594. Norks and Noogly

When I first started teaching and parenting, I kept hearing the message that teachers and parents should not try to be “pals” to children. I didn’t like that message. I didn’t like the way people said the word “pals,” and I didn’t understand why they didn’t use the word “friend,” nor what was wrong with…

When children are actually children, many of us adults start out getting to know as much as we can about them. We get used to knowing what they consider fun, what bothers them, what will make them laugh, and so on. And many of us love them for who they are. We see them grow,…

I’ve gradually discovered that most children, and most adults, march to the tune of a different drummer. Nobody is like everybody else, and yet most people, at various points in their lives, feel isolated – wish that they were “normal,” like everyone else. It may be that the only one who really is isolated is…

The issue of parent requests not to have certain teachers is a difficult one, and I’ve faced it both as a parent and as a teacher. This article will tell you how it feels to one teacher, and my next article will tell you how it feels to one parent. We’re both the same person,…

I just had a talk with my father. I told him about this book, and he suggested that I write an article about history. I belong to a generation that wasn’t going to trust anyone over thirty, but we changed our minds about fifteen years ago. So I’ll write about history, but not because my…

I once had a chance to see several people I’d known as children, all in the same room on the same evening: my sister, who is seven years younger than I am, my daughter, who is now a full-fledged adult, people I’d taught as children and are now teenagers, children I’ve come to think of…