I watch my nearly 16-year-old twin sons and their three- or four-hundred fellow students pour out the doors of the high school they attend. My mind goes back to my own high school days a very long time ago. A lot is different. No backpacks back then or phones or cool sweatshirts or yoga pants or these damn masks, but much seems familiar. The laughing and flirting and cajoling and teasing; nice cars and beaters; happy kids, sullen kids. Couples holding hands, couples longing to hold hands. Kids with big instrument cases and large art portfolios and dangling lunch boxes and the … [Read more...]
A Shelf of One’s Own: Reading Print Books Can Help Children in Pandemic
Comfort is king when coping with a pandemic. Just look at the nostalgic family activities that have returned to so many homes: arts and crafts, card and board games, cooking and gardening. As we all continue to nest against our will, our Zoomed-out brains and bodies crave non-virtual, low-tech, familiar experiences. Fortunately, one of the retro family experiences that has been coming back (or at least holding steady) has been the pleasure of reading print books. Anecdotally, I can confirm this by the increased use of our family’s Little Free Library in the front yard. As a writer and … [Read more...]
Happiness or Success? We Must Help Kids Choose for Themselves
A few weeks ago, my 14-year-old son, Yosef, had a decision to make. Would his fall sport of choice be football or cross country? While insignificant compared to the major world issues engulfing the news each night, this choice was important to him. Yosef was entering a new high school where roster spots on any other athletic team would be nearly impossible to come by. As the season drew nearer, my wife and I detected Yosef’s self-induced pressure to make a fall sports pick was mounting. My son understood his mother and I would support any decision. I’m sure my son also understood his … [Read more...]
Integrity at Stake as People Revolt Against Bad Hands Dealt by Life
Hey, my teenage sons -- it’s time for your old man to give you a little more unwanted advice. I know the two of you are soon to start your sophomore year of high school and don’t really care for “words of wisdom” and that sort of crap; I can dig that. I also know that you are built on strong moral and intellectual foundations – cool. You are trusted and respected by the adults around you and in your peer group – well done. However … You have been thrown into the most manic of maelstroms and the weirdest of worlds teenagers have faced in a very long time. Nothing is even close to the way it … [Read more...]
‘Mind the Gap’ Pandemic Creates to Reframe Your Kids’ Lives
I first heard (and read) the phrase “mind the gap” back in college, when I was lucky enough to study abroad in London. It was written on the subway platforms to warn riders to be careful as they step over the small gap between the edge of the platform and the floor of the train. That “gap” is an apt metaphor for the unavoidable (dis)location we’ve all fallen into now. Even for the still healthy and employed, the COVID-19 pandemic is a gap writ large, more like a canyon between our “before” lives on the platform and whatever comes “after” we arrive in a post-pandemic world. As we continue to … [Read more...]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 13
- Next Page »