As reported by Media Matters: New York Times science writer William J. Broad reported on criticism of former Vice President Al Gore's portrayal of the threat of global warming in the documentary An Inconvenient Truth by citing scientists who "argue that some of Mr. Gore's central points are exaggerated and…
Former President George H.W. Bush, on his recent collapse from dehydration: Bush spoke about the incident that sent him to the hospital on Sunday, telling the audience that he became tired after playing golf in high temperatures. "The next thing I remember ... I fainted and I was on the…
It's a matter of "how" rather than "whether" to teach religion in public schools, according to the panel over at "On Faith." The question put to the panel was whether religion should be taught in public schools. There was one naysayer (a retired episcopal priest), who argues that trying to teach religion objectively is too prone…
How should you take care of them? According to one book I’m reading, you need to give them lots of exercise and they need to eat good food. You need to buy a good leash and collar. No, I’m not referring to a childcare book–I’m talking about a book on dog care: The Complete Dog Care Manual, by Bruce Fogel, president of ASPCA.
To use a dog book to raise a child, you’ve got to pick and choose the advice, of course. You don’t put your children on leashes or toss them bones (except when they misbehave!). It is interesting, though, that dog-raising books are full of good ideas that also apply to raising children. And it’s especially interesting to compare the way we are supposed to raise dogs with the way many people actually raise children.
My family has a dog (“Holly”) and two human children, aged 6 and 8. I am thus an expert on this topic.
My dog-training book stresses that taking care of a dog requires a lot of work. We need to invest a lot of time in order to have a healthy animal. The dog book places a premium on early training? “Your dog relies on you to train it from an early age to be trusting, even-tempered and sociable…” (page 48). Compare this advice with the way many people actually raise children, ignoring them for long stretches and often abandoning them to the commercial wasteland of television.
Feeding is critically important, according …
“If I didn’t care about my kids, I’d have an easier time.”
“No real-life problem is ever actually solved, it seems.”
For three years, Geri Anderson has worked as a grade school art teacher. She wakes up every day, willing to try her hardest to make a difference in the lives of the students who attend Walnut Elementary School. “Geri” and “Walnut” are not real names; Geri and I decided to use these pseudonyms to allow Geri to speak freely. Everything else in this article is based on my recent interview of Geri.
Geri is a soft-spoken woman in her mid-twenties. Before being hired for her current job, Geri often substitute taught at expensive private grade schools. She took her first permanent job at Walnut to make a difference.
Geri teaches art to each of the 200 students who attend Walnut. They range in age from preschoolers to sixth-graders. The average class includes about twenty children, although some of the classes have almost 30 children. Not all of the teacher positions are filled at Walnut; for many months, the school has sought the help of adults from the community to fill in for the non-existent science teacher, for example.
Walnut is located in the urban center of a large U.S. city. 98% of the children attending Walnut Elementary are African-American. More than 90% of these students receive free or reduced price lunches. Based upon Geri’s observations, the great majority of the students live in single-parent homes. Classroom behavior issues, including …