Posted on May 6th, 2013 by lskenazy
Hi Folks! This lovely and simple idea comes to us from Heike Larson, who is the Vice President of Parent Outreach at LePort Schools, a group of six private Montessori schools in Orange County, CA. She writes about education in general and Montessori in particular on the LePort Schools blog. – L. . IF SUMMER IS FOR PLAYING, [...]
Filed under: Creating Community, Miscellaneous, Parks, Playing and Playgrounds | 45 Comments »
Posted on May 6th, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers – Here’s a sit-up-and-go-yikes oped by Thomas Friedman of the The New York Times. Friedman sort of specializes in these, but this one talks in particular about how we are facing a “401k future.” That is: Unlike the salad days of long-term jobs and pensions, we’re in a new era of morphing and even [...]
Filed under: Breaking news, Miscellaneous, Other Places Other Eras, Zingers and retorts | 24 Comments »
Posted on May 4th, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers — Here’s a story to make your weekend: A school in Seattle cancelled classes after months of dreary weather so kids could enjoy the sunshine and PLAY. I was going to say maybe other schools will catch on, but heck — maybe other companies will, too! Bosses: Think how energized, creative and GRATEFUL your [...]
Filed under: Breaking news, GOOD News | 40 Comments »
Posted on May 3rd, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers — Here’s a story from Australia sure to make any parent shudder: YOUNG mother Elizabeth Cardwell thought she was doing the right thing when she strapped her precious eight-week-old baby, wrapped in a blanket, into a hand-me-down car seat. Her daughter, Isabella Rose, was still tucked inside her blanket when her tiny body was [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Media Madness, Miscellaneous | 73 Comments »
Posted on May 2nd, 2013 by lskenazy
Folks — Here you go. This is just sort of an hors d’oeuvre (world’s hardest word to spell) for the day: Your daily dose of Zero Tolerance insanity WITH a dash of hope at the end! According to WRAL in North Carolina: PRINCETON, N.C. — The Princeton High School community is rallying around a student who [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Miscellaneous, School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies | 84 Comments »
Posted on May 1st, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers: This is a story about an unpredictable scientific reaction — and an all too predictable school over-reaction. According to the Miami New Times blog: Kiera Wilmot got good grades and had a perfect behavior record. She wasn’t the kind of kid you’d expect to find hauled away in handcuffs and expelled from school, but [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Breaking news, School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies | 61 Comments »
Posted on May 1st, 2013 by lskenazy
Folks — As you know, this site believes in safety for children. That includes safety from predators as well as safety from hysteria ABOUT predators. Unfortunately, fear for our children has mestastasized into an ever-expanding Sex Offender Registry that now includes even pre-pubescent children, some of them on the list for LIFE, for crimes ranging [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Media Madness, Miscellaneous, Sex Offender Issues | 60 Comments »
Posted on April 30th, 2013 by lskenazy
Folks — As much as I literally feel my heart pounding every time I hear a story about crazy fear-mongering, or outrageous overreaction to a very small threat, I realize that there is more to life — and even this blog — than just shouting, “But they’re WRONG!” (Even though they are! They’re wrong! I [...]
Filed under: Creating Community, Fun, Miscellaneous, Zingers and retorts | 221 Comments »
Posted on April 29th, 2013 by lskenazy
Hi Folks! My last two posts were about the 10-year-old boy not allowed to bring his pen knife on a nature trip as well as the ridiculous rules for adopting a pet that now sometimes include things like, “Pet needs one parent home at all times,” and, “Cat cannot be kept as a mouser in a barn.” [...]
Filed under: Helicopter Effect on Kids, Infantilizing young folk, Miscellaneous, School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies, Uber Safety | 42 Comments »
Posted on April 27th, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers — This is the surreal story of a 10-year-old who brought a Swiss Army Knife with him on a 5-day nature trip and was treated like a terrorist in training. According to The Daily Caller, the boy’s dad was summoned to cut short a business trip about 100 miles way and immediately come pick [...]
Filed under: Miscellaneous, School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies, Stupid Advice | 131 Comments »
