Hi Readers — Though this mom’s “negligence” story is told in a lovely English lilt, it may nonetheless spike your blood pressure: Since when are the police allowed to write up a mom who trusts her children to be safe and self-sufficient for a short amount of time? Equally enraging is the idea that this “record” could follow her FOR LIFE, preventing her from even volunteering at the library! This story takes place in England, but it resonates any place in the world where the authorities are allowed to hound a parent for not helicoptering. And hooray for Liberty, the…
Author: lskenazy
That’s what it says on the email ad I got this week from One Step Ahead. I love the fact that if you just buy your kid some toys from them, your child will be not just a leader, but a “great” one! And I guess if you give your kids an empty paper towel roll and a ball, they are destined for serfdom. I mean, how can any child possibly come to dominate the world without his/her parents buying this $28 set of what looks like (but certainly couldn’t be!) plastic measuring cups like you’d find at any dollar…
Hi Readers: It is time to take Free-Range into the schools. How? See below. Why? Teachers have a huge influence not just on their students, but also on the students’ parents. Endorsing Free-Range ideas gives parents “permission” to try them at home. When they do, everyone wins! The teachers get kids who are more excited about the world. Parents get kids who are more confident and street smart. The students themselves get to walk taller — they’re finally realizing how much they can do! The benefits can be truly life-changing (I’ll document more examples in later posts), but everyone needs…
Hi Readers — Here’s another case about kids, safety and social media that we can parse this way or that, but really, I am asking for not nitpicking. Just sanity. A 33-year-old middle school math teacher in Akron, OH, apparently gave one of her 13-year-old students some duct tape to repair a folder. The kid, joking around, put a piece of the tape over her mouth, laughed, and some other kids followed suit. The teacher, Melissa Cairns, snapped a picture and put it on Facebook with the caption: “Finally found a way to get them to be quiet!!!” Big. Deal.…
Hi readers — I thought this was a fantastic post by a dad mistaken for a pedophile. My blood was boiling on his behalf. BUT…wait’ll you get to the guy’s conclusion. It does not sit well with me. Wonder if it makes you squirm, too. – L. P.S. This story got sent to me last week, though now I see it’s from about a year ago. Anyway, still curious as to your reaction.
Readers — You know what goes together better than peanut butter and jelly? (Or peanut butter and chocolate, for that matter?) Fear and money. Which explains why I think these newbulletproof whiteboards may sweep the nation. If I were a venture capitalist, I’d be looking around for any other common school item I could retool as a weapon or defense mechanism. Bullet proof glass for windows (I know that’s already happening). Silent alarms for the teacher’s desk (ditto). Maybe a stapler that shoots darts, or chalk that’s actually a container of pepper spray, or smoke bombs disguised as an shiny…
Readers — This morning we launch a sweeping movement to embolden parents across the country to say, “Enough!” when it comes to adding excessive and expensive layers of security (often just security theater) at their children’s schools. Across the country, schools are locking doors that weren’t locked before, even though, at Sandy Hook, the door WAS locked. They are hiring guards, even though, at Sandy Hook, the gunman blasted anyone who got in his way. They are implementing voodoo-esque defenses, like making parents call 24 hours in advance of a visit to the school, or forcing parents to forfeit their…
Hi Readers — This note had me shaking, a reminder that when we give our kids more and more freedom, we have to remember that lessons go with it…and so does the possibility that we didn’t cover the very lesson they’ll need. My advice? Lots of lessons (particularly about being around water), not less freedom. – Lenore . Dear Free-Range Kids: My Free-Range Kid got herself into some trouble yesterday, and I thought it was something your readers might want to hear about. My daughter is 10 years old and in 5th grade. She has been walking to school for…
Hey Readers — A Canadian policeman wants to create what sounds like a horrible Sandy Hook memorial complete with life-size statues of the murder victims, and ship it off to Newtown. As he told The Star Phoenix, “This could be us saying we care.” I don’t question his sincerity or intentions. I do question how this could possibly help anyone anywhere with anything. (Except if he hires an otherwise unemployed sculptor.) In fact, I find the dedication of time and money to a gesture like this actually disturbing. It reminds me of the days after 9/11, when communities around…
Hi Folks — How I appreciate this Wake County, NC, mom trying to fight the outrageously expensive security theater her school district is considering. As this WRAL article explains: The Wake County Board of Education is expected to vote Tuesday on a proposal to put one unarmed security guard at each elementary school in the district. If approved, the measure would cost $835,000 for three months or nearly $2.4 million for a year for a contract with AlliedBarton Security Services. The company already provides security for some of the schools in the district. Wake County Public School System is the…