NYC sand volleyball courts function a lot like small towns, and in the small-town world of NYC beach volleyball, Lisa was a mayor. She made a huge stink about how men got more time than women. She closed down all the sand courts. She offended everyone. Then she asked me to be her partner. I thought to myself that she was crazy and also that she sucked at volleyball. But I am attracted to the intersection of drama-fests and power-grabs, so I said yes. Read more
Today I sifted through drafts of posts I didn’t publish. This is from 2011. The picture up top caught my eye, so I read the post.
Last Friday I spent the day in bed. Well, first I got out of bed, had the kids do chores, and then made breakfast for the Farmer and the kids. But then I went back to bed. Read more
Each year I see more benefits to be had from homeschooling schedules.
Ask for private lessons during school hours so you can get the best teachers who are booked after school.
Do most of your academic tutoring during the summer so you have your pick of all the teachers who are out of school. Read more
When I first started writing, I wrote stories about myself at work. I didn’t know anything about reporting, or research. I just wrote about the insane things my coworkers did. Read more
Pretty much all research about education reform points to how important self-directed learning is (especially for kids living in poverty, in case you’re wondering.) It made sense to me theoretically, but in practice it meant my kids are playing video games, fighting with each other, and shopping at GAP. Read more
I’m shocked at the number of people I coach who are disappointed by what they’ve accomplished in adult life. Most people think they will do something remarkable, or at least something that other people notice. Most people think they will make a difference in the world in a way that will garner recognition. Read more
I was struck by this interview on NPR with the authors of Becoming Brilliant:
NPR: What led you to write this book now?
Golinkoff: We live in a crazy time, and parents are very worried about their children’s futures. They’re getting all kinds of messages about children having to score at the top level on some test. The irony is, kids could score at the top and still not succeed at finding great employment or becoming a great person.
Hirsh-Pasek: If Rip Van Winkle came back, there’s only one institution he would recognize: “Oh! That’s a school. Kids are still sitting in rows, still listening to the font of wisdom at the front of the classroom.” We’re training kids to do what computers do, which is spit back facts. And computers are always going to be better than human beings at that. But what they’re not going to be better at is being social, navigating relationships, being citizens in a community. So we need to change the whole definition of what success in school, and out of school, means.
This is a guest post from Sarah Faulkner. She is a homeschooling mom in Washington state. She has five kids, ages 13, 11, 9, 5, and 2.
My husband and I live in different time vortexes. I live in the near future. More like the Jetson’s. My husband grudgingly lives in the 1950’s. I think he would be happier in the Flintstones era. This difference rarely effects our marriage as we care very little about the other’s passions. Read more
My son told me he wrote a post for my blog. He’s written for this blog before, so I read his post with excitement. But then I had to tell him it wouldn’t work. I’m not sure it’s that nice,” I told him. “Or useful.” Read more
Here’s a good rule: Don’t expose your kids to stuff that’s good for them and don’t actively look for their passions. Instead, just listen and make good suggestions. The real purpose of education is for kids to learn to find their own passion – not for you to find it for them. Read more