Kids like critters. Even the ones that say they don’t like them or who are scared of them are generally fascinated by them, if they can view them from an appropriate distance. So, of course, they make for great lessons — lessons the students won’t soon forget. After a day with non-human guests in the classroom, kids will rush home to breathlessly tell their parents that a lizard’s tail can grow back or that snakes lay eggs like a chicken. So why would anyone get upset about a lesson featuring geckos and clownfish?
Archive for the ‘Education’ Category
Fishes and Lizards and Snakes, Oh My!
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011Texas To Redefine Science In Schools
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
It’s a good idea to regularly review what schools are teaching in their science classes and update the curriculum as new discoveries are made and old theories evolve. That’s going to happen in Texas but the problem is that they’re not so worried about science down there. Or, rather, they are worried about science and are doing their best to eliminate it from the public school curriculum. Creationists on the State Board of Education have been appointing other creationists to the review panels and selecting materials that attempt to make the idea of an intelligent creator (i.e., God) sound all science-y. Aside from the idiocy and blatant illegality of that, the problem for the rest of us is that, in large part, Texas determines the content of science books for the rest of the nation.
Don’t Say Gay in Tennessee
Saturday, May 21st, 2011
I gather it’s not easy being gay in Tennessee. If you listen to country music, most of it seems to be about the value and nobility of small town life — hard labor, cheap beer, and church on Sunday. There’s not much room in there for difference, let alone anything not considered manly. It seems the rest of the state isn’t much different from Nashville’s music. The state senate has recently approved a bill that would prevent teachers from discussing anything related to homosexuality before the ninth grade.
Getting Kids to Stand Up
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
Even one would be too many. Sadly, there were a dozen in one month last September and thousands more attempted. If those numbers were kids injured by a faulty toy, there would have been a nationwide recall by now. If those were kids who got pregnant before they were teens, there would by television specials and public outcry. What those numbers represent, however, is something far worse: teenagers committing or attempting suicide because of anti-LGBT bullying. These are kids who either are gay or are perceived to be and who are so tormented and alone that death seems their only option. Luckily, however, there are those working to put an end to this tragedy and some of those folks are kids themselves.
Dreaming a Dream
Monday, January 17th, 2011
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here in the US, a federal holiday. That means that the kids don’t have school so, because I don’t have to get them up and out the door, I get an extra hour of sleep while still heading off to work at the usual time. But I worry about that. I worry that, for most people, that is the extent of the meaning of this day off — a holiday in honor of some dead guy that did something at some point in history. Is that enough, however, or do we, as parents, have a responsibility to our children to make it something more than that?
Martin Luther King Jr. Versus The Snow Day
Sunday, January 16th, 2011
On the one hand, it is important to recognize the life and accomplishments of the great Martin Luther King, Jr. On the other hand, educating our children is just about the most important task we have as a society. So what do we do when a school district needs to make up for snow days and the only option available seems to be the reverend doctor’s holiday?
Family Wants High School To Reschedule Graduation
Monday, January 10th, 2011
Is this an outrageous request from an over-entitled soccer mom or a reasonable accommodation? Janet Tener has asked that Clear Creek Amana High School, from which her son Zach is set to graduate with honors, to change the time of the graduation ceremony because their family has another event scheduled at the same time. Now, before you rush to judge Mrs. Tener, be aware that it may not be so out-of-line as you might think.
Teenager Takes On Arizona Schools — All Of Them
Thursday, January 6th, 2011
It’s almost as if you can’t turn around, these days, without bumping into someone suing someone else over something that seems silly to everyone but the person suing and, possibly, the person being sued. Lawsuits involving kids and schools are no exception — parents seem to sue at the drop of a hat if they feel their precious snowflake has been slighted. Even so, if there really is a problem, sometimes a lawsuit — or the threat of one, anyway — is exactly what’s needed to make things happen. And so, Caleb Laieski has contacted school administrators in Arizona with the threat of a lawsuit if they don’t change their ways. That is, he contacted all of them.
Mark Twain Gets Cleaned Up
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011
Some years ago, my mother-in-law, a theatre director, staged a production of South Pacific at a high school whose students were about 80% Asian, including many of Japanese heritage. Because it made no difference to the plot, she changed or eliminated the derogative term “Jap” from the script. Now, a new edition of Mark Twain’s classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is about to get the same treatment.
A Parent’s New Year’s Resolutions For 2011
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011
At the start of the New Year, it’s traditional for people to make sweeping statements about how they plan to improve themselves or their situation in the coming year. I could certainly do that — I definitely need to lose weight, I’d like to yell at the kids a little less, I really ought to work more on getting my book published — but that would only benefit me or, at most, my family. So I thought I’d take a look at the big picture and come up with some resolutions that will help kids all over.
So with that in mind, here is A Parent’s New Year’s Resolutions for 2011:
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