I’m starting a series of posts on education, and I’ll begin with a practical observation that seldom makes it to the top of most education reform discussions: One of the most important functions of elementary education is to provide a safe, supervised environment for parents to leave their kids so they can work. Many parents [...]
From the category archives:
Parenting
Marshall is set to be a “T”-pro by the time he goes to high school. This year, he’s attending a preschool in Jamaica Plain (the next neighborhood up from where we live in Roslindale) and most mornings, I drop him off on the way to work. It’s much easier than driving and it makes each [...]
Four-leaf clovers are not so incredibly rare, but they sure are hard to find. Probably a few years ago now, I started to pay attention a bit more and I remembered how, as kids, we would sit on the ground and search for four-leaf clovers. Somebody always found one and at the time, I didn’t [...]
After I suggested a way to fix the Boston Public School lottery process here, I attended the first of a series of community meetings in Boston designed to make good on Mayor Menino’s promise to “[adopt] a radically different student assignment plan – one that puts a priority on children attending schools closer to their [...]
I remember reading Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery when I was ten or twelve years old. It’s a great story that cleverly foreshadows danger, building to the unexpected climax and conclusion: the “winner” of the lottery is stoned to death in a small town ritual to ensure a good harvest. In Boston, we have our own annual [...]
I watched the documentary Race to Nowhere Sunday morning at the Dedham Community Theatre with a crowd of parents and educators concerned about the direction of K-12 education. Through the stories of students and parents, the movie makes a compelling case that we are headed in the wrong direction. Race to Nowhere profiles students, teachers, [...]
We bought a house in Rozzie, and we finally move this Friday. It was not an easy choice to leave the town of Westwood where I’ve been active in several town boards, developed many friendships, and started our oldest daughter in the school system. (And authored the Westwood Blog for the past 3 years.) It [...]
The iPhone 4 is out and while mobile and tech gadget gurus will analyze its features, this 2-minute video describing the “Facetime” feature deserves the Oscar. The video pulls all the right heartstrings and makes the case for why you just have to buy your grandparents one of these NOW. From the Apple website: People [...]
Today is International Walk to School Day–but not for some communities where walking and biking have been banned. Two recent news stories are discouraging on many levels, but do not represent the norm as more and more communities are, in fact, adopting alternatives to driving. In Saratoga Springs, NY, a woman and her 12-year old [...]
Plans change. But it can be powerful to work out a long term theme for your life as a way of grounding your current choices. Last week, I spoke with Pam Slim from Escape from Cubicle Nation about how to navigate my own situation–where my “escape” is involuntary–and came away with some great ideas. Pam [...]