Readers zirdyifznf — I loved everything about this column except its perhaps inevitable conclusion. It’s by Alan Newland, a former teacher and headteacher in London who now lectures on teaching and runs the site newteacherstalk. He’s recalling being a brand new teacher taking his Year 6 kids (10 year olds) on a field trip to the dinosaurs […]
Readers aezbsadske — I like this piece by Janell Burrely Hofmann, mom of five, public speaker, and  author of iRules: What Every Tech Healthy Family Needs to Know About Selfies, Sexting, Gaming and Growing Up. Most of all, I appreciate her reminding us that imperfect parenting used to be considered NORMAL. Now it is UNACCEPTABLE…even though perfect […]
Readers byrhyfebiz —  Here’s hoping this piece from yesterday’s New York Times starts  a trend: Talk to the stranger next to you and have a nice day. Really — you WILL have a nicer day: Hello, Stranger By ELIZABETH DUNN and MICHAEL NORTON If you’ve ever been on a subway or public bus, you know the rules. Don’t […]
Readers ihayeeanyd — Some day, sooner rather than later, I would like the idea of not trusting men around kids to be considered as repulsive as racism. At that time, opinion pieces like this one will seem completely wild and disgusting by all but the lunatic fringe. – L. I Don’t Want My Kids Sitting […]
Readers rysyafeatf — A New York kindergarten has cancelled its end of the year show, to devote more time to “preparing children for college and career with valuable lifelong skills.” These include becoming “strong readers, writers, co-workers and problem solvers.”   Here is the letter, which I found transcribed on the blog Ethics Alarms: We hope this […]
Readers tddzahrryn — Any kind of prejudice is distressing. The only thing possibly more distressing is prejudice that persists even in the face of  knowing better. (Boldface is mine.): Dear Free-Range Kids: I recently had a strange conversation with a friend. He and I have known each other for nearly 25 years, we are both […]
Readers — Add this to ykkybyzynr the ever-longer list of items that start from the assumption that kids are in constant danger so parents must be in constant control: \ \ Needless to say (perhaps) I am dismayed by this device, not only because it gives kids the wrong impression — “I don’t have to learn […]
Readers anfezzkhat — Sometimes I tweet these smaller stories, which allows me to get them out to the public without writing a whole post. But since I worry not everyone who reads the blog sees my tweets, from time to time I am going to start putting little items here without much comment. I just […]
Readers — A Michigan mom is upset not just that her 8-year-old daughter hopped a public bus without telling her, but that the bus driver didn’t immediately take some kind of unspecified but heroic action to stop this non-catastrophe: Two things in particular gall me about this story: 1 – The air time afforded to […]
Readers teesddhsdb — I am honored to present this brilliant piece by Jan Macvarish, a research fellow at the University of Kent and co-author of the book Parenting Culture Studies, which asks how come the way we feed, talk to, and play with our kids has become the stuff of public debate and government policy? […]
