Posts Tagged ‘parents’
The Best Article About Homework I’ve Ever Read
The best article about homework that I’ve ever read, and probably the best one ever written, is in the December 17, 2012 issue of The New Yorker, written by Louis Menand.
It begins:
Here is something you probably didn’t know about France: its President has the power to abolish homework.
Nice, right?
And lest you think that le President de la France is doing this to appease the parents who proclaim homework to be history’s greatest education monster:
[French President] M. Hollande, however, is not a progressive educator. He is a socialist. His reason for exercising his powers in this area is to address an inequity. He thinks that homework gives children whose parents are able to help them with it—more educated and affluent parents, presumably—an advantage over children whose parents are not. The President wants to give everyone an equal chance.
Sounds reasonable. If nothing else it’s a different perspective on the so-called homework wars.
As with most education issues, it’s not that simple. Read the whole article, it’s worth it.
Louis Menand: The End of Homework? : The New Yorker
How To Stop Online Gaming From Being a Hellish Pit of Vicious Verbiage
This article about a video game called League of Legends (which I’ve never played or even heard of) intrigued me because the game maker, Riot Games, is attempting to address what is apparently a serious problem within the Legends community.
Apparently many of the players are dickheads.
And as lead game producer Travis George puts it in his interview with Gamasutra, “Nobody wants to play a game with somebody who’s mean.”
Amen to that.
Of course, mean people playing games online is not limited to League of Legends. Which is a problem once your kids want to get involved.
As a parent who grew up playing video games, I’m highly conflicted about the current “social” state of gaming. What used to be a niche element of the gaming world — online play with strangers — has become as ubiquitous as broadband Internet connections. Read more »
Wherein I Bash Parenting Blogs On A Parenting Blog
I’m not familiar with the parenting blog EarlyMama, but it sounds like the author, Michelle Horton, gets her chops busted a lot for having kids when she was in her early 20’s.
I have some thoughts to share. Generally we call these rants. It’s not really a rant, per se, but calling it a rant makes things easier. Read more »
My Parents Want To Control Me [iPad]
Funny comment on Apple.com’s discussion boards: “I just bought the iPad today and my parents want to control me.”
(Emphasis added). Read more »
Excercise Good, TV Bad
Two news items today that apply to parents and kids alike. Simply put — exercise good, TV bad.
Also — floor down. Ceiling up. Read more »
Making Lists When You Have Kids
When someone makes a list of things to do, the assumption is that those things will get done. Maybe not right away, but the point of making the list is to remind yourself of things that you want to do.
Gisele Sorta Thinks Brady Baby Is Hers
Gisele Bündchen is hot and for all we know highly intelligent. But statements like this one could make a case for her being, you know, a big dummy. Read more »
