Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.
May 8, 2011
Mother’s Day seems to be the perfect time to look at the perennial “nature versus nurture” debate. I see NO downside in hedging your bets. If hedging your bet is defined as protecting yourself against a possible loss, what parent wants to possibly lose the opportunity of doing whatever they can to nurture a child becoming the best person they can become?
Before you become a parent you most likely have strong opinions on the nature versus nature argument. However, once you become a parent you find yourself determined to parent in ways that reflect the state of the art child rearing practices. The rub is that state of the art parenting practices do not stay static—they change with new information, and new fads, which reflect the latest trends and what is in vogue. So what is a parent to do? I weigh in on the side of the good advice of William James who said, “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” Parent as if what you do matters. What is the downside? The one state of the art child rearing practice that I am confident will never change is: LOVE your child.
Happy Mother’s Day—celebrate the day with the gift of the poem The Reading Mother, by Strickland Gillilan
I had a mother who read to me—
You may have tangible wealth untold–
Richer than I you can never be—
I had a Mother who read to me.
School Standards that encourage deeper thought is a good thing
May 2, 2011
I am cautiously optimistic of the Common Core standards, which is the newest experiment in the arena of school curriculum standards. NYTimes “Trial Run for School Standards That Encourage Deeper Thought.” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/nyregion/100-new-york-schools-try-common-core-approach.html?partner=rss&emc=rss The stated goal is “to go beyond reading lists” (emphasizing reading for meaning) “and math formulas to try to raise the bar not […]
Shahrazad and her Arabian Night tales made me a lover of story with her “…and then what happened?” And C.P. Cavafy made me a lover of poetry.
April 30, 2011
I mark the last day of April as poetry month with one of my most favorite poems. I love journeys and the poem, Ithaka, written by the Greek poet, Constantine Peter Cavafy captures for me what a journey can be—one filled with passions, adventures, and awakenings. Let the poem transport you as the best of poetry […]
“Only the rarest kind of best in anything can be good enough for the young.”
April 25, 2011
Walter de la Mare (4/25/1873-1956) was an English poet, short story writer and novelist, probably best remembered for his works for children and “The Listeners”. His children’s book A Penny a Day won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1962. But I think of him as the person who taught me something very valuable when […]
Best practice for Literacy Volunteers: READ and TALK
April 22, 2011
An excerpt from a program I recently did for Literacy Volunteers: If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team of parents, educators, volunteers and caregivers, working together to make sure children acquire the early literacy skill they need to enter school and be successful learners. Children are made readers on […]
