Hi Readers! I get a lot of amazing material throughout the day and when I can’t think of anything particular to add in the way of a blog post, I just Tweet them. It finally dawned on me that maybe I should share those Tweets right here, because not everyone is a Twitter-type. So here are the latest. And of course, if you’d like to follow me on Twitter, all you have to do is go there (here’s a link) and once you’re signed up (easy! here’s that link) you can find me at FreeRangeKids. (I know. Super-creative name, right?).…
Author: lskenazy
And yet, that’s what the world it is getting: A new line of lingerie for girls 9-14 launched by Miley Cyrus’ little sister, Noah, and Miley’s Hannah Montana co-star, Emily Grace Reaves. Or so sez BoingBoing. Read all about it here (and here and here). Does anyone else remember the furor when Miley took those sexy, shirt-free photos with Annie Leibovitz? Basically claimed she had no idea she had no shirt on, and daddy had walked off to make a malted or something? Back then, I blamed Annie. Now I blame Disney. Sexy young girls sell and don’t they know…
Hi Readers — I am ashamed to say this incident happened in my own city, New York. (Well, Staten Island, anyway.) A Staten Island fourth-grader was reprimanded and almost suspended yesterday when the principal spotted him playing with a LEGO policeman and a two-inch-long toy gun during lunch, the Advance reports. Under the city’s no-tolerance policy regarding guns in schools, PS 52 Principal Evelyn Matroianni brought 9-year-old Patrick Timoney to her office and called his mother to say the boy might be suspended for carrying the miniature toy gun to school. Hallelujah, he avoided that fate, which I suppose should…
Here’s a short, fun post from the blog (The Customer Is) Not Always Right, all about a new clerk trying to figure out where to shelve the girls’ underwear he is carrying. Yes, that means he is wandering around the store, in public, girls’ panties in tow.
It’s because of stories like this: “Nation’s Strangers Decry Negative Portrayal Among Children.” And video news reports like this one: “Missing Girl Probably Raped.” How do they nail it again and again? Anyway, if you’re easily offended, skip these. If not — enjoy! Lenore P.S. This classic just in! Sent by a reader: “More U.S. Children Being Diagnosed with Youthful Tendency Disorder.”
Hi Readers — Yes, it’s true! According to this story by the Associated Press, a “massive” federal study finds that child abuse has declined a whopping 26% from 1993 to 2006. What’s more, child sexual abuse is down even more dramatically: 38%! The reasons seem to be a combination of higher awareness of the crime, less tolerance of it, less shame in reporting it, and more professionals (cops, teachers, social workers, therapists) focused on its prevention and detection. On the perp side, more arrests for the crime seems to have helped, as have therapeutic drugs that tamp down criminal urges.…
Hi Readers — Not quite sure what this has to do with Free-Range other than: Never underestimate the power of a 14-year-old girl! The one in this New Zealand incident gave her attacker a whack and lived to tell the (shark) tale. — Lenore
Hi Readers! Here are the rules for a school dance in Wisconsin. As summarized by The Smoking Gun, they include “no ‘sexual bending’ [or] the touching of breasts, buttocks, or genitals. Leg straddling is also verboten. Additionally, students are on notice that ‘Both feet must remain on the dance floor at all times.'” As awkward as the term “sexual bending” might be, I don’t share The Smoking Gun’s obvious scorn for the school banning it. The rules seem designed to keep dance what it used to be: A metaphor for something else, rather than a hands-on demonstration. Old fogey?…
In the interview portion of Saturday Night’s Miss America pageant, Caressa Cameron (Miss Virginia), was asked to talk about childhood obesity. To which she responded, “We need to get our kids back outside, playing with sticks in the street like I did when I was little…Expand your mind, go outside and get to see what this world is like.” She won! For this, we unofficially crown Caressa Miss Free-Range America 2010. If and when we ever meet, we will gift unto her: a stick. Wield it with pride, Caressa. But be careful not to poke somebody’s eye out. — Lenore
Hey Teachers (and everyone else, of course): I’m going to be talking to a few teachers groups in the near future and would love to hear tips from any of you who have figured out how to incorporate some Free-Range ideas into your classrooms. Is there a way you’ve figured out to add free time or encourage independence? Do yo have any great thoughts on making homework shorter and/or recess longer? Or, if you’re teaching older students, any smart ways of helping them to feel and act more grown-up (in a good way)? Any special tips for those teaching special…