My son presented me with the note sent home from school: “We will be participating in a fun new activity on Fridays,” it read. “Any kids who have outstanding classwork or who received behavior notices that week won’t be allowed to participate,” it continued. Immediately, my heart sank, although I […]
Education
26 of NASA’s Most Awe-Inspiring Photos from the Past Year
I am, without a doubt, an arts and humanities person. English and philosophy were my favorite subjects in school, and if stranded on a desert island for the rest of my life, the only 3 objects I would wish to take with me would be a good book to […]
Buckle Up Because ‘The Magic School Bus’ Is Coming Back!
Netflix has ordered new episodes of the beloved children’s series “The Magic School Bus,” which will begin airing soon. Those of us who grew up in the 1990s remember when PBS brought us Joanna Cole’s stories in animated form. The lead character, school teacher Valerie Frizzle, took her class on magical […]
Another School Bans ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in a Year That Needs This Book the Most
If there were ever a book for America to read in 2016, it’s To Kill a Mockingbird, written by the venerable Harper Lee. In a year ravaged by war, corruption, and a catastrophic election, this story’s moral of kindness and humanity is desperately needed. And yet, in our latest installment […]
A Day Encased in Amber
By Ryan Evans of Ryan in Chile A student calls me over to his desk and I’m expecting to help him with the problem but he points out the window and says something about the plants so I humor him and look out the window and down the four stories […]
Raising Gutsy Girls
By Kimmie Fink of Kimmie Fink Consulting Recently, I took my daughter to the The Thinkery, Austin’s amazing children’s museum. She was toddling around in the area for kids under 3 and scaling a mountain of giant beanbags when she knocked over a younger child. I apologized profusely, but the […]
Shocking Video Raises Awareness About Preventing Gun Violence in Schools
An eye-opening video featured on Sandy Hook Promise is raising awareness about gun violence among young people and how we can prevent it. The video depicts Evan, a typical bored teenage boy, doodling on a desk in school. A fellow student anonymously writes back, and the two spark up a conversation. Later in […]
Your Mom’s Guide to College Rankings
By Page Barnes of Your Mom’s Guide to Life Last week, I spent a whole night refreshing my browser until the U.S News “Best Colleges” rankings were finally published. It was an evening fraught with terror because, as we all know, the USN&WR rankings are the definitive arbiter of all that […]