"Only birth," writes the eminent mythologist Joseph Campbell, "can conquer death -- the birth, not of the old thing again, but of something new." Occasionally, some credentialed person or another will predict that in the future, perhaps the near future, science will have conquere … | Continue reading
The California state legislature is currently working on a bill that would require schools to enact homework policies that take into account their students' mental and physical health. Introduced by Assemblyperson Pilar Shiavo, a member of the state's new "select committee on hap … | Continue reading
"No climbing to the top!" When our daughter was in kindergarten, her school installed an amazing rope-and-steel climbing structure. The kindergartners were forbidden from climbing to the very top, which meant that adults were always hovering around the thing, "reminding" the chil … | Continue reading
My wife and I have had four dogs over the course of our three and a half decades together. Whenever I have made the mistake of pulling on any of their leashes, they have all pulled in the opposite direction, every time. Believe me, left to their own devices, they always want to g … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; I had an older relative who would respond to almost everything anyone said with "I know." You might say, "Pearl Harbor Day is just around the corner" and she would respond "I know." Now maybe she did know about Pearl Harbor … | Continue reading
I had an older relative who would respond to almost everything anyone said with "I know." You might say, "Pearl Harbor Day is just around the corner" and she would respond "I know." Now maybe she did know about Pearl Harbor Day (December 7). She was a well-educated person, but sh … | Continue reading
They say there are no stupid questions, but I beg to differ. We hear stupid questions almost every time adults and young children are together. For instance, a child is painting at an easel, exploring color, shape, and motion, experimenting with brushes, paper, and paint. There i … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; They say there are no stupid questions, but I beg to differ. We hear stupid questions almost every time adults and young children are together. For instance, a child is painting at an easel, exploring color, shape, and motio … | Continue reading
I recognized them as the nice family from our building, their son, who looks to be approaching 4, was straddling one of those wooden, peddle-less "strider" bikes. He was in the midst of a tantrum, stamping his feet, while emitting a whine-cry of frustration. His father was kneeli … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; I recognized them as the nice family from our building, their son, who looks to be approaching 4, was straddling one of those wooden, peddle-less "strider" bikes. He was in the midst of a tantrum, stamping his feet, while em … | Continue reading
People often ask me if there is a particular curriculum to which I ascribe. More often than not, when I answer that it is up to the children, I can tell they are frustrated. They think I'm being rhetorical. Certainly, there must be some sort of pre-determined course of study. Aft … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; People often ask me if there is a particular curriculum to which I ascribe. More often than not, when I answer that it is up to the children, I can tell they are frustrated. They think I'm being rhetorical. Certainly, there … | Continue reading
I remember my first exposure to the "technology" of treating children like fully formed human beings -- and I often do think of it as a kind of technology in that it's the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. I'd previously been exposed to this technology v … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; I remember my first exposure to the "technology" of treating children like fully formed human beings -- and I often do think of it as a kind of technology in that it's the application of scientific knowledge for practical pu … | Continue reading
I certainly hope that this sign is effective, but I have my doubts As we make our way around the modern world, there are a lot of signs telling us what to do. Keep Out Stay off the Grass No Parking And almost as often, we see that the fence on the other side of which we are forbi … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; I certainly hope that this sign is effective, but I have my doubtsAs we make our way around the modern world, there are a lot of signs telling us what to do.Keep OutStay off the GrassNo ParkingAnd almost as often, we see tha … | Continue reading
In a comment on yesterday's post about my course The Technology of Speaking With Children So They Can Think, a reader asked for more specific examples of how we can step back from the language of command. I would assert that in most preschool classrooms, the time we tend to boss … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; In a comment on yesterday's post about my course The Technology of Speaking With Children So They Can Think, a reader asked for more specific examples of how we can step back from the language of command. I would assert that … | Continue reading
Over the last two decades, I’ve worked to understand challenging behavior in children. And more often than not, I find that the problem is me, not them. When I look back on my day and feel it was largely spent dealing with uncooperative children, I’ve learned to look at myself. W … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; Over the last two decades, I’ve worked to understand challenging behavior in children. And more often than not, I find that the problem is me, not them. When I look back on my day and feel it was largely spent dealing with u … | Continue reading
Some time ago, we took the children on a field trip to the local post office. We were a group of some 20 children and eight adults. The woman giving us our tour introduced herself as Ms. Lui, before insisting that the children get in a line. It was an inauspicious start. The kids … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; Some time ago, we took the children on a field trip to the local post office. We were a group of some 20 children and eight adults. The woman giving us our tour introduced herself as Ms. Lui, before insisting that the childr … | Continue reading
Dale Chihuly One of my favorite science writers is Carlo Rovelli, the Italian theoretical physicist and author of a dozen or so books, most of which are concisely written with the lay reader in mind. What makes him compelling is that he writes about those places where the scienti … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; Dale ChihulyOne of my favorite science writers is Carlo Rovelli, the Italian theoretical physicist and author of a dozen or so books, most of which are concisely written with the lay reader in mind. What makes him compelling … | Continue reading
"You have to go around that tree." The boy was telling a friend how to run the obstacle course he and the other kids had created. After running around the tree, there were some stairs to climb, a clamber through the sand pit row boat, a scamper up and a slide down the concrete sl … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; "You have to go around that tree."The boy was telling a friend how to run the obstacle course he and the other kids had created. After running around the tree, there were some stairs to climb, a clamber through the sand pit … | Continue reading
I was working a floor puzzle with one of the kids. It's a popular puzzle, one with fairies, unicorns, and a castle, but everyone else was busy elsewhere so we were one-on-one. Soon, however, we were joined by another girl, and together, the three of us fit the final piece into pl … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; I was working a floor puzzle with one of the kids. It's a popular puzzle, one with fairies, unicorns, and a castle, but everyone else was busy elsewhere so we were one-on-one. Soon, however, we were joined by another girl, a … | Continue reading
"Octograbbers" was a game that the children played for months on end. It involved possessing two shovels, one for each hand, then using them like pincers to dig, pick things up, and occasionally, in the spirit of fun, menace one another. We'll never know who invented the game of … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; "Octograbbers" was a game that the children played for months on end. It involved possessing two shovels, one for each hand, then using them like pincers to dig, pick things up, and occasionally, in the spirit of fun, menace … | Continue reading
I know the secret to making your dreams come true. In an essay written for New Philosopher magazine (content not available online), Oliver Burkman discusses what's called Littlewood's Law, named for a British mathematician by the name of John Edensor Littlewood: Let's suppose . . … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; I know the secret to making your dreams come true.In an essay written for New Philosopher magazine (content not available online), Oliver Burkman discusses what's called Littlewood's Law, named for a British mathematician by … | Continue reading
"The Thinker," Auguste Rodin (The worst possible way to think?) "(S)it as little as possible," writes German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, "do not believe any idea that was not born in the open air and of free movement." Nietzsche was notorious walker and hiker, a man seemingl … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; "The Thinker," Auguste Rodin (The worst possible way to think?)"(S)it as little as possible," writes German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, "do not believe any idea that was not born in the open air and of free movement."Ni … | Continue reading
When I talk to adults about their years of schooling, they rarely talk about what they learned in math class. They talk about teachers. They talk about their social life. And at some point almost all of them talk about the boredom. Boredom researcher John Eastwood from York Unive … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; When I talk to adults about their years of schooling, they rarely talk about what they learned in math class. They talk about teachers. They talk about their social life. And at some point almost all of them talk about the b … | Continue reading
Most of us want to raise children who are ethical and caring. Indeed, when surveyed 96 percent of us say that this is a "very important, if not essential" parenting goal. I've not seen the numbers for teachers, but I would assume that a super majority of us feel likewise. If noth … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; Most of us want to raise children who are ethical and caring. Indeed, when surveyed 96 percent of us say that this is a "very important, if not essential" parenting goal. I've not seen the numbers for teachers, but I would a … | Continue reading
The three girls were in a sort of irritable stew. They were bickering with one another like it was a stereotypical family holiday dinner, moping, whining, and fussing. Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which i … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; The three girls were in a sort of irritable stew. They were bickering with one another like it was a stereotypical family holiday dinner, moping, whining, and fussing.Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and fee … | Continue reading
A while back, I was chatting with an artist, a painter, at her studio and gallery, discussing her process. I always ask artists about their process because I'm forever trying to steal their ideas and figure out how to convert them into preschool art explorations. When I told her … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; A while back, I was chatting with an artist, a painter, at her studio and gallery, discussing her process. I always ask artists about their process because I'm forever trying to steal their ideas and figure out how to conver … | Continue reading
Paleontologists now think that animal life first evolved on our planet 789 million years ago, although as the research continues it's likely that this oddly specific number will be supplanted. As most of us are aware, it was some time later than animals began to appear on land in … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; Paleontologists now think that animal life first evolved on our planet 789 million years ago, although as the research continues it's likely that this oddly specific number will be supplanted. As most of us are aware, it was … | Continue reading
Like many modern parents, I'd not spent a lot of time around young children, as an adult, until our daughter was born. When she was two, we enrolled in a cooperative preschool, which for those who don't know, is a model in which parents attend alongside their children and serve a … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; Like many modern parents, I'd not spent a lot of time around young children, as an adult, until our daughter was born. When she was two, we enrolled in a cooperative preschool, which for those who don't know, is a model in w … | Continue reading
A friend who works with young children recently texted me with questions about why I thought kids today seem more anxious than in the past. There are a lot of theories. Some blame screen-based technology, especially smartphones. Some blame the media. Some blame bad parenting. Som … | Continue reading
var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; A friend who works with young children recently texted me with questions about why I thought kids today seem more anxious than in the past.There are a lot of theories. Some blame screen-based technology, especially smartphon … | Continue reading