Invitations to read, write, spell

In much the same way a set of tiles on the fridge can quietly alleviate fraction woes, a set of Bananagrams* tiles can introduce a lightness to the realm of spelling, writing, and reading for kids who are timid about any or all.  There are many ways to use these and other letter tiles beyond [...]

Kids and their technology

We think that the way we’re used to doing things must be the way things should be done.  We don’t tend to think “Is it possible that there might be some benefit or use to what kids are doing that we never did?” I’m reading Clay Shirky’s Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected [...]

The censorship question

In case you haven’t heard or read about what’s going on with internet copyright legislation, have a look at Clay Shirky’s TED talk.  Regardless of where you stand on the issue, I think you’ll find the questions and the historical context interesting.  Especially as it bears on learning and access.  Here’s the link.

Assortment

The backlog of things to post/comment on is looming large, so here are a bunch of posts in one with not much comment.  Otherwise, stuff gets away from me… From McSweeney’s, a piece about how kids are reading more than before.  Yes, MORE! I’ve been meaning to read Blake Boles’ College Without High School, but [...]

Love and utility

I often hear parents say “I want my child to love reading – I want her to find the same joy in it that I do.”  I also hear “He has to be able to read – to get by in the world!  He’ll need reading for everything!” And then there are the inspiring declarations [...]

Both, and; Milo

Two either-or traditions in education – that one must identify with one discipline over another, and must choose between learning for practical reasons and learning for its “own sake” – can really undermine progress toward the secure livelihood and fulfilled life most people want for their children.   In Adam Gopnik’s recent New Yorker piece [...]

How do I get my child to…

How do I get my child to __________? I hear this question a lot, with varying contents filling in the blank.  For example, …hold her pencil right? …read more? …practice his violin? …keep her room clean? …spell better? In some ways these are all really different questions.  The bedroom and violin and the spelling are [...]

Tens and ones, left to right

One of the kids I work with doesn’t like to carry digits the old-fashioned way when he’s adding multi-digit numbers.  He has his own method.  It frustrates and confuses his parents and invites correction by his teachers, but he still does it, and he doesn’t usually make mistakes.  The first time I watched him do [...]

The eyes have it

In the fall of 2007, in a dentist’s office, I reluctantly picked up an issue of Time magazine with a picture of a first generation amazon Kindle on the cover.  If I’d had anything else to read, I’d have read something else. I wanted to pretend that the electronic reader wasn’t happening.  I read the [...]

Beauty, utility, and the 3Rs

One of the tragedies of being forced into academic study (particularly when you’re very young, and particularly if you happen to be initially drawn to pursuits that don’t occur on paper like building, climbing, or singing) is that it bypasses and undermines your opportunity to discover these things in the context of your own experience [...]