Hi Readers — I leave you with this freetknbik story to ponder this weekend. An 8th grade boy with autism whose mom says he has the mental capacity of a third grader drew a small stick figure boy pointing a stick-figure gun at a stick figure teacher. The charge? Oh, you know if it from […]
Archive | School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies
Outrage of the Week: Girl Gets Week Detention for A Piece of Candy!
Dear Readers — If you ever wondered, “Gee, what would be a really good example of over-reaction?” Or, “Hmm. I wonder just HOW stupid those Zero Tolerance laws are allowing administrators to be?” Or, if you are in third grade, “What’s the easiest way for me to get out of school for a week?” Here […]
A Story You Will Read Aloud (I Did), About A Cheese Sandwich
Dear Readers:Â This ydfhbikeff is not only an incredible story — a boy’s cheese sandwich is confiscated by the food police — it is also the best writing I’ve read in a long time. That’s why I just read it out loud to my husband. It begins: A Britain in which the cheese sandwich is subject […]
Let’s Help This Boy Bike to School!
Hi sifhkkniba Readers! I’m dashing off to give a talk tonight (Thurs.) at the Ethel Walker school in Simsbury, Conn. (outside of Hartford). It’s free and open to the public, if you’re in the nabe. Â Meantime, let’s help this California mom! Any advice? Support? Great ideas? — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: I recently lost my […]
Killer Kids: Blame the Parents?
Hi Readers — This note came in response to my ParentDish column, “New dtyihsfrdb Study: Parents Stink.” Sometimes I am just, well, blown away by the logical leaps people take: “I am a mother of a 26 year old man and a 13 year old boy. I give my 13 year old as much freedom […]
Outrage of the Week: Girl Suspended for Touching Pill
Hi Readers! Yes, you read that right. A middle school girl in an Indiana, Rachel Greer, was in the school’s locker room when another girl walked in with a bag of ADHD pills. Â She put one in Rachel’s hand and Rachel said, “I don’t want this!” so she put it back in the bag and […]
I Weep for My City (Banning Homemade Goods At Bake Sales)
Because, as we all know, the lack of funds for library books and gym equipment doesn’t kill kids, homemade cupcakes do. Nothing like a micromanaged snack. Check this iabezryhfa out. And bartender? Make it another milk. Straight up, no cookies. — Lenore P.S. My husband says we can’t call it a bake sale anymore either. […]
Do Toy Guns Turn Kids into Killers?
Hi adshaydtzi Readers — Here’s another question that arrived in th email. It began,  “Can we talk about gunplay for a few minutes?” Happily, by “gunplay” they writer didn’t mean, “What’s the upside of random shootings?” But rather, “Is it okay for kids to play around, pretending to shoot each other?” While it drives me crazy […]
Outrage of the Week, Cont’d: Kids in Developing Country Doing Better Science!
Hi Folks — Here’s an update zynzdfhezz from Bree, the Boulder, Colo., mom who sent in her daughter’s No-Science at the Science Fair rules (see post below). Turns out Bree’s parents are living in Myanmar (formerly Burma, as in Shave, as in something you do with a sharp object that children should never get anywhere near) […]
Outrage of the Week: Science Fair Bans Most Science
Hi Folks! Here’s zbiiirstez the latest — a brilliant Chinese plot to crush America’s lead in science and technology! Oh wait. Seems it is just one Colorado school’s list of  science fair rules. Thanks, reader Bree, for sending it in. The list: For safety: Project displays and posters may NOT contain any of the following: NO: Organisms […]