With the arrival of spring, love is in the air, they say, but there is (at least) one overlooked, terrible consequence of the excessive nuzzling of those early days of bloom: Children with holiday birthdays. These poor forgotten youngsters, whose most important day has always been an afterthought, a shred of wrapping paper discarded in the dusty, dark corner of a warm, fire-lit, festive holiday chamber. [Read more →]
My six-year-old daughter and I walked the cold, bare lines of February evening concrete in Philadelphia’s Chinatown. We were seeking a favorite restaurant after spending the afternoon at the Franklin Institute’s BodyWorlds exhibit, trying to see in those brilliantly split cadavers what makes us work. [Read more →]
As we withstand the informational deluge from Penn State, we are faced with the possibility of another case of institutional child abuse, in which a whole group of people, a whole structure, contributed to the horrific abuse of children. It is clear that we are just not getting it. [Read more →]
In the overall scope of human history, we are a prosperous people, us Americans living right now. Yes, the rich are getting richer, the economy is looking bleak, and there are sit-ins and protests around the country — the world could always stand a few straightenings — but if you take a moment you realize we have more, and more access to, things than anybody else ever has. With apologies to the diehard pessimists and the political gain they hope their pessimism brings about, Americans have it pretty good. [Read more →]
Plagiarizing was once clear-cut. Those intrepid college students who drove to a paper mill (which back in the day was a real warehouse full of papers) and bought someone else’s paper — they knew they were cheaters. If someone wrote a paper for you, you knew you were a lazy cheater. Xeroxing a big chunk of an encyclopedia and putting it word for word into your paper: Obviously, cheating! [Read more →]
Youth coaches should get a start-up package when they begin coaching: A whistle, a handbook, a clipboard, maybe a golf shirt and a visor. They should also get a foldable chair — perhaps with a seat belt. [Read more →]
What is it like being a kid in the standardized testing labyrinth of American education? I wonder if those of us who aren’t kids ask that question enough. I also wonder if kids themselves understand their own feelings about being tested, understand that it isn’t an inevitable aspect of being educated. [Read more →]
I have been a volunteer New Jersey school board member since 2004. This year, I was informed that a new law requires all New Jersey board of ed members to undergo background checks. Then I learned that included fingerprinting. Then I learned the process would cost $81. [Read more →]
If you have talented, dedicated, interested older children, I recognize the value of getting them to someone who knows things about sports that you and/or their coaches don’t. But it strikes me that there is an epidemic of personal trainers out there, a horde of people charging parents for drilling little kids in one-on-one practice sessions. Many of the little kids would rather be, well, doing something else, and this explosion of personal trainers is another sign of our era of sports-obsessed parenting.
This is not an anti-Michael Vick diatribe. You’ve read that before. Dog fighting does disgust and disturb me. It’s evident Vick took the inherent cruelty of it to another level. He was caught. He served a prison sentence prescribed by our legal system. He was released. Since his release, he’s been active denouncing dog fighting, even working with some members of animal humane societies. He has spent time building himself back into condition to play at the highest level in a professional sport I enjoy a lot for a team I root for. [Read more →]
