For those of you who might not know, the School Walkout was a nationwide protest organized by students after the school shooting in Florida. The basic premise was to walk out of schools at 10:00a.m. on March 14th for 17 minutes. One minute for each of the dead. But really it wasn’t quite that simple. [...]
Is work a four-letter word? It certainly has four letters. And for many of us (present author not included) work does carry with it all the baggage of the traditional reference to four letter words, specifically profanity. Many people are in jobs they do not find value in. I recently heard the former CEO [...]
The theory goes something like this: if you use legal drugs such as tobacco or alcohol, or even what some consider “soft drugs” like marijuana, you are more likely to slip down the slope to using “hard drugs” like amphetamines, cocaine and heroin, than people who never get started using soft drugs in the first [...]
Despite our fixation on academics there are really two categories of skills that will make or break a life: character traits and life skills. And although these are often conflated, they are two distinct areas of development. Character Traits: Gratitude Humility Accountability Integrity Resourcefulness Adaptability Collaborative Persistent/Determined These are some examples of [...]
Contrary to how it feels when the nurse hands your first born over to you and waves goodbye, your children do not belong to you. They are not simply extensions of you. You have your life and they have theirs. Your lives are not interchangeable. Your dreams are not interchangeable. Children are yours on loan, [...]
Watch the commercial and see for yourself. https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wOk3/office-depot-officemax-mom-song-by-bachman-turner-overdrive Who is doing all the work for what are clearly grown able young people who could shop for themselves? You got it…Mom. She even carries the bags. While tempting to shrug this off as no big deal, this commercial is unintentionally defining “good [...]
Or maybe the more important question is what should education be? Historically, the sole purpose of education was to transfer academic content as efficiently as possible, without much regard for the aspects of the student's social, emotional and character development. But I think most of us would agree from our school experiences, [...]
Thomas Friedman’s latest book, Thank You For Being Late, has given me a lot to think about, and I am only half way through. In this book he examines life in the “age of acceleration” from many different perspectives. This of course has me thinking about what it means for education. Friedman Quotes Eric [...]
The last part to our good parent mythology series ends with these last 4 points about preventing your child's failures: Good parents frequently intervene on behalf of their children Good parents prevent failure Good parents do not allow suffering Good parents never allow their children to get hurt Good parents frequently intervene on behalf of [...]
Continuing our series of good parenting mythology here are 3 more points... Myth #4 Good Parents Ensure their Kids Success Good parents send their children to lots of classes that develop skills that will look great on their resumes The more you do for your children, the better prepared for their future they are Your [...]