Category: Culture

  • It's International Year of Forests! Call your lawyer today!

    Maybe I’m just in a mood tonight, but I just bumped into something that really rubs me like velcro on Berber carpet: I saw a note somewhere that this is International Year of Forests, as designated by the UN. I love forests. I live in one. Cool, I thought. I clicked on the link, and…

  • A problem of definition

    I have two wonderful and rather intense children. Our days can often be quite lovely. Often there’s a lot of argument and obstinacy. But all in all, we make it through our days pretty well. This is not how I would have described my family a few years ago. When my daughter hit the toddler…

  • The eight-year-old singing seamstress

    I see by the date of my last post that I’ve been gone a while. To give you a bit of perspective, this is what hits me come late November: Thanksgiving Daughter’s birthday Husband’s birthday Chanukah at our house Christmas at my parents’ house See? You don’t have it so bad after all with just…

  • Screentime revisited

    Longtime readers of my blog know that I am not a convert to the belief that unlimited screentime is fine for kids. There are plenty of homeschoolers who do, in fact, believe this, and they have their arguments. In this case, I will respectfully agree to disagree. I had no opinions about kids and TV,…

  • Superman running in a race to nowhere

    I think it’s indicative of our times that there are two films about education making the rounds of theaters right now. Everyone seems to know that there’s a problem. Many people are sure they have the answer. The places where we disagree are are simply these: What is the problem? What is the solution? OK,…