Last week I attended a homeschooling book group discussion about The Legacy of John Holt. We were fortunate to have Pat Farenga in attendance. He shared stories about John Holt the person — his ideas, his journey, his quirks, and his commitment to his beliefs. The meeting inspired me to read Holt titles I haven’t… Read More Inspired by John Holt
A few years ago Psychology Today published an article about the Presidential Scholars program, which recognizes high school students who excel academically and artistically. The story focused on a study in which award recipients from the 1960’s offered advice for parents and educators. Their suggestions included the following: “I would encourage parents and teachers to treat… Read More Ditch the standards, embrace the love
Someone sent me an article by Marina Gorbis called The Future of Education Eliminates the Classroom, Because the World Is Your Class. Nice to know our family is living in the future – this idea of the world as your classroom has been a foundational principle for many homeschoolers for a long time. Beyond that,… Read More The future of education is here
A friend sent me an NPR piece about the adolescent brain’s constant struggle between the impulsiveness of the limbic system (think Captain Kirk), and the reason of the prefrontal cortex (that’s Mr. Spock). We all know about the wild side of teenagers, but apparently, it’s worse than we thought. It all starts around age 12, and… Read More Spock, Kirk, and the adolescent brain
What do you see when you look at a twenty dollar bill? The same thing you see when you look at a one dollar bill, a five dollar bill, a ten dollar bill, a fifty, or a hundred — a white man. #WomenOn20s aims to change that with a campaign to put a woman’s face… Read More Put women on the money
Maybe you’ve read about grit, which education researcher Angela Lee Duckworth defines as “the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals.” Duckworth delivered a very popular TED talk revealing grit as the key to success in life. On the surface, it sounds good, but one of my favorite contrarians, Alfie Kohn, points… Read More Flex time
A Potluck Life 