Can any of us look at ourselves in the mirror and see what it truly reflects, without our prejudice altering the image there? Do we always focus on the negative and let our eyes go to the thighs that we perceive as too big, or the ‘balcony’ that is too small? Can any of us…
Eighty enthusiastic students peppered me with questions about the writing process last week. They were third graders at the Munger Hill Elementary School in Westfield Mass. Teacher Deb Chouinard coordinated an author visit with the rest of the third grade teaching team and I was the lucky author. My visit coincided with Mustache Day. In…
Children naturally learn some things. A baby figures out crawling, eating, and talking while older children can learn to build block towers, complete puzzles, or ride bikes. Humans have an amazing drive and capacity to learn. Oscar Wilde astutely opined: “Education is an admirable thing,” although I disagree with his conclusion: “but it is well to remember ……
From the time they can talk, children ask a multitude of questions about the world and the people around them: Why is the sky blue? How can a tree grow from a seed? Are God and Santa Claus the same person? Around age 5, many parents hand off their children to schools for 12 years…
In the three years of my grandson’s life, he’s learned to walk, talk, feed himself, get undressed, and use the toilet. He can use a pencil, build Lego structures, ride a balance bike and a three-wheeled scooter, and throw a ball. What have you learned in your last three years? “In this world you’re either…
My parents, immigrants to the United States in the 1950s, finished their formal education in Ireland around 6th grade. It was a different time, place, and circumstance. By sixth grade, students were considered literate: most having learned to read, write, and do math. My brothers and I, just one generation removed from our parents’ school…
In June the American Library Association (ALA) renamed the Laura Ingalls Wilder Children’s Book Series Award. This honor was taken away from Mrs. Wilder because her memoirs honestly and accurately depict the fear and distrust between the Western Pioneers and the Indigenous People — from the settler’s point of view. I don’t want this issue…
