect of this dichotomy on children. Children who live in houses usually think of that as normal. Some can’t imagine why anyone would choose to…
Every day, I read the notes from teachers around the world on Internet. One teacher was annoyed by the “whole language” approach to teaching reading, and longed for a return to basal readers. This teacher ended the note with the question, “Where are Dick and Jane when we need them?” Here’s the answer I sent:…
When I was in college, people were reading Kahlil Gibran, who wrote, “Your children are not your children. They are the children of life’s longing for itself.” And Sidney Poitier was coming to dinner. Many people became resolved to be more open-minded than their parents were. Some came home from college with people their parents…
I have sometimes been told that an elementary school teacher’s job is to enable children to read, write, and compute, and to enhance children’s database. I’ve been told that teaching children to relate to each other and dealing with children’s various emotional issues is a job for another kind of professional – that teachers do…