It turns out that test scores for US students are going down for science. And Steven Strauss, a leadership fellow at Harvard, says the US is approaching Third-World status because student math scores are so low. But you know what? Math scores are not the harbinger of developing society. Women entering the workforce and earning their […]
If you are going to focus on teaching kids soft skills for successful living, then of course you are going to teach them about money. The idea of an allowance is becoming controversial. Maybe it’s not such a great idea. But if you are going to teach money, then why not teach how to buy […]
A lot of people who hire me for career coaching finally tell me that what they really want is a way to make a life that will let them homeschool their kids. When they have kids. Here’s what I tell them: 1. Find a husband who makes enough money for you to stay home. Look, […]
We were in New York a few months ago, and of course we played with every animal we saw because my kids are, at this point, probably more farm than city. And of course we had the violin and the cello because we travel with them everywhere because we practice every day, no matter what. […]
I am receiving lots of emails about summer vacation and homeschooling. For example, the New Yorker cartoon (above) reflects how far behind school is in terms of teaching communication. But the emails that are really nagging at me right now are the people telling me that I should write about how kids who go to […]
It’s my weekly post about why kids shouldn’t go to college. To be clear, I write these posts to convince myself that my kids should not go to college. I remember, about ten years ago, when I wrote that entrepreurship is a safety net. I felt like I was writing the post to justify the […]
The debate over the value of college is heating up. The value of degrees from non-top-tier colleges is negligible. The future job market does not require a four-year college degree. And now Time magazine is advocating vocational school for most kids. I have thought for a while that homeschool should be like vocational school. For example, […]
I’m looking for some way to decide if I should make my son go into Madison tomorrow for gymnastics. And swimming. He loves both of them, but he hates to leave the house. I can understand: I hate to leave the house, too. I think most people who have Asperger’s hate to leave their house. […]
[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwIyy1Fi-4Q] I just listened to a speech by Astra Taylor, who was homeschooled as a child. It’s significant that we are finally hearing from kids who were homeschooled about what it was like. I like that Taylor is honest enough to admit that each of the kids in her family asked to go to […]
I have received about ten emails from people who are outraged that the Obama administration is proposing that kids be banned from doing farm work. People who grew up on farms are posting comments all over the Internet about their farm nostalgia. And I get it. I understand that kids run wild on a farm […]