education 
Home economics classes should teach students how pubic hair multiplies on a bathroom floor(8)
I am the only girl from my year to have graduated from my all-girls Catholic high school without taking Home Economics. I literally refused. My principal at the time – a woman I still adore: Sister Joan tried to talk me down off the ledge. Why didn’t I want to learn to maybe cook something?… Read More ›
You’re going to have to homeschool your kids whether you like it or not, which really sucks.
To quote one of the most beautiful works of classical literature (and a current new movie release) Anna Karenina by Tolstoy…. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. – Leo Tolstoy I’ve come to believe the same about teachers. I hope the dear departed Leo Tolstoy will forgive… Read More ›
It’s no wonder American children can barely speak English
I have a pet peeve I’d like to share with you. Hold on, restart. I have 1,324 pet peeves; I would like to share #3 & #4 with you today. #4: Words which are accidentally misspelled or misused #3: Words which are INTENTIONALLY misspelled or misused There is no excuse for #4. If you own… Read More ›
Manipulating Your Child’s Peer Group or: Don’t Play With That Kid, He’s Weird
Conventional old-school wisdom says that the way in which you parent is the key to how your kids turn out. You don’t have to go very far (the nearest radio, television, blog, news outlet) to hear parents being blamed (mother’s primarily) for the ills of our youth. Johnny is a sociopath because his mother works… Read More ›
How Much Does Your Child’s Teacher Get Paid?
Have you ever wondered how much your kid’s teacher makes? Or how about the governor or other state employees? Ohio Treasurer, Josh Mandel – just created a website aimed at public transparency (love love love) including 2011 salaries (and earlier) for all state workers and wages for other public workers. That’s right – you can… Read More ›
Teaching Children How To Strive or: Not Raising a Generation of Weenies
Do you have a movie or a book you read over and over again? If I happen across Shawshank Redemption on late night television I have to finish it. It doesn’t matter that I’ve seen it well over 20 times, or that I’ve read the short story (by Stephen King) twice that many times. There… Read More ›
The Top 5 Ways You Make Your Kid’s Teacher CRAZY
There’s always a lot said about what an easy life teachers have. Summers off, union negotiated contracts, tenure, etc. All of those perks are pretty great, but when did you last spend any time inside a K-6 classroom? Teachers have to deal at least 25 little humans with widely varying academic and behavioral strengths- and… Read More ›
Teaching by Example: Do You ‘Accidentally’ Undermine Your Child’s Authority Figures?
We love our babies. We’ve wiped their chins and their bottoms and do it all lovingly (at least in front of the grandparents). Then they get older and we put this angel child on a huge yellow tin death trap with no seat belts and a bus driver who might be a meth head (for… Read More ›
A Principal’s Nightmare: A Letter from the “Parent From Hell”
Dear Principal Smith; There are just a few things that I feel you should know about my son, Tommy Jacobson. I’ve listed these as a bulleted list. This should make it easier for you to check each one off as you complete them! Tommy is the first born in our home. So he has been… Read More ›
Seven Commandments for School Volunteers – Thou Shalt NOT Be a Pain in the Noodle
It’s that time of year again. We’re buying school supplies, school clothes and anticipating a full stack of papers from our child’s school – mostly asking for their name, address, and phone numbers 32 times on 32 separate sheets. That’s efficient…. One of the fabulous sheets on that fabulous pile is the beloved (or dreaded)… Read More ›
