Readers, I wish I could remember which of you sent this to me. I love it. It is based on a true story from 1986. Enjoy! – L
Author: lskenazy
Readers — One of you sent me this ad with a nice note about how Free-Range it is. So why is my finger lodged halfway down my throat? Because it reeks of fake. Because it screams “Faaaaaaaaaaaake!” Because it IS fake. It’s fake like the movies about the ’60s that show tie dyed shirts in way brighter colors than were around back then. Fake like the movies about the Depression where you can tell some film studies intern painstakingly created the holes in the sharecropper’s overalls. I DO want kids to play with boxes, to build things together, to hang…
As usual, the “It’s Complicated” author danah boyd has nailed it. In this piece, she contrasts the usual image we have of an online predator (middle aged guys lurking on Club Penguin) with the reality (teens talking sex with each other, or with adults that they KNOW want sex). This reality gap means not only do we teach our kids the least helpful lessons (“Evil strangers are out to get you!”). It also means we encourage cops to masquerade as sexy jailbait on line, as if they are combating an incredibly pervasive crime. This is not to say that no…
Readers — This just in. Literally, this is the whole story, by reporter Carol Robinson. Bigger point? See post below this one: “If You See Something, Say Something.” That poster should come with an asterisk: *WE DON’T LITERALLY MEAN THAT WHEN YOU SEE ANYTHING YOU SHOULD SAY SOMETHING! – L. PLEASANT GROVE, Alabama – Pleasant Grove Middle School was evacuated a short time ago and school is being dismissed for the day after a teacher found a suspicious drink bottle in her classroom. Police received the call about 1 p.m., said Sgt. Danny Reid. The drink bottle is aluminum…
Readers — This whole “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign makes me crazy, since it completely legitimizes — nay, DEMANDS — worst-first thinking: “Oh, a brown paper bag on the subway. It’s not that someone forgot her lunch, it’s PROBABLY A NUKE! I must alert the authorities!” Likewise, when it comes to parenting, we now have onlookers dialing 911 when they see a child waiting in a car or walking home from school, on the assumption that the child isn’t simply on his or her own for a few, inconsequential (even blessed!) minutes, but in GRAVE DANGER of SOMETHING…
This morning I was on Irish radio to talk about Maddie McCann, the 3-year-old stolen from her hotel room in Portugal seven years ago. The point I tried to make was actually one that a reader once put so eloquently here: “Can we stop acting as though the most unlikely thing is the most LIKELY thing?” To remind us of what’s LIKELY, here’s a happy little Free-Range story from Alicia Noack, a writer and mom living in Austin. She blogs at aliciafinnnoack.com. Dear Free-Range Kids: All my friends who read that recent Atlantic article keep saying “I want to…
Readers — Sometimes a phenom needs a name before we start to recognize it, so I am hereby declaring incidents like this one (and this one, this one, and even “experiments” like this one) “Driving While Male.” In this latest story, the facts are simply that a man driving a car spoke to some kids. This occasioned a report, below. But oftentimes, the driver doesn’t even need to speak. The mere presence of a male in a car anywhere near a school, bus stop or child is enough to inspire notes home from school, Facebook posts and news stories: Newport…
Voila — a Facebook thread from Cherry Hill, NJ. Names removed to protect them from being kidnapped! Or whatever. (You just can’t be too safe!) Most upsetting to me is the idea that if a child is walking home, something is wrong and the authorities should become involved. I like how Ed, towards the end, manages to shift the focus. (Boldface is mine): ORIGINAL POSTER: Hello everyone I’m not sure how to deal with a situation that I have encountered twice so far this school year,, today as I was waiting for the light on Morris and Springdale around 3:45…
Don’t turn paranoia into policy! That’s the plea of this phenomenal Globe & Mail editorial. It was written because the Toronto District School Board is considering requiring background checks for all volunteer, a move the paper calls — …a classic case of policy overreach preying on parental fear that eclipses common sense. Schools depend on volunteer parents to function. Parents, in turn, are eager for the opportunity, and raise their hands in droves. There are currently 32,000 on the TDSB’s volunteer lists. Tens of thousands of parent volunteers have passed through school hallways since amalgamation. The proposed new rule…
Readers — Here’s my piece on The Huffington Post, about the “college prep” kindergarten. It goes on to talk about the amazing Peter Gray: A kindergarten in New York has cancelled its end-of-the-year kiddie show in order to devote more time to college and career prep. In a letter to parents, the teachers explained: The reason for eliminating the Kindergarten show is simple. We are responsible for preparing children for college and career with valuable lifelong skills and know that we can best do that by having them become strong readers, writers, coworkers and problem solvers. Please… know that we…