Category Archives: School

Words, words, words

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Amy

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never harm me.” “The pen is mightier than the sword.” One might debate the relative truth of these quotes, but not if you are a student in the NYC public … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Homeschooling, Learning, Life Learning, School, Unschooling | Tagged Banned words, department of education, Dept of Ed, education, forbidden words, great works of literature, hamlet, homeschooling, learning, life learning, nyc department of education, school, standardized tests, unschooling, violence | 1 Comment

Overheard

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Amy

We saw the Hunger Games today (for the 2nd time – loved it) and afterward went to eat lunch at a favorite diner. It was packed so we took seats at the counter, which meant there were two women … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Homeschooling, Learning, Life Learning, School, Unschooling | Tagged bad teacher, education, favorite diner, homeschooling, Hunger Games, learning, life learning, second grade teacher, second graders, unschooling | Comments Off

Schooled & illiterate

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Amy

For decades our society has focused on producing more and more high school & college grads, but for some kids it means advancement with little or no education. Over the past decade, education has received nationwide attention due to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Homeschooling, Learning, Life Learning, School, Unschooling | Tagged 8.5 million illiterate high school grads, alternet, education, homeschooling, homeschooling & illiteracy, illiteracy among quiverfull homeschoolers, illiteracy statistics, illiterate high school grads, kristin rawls, learning, life learning, quiverfull families, school and illiteracy, unschooling | Comments Off

The best education

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Amy

Rick Santorum believes that not everyone needs a four year degree. I agree with him. Unfortunately, he always goes on to say that the reason not everyone needs a four year degree is that universities are indoctrination centers, robbing children … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Learning, Life Learning, School, Unschooling | Tagged 4 year degree, a different path, beliefs, education, entrepreneur, higher education, homeschooling, learning, life learning, religion, Rick Santorum, schooling, self-directed, unschooling | Comments Off

Your major or your life?

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Amy

When I think back on it now, it’s kind of amazing that I went to college and graduated. If I had it to do over again, I probably wouldn’t. I’d bump Plan B up to first position and … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Learning, Life Learning, School, Unschooling | Tagged education, german, higher education, irony, law students suing law schools, learning, life learning, literature, major, moocs nytimes, NY Magazine, reading books, unschooling | Comments Off

Focus, self-control and a few other distractions

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Amy

While my kids were in their Spanish class today, I caught up with my NYTimes for the week, as well as a couple of magazines (Time & NY Magazine) that have been languishing on my table. It was a busy … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Learning, Life Learning, Parenting, School, Unschooling | Tagged chemicals, education, focus, homeschooling, kindergarten admissions, learning, life learning, microwave popcorn, NYTimes, PA cyber charter schools, play, public schools, Rick Santorum, self-control, Time Magazine, unschooling, westminster dog show | Comments Off

The long arm of ridiculousness

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Amy

I blame the New York Giants (sorry Eli). If there hadn’t been a story on the front page of USAToday about the upcoming game between the Giants and the 49-ers I never would have picked up the paper. Which … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Learning, Life Learning, School, Unschooling | Tagged bathroom breaks, cheating, huffington post, learning, life learning, New York Giants, ridiculousness, San Francisco 49-ers, standardized tests, symptoms, unschooling, USA Today | Comments Off

The excitement builds

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Amy

We leave for the Bahamas tomorrow. As if that wasn’t reason enough to be excited, Maya’s best friend Greta is going with us. This is made even more unique by the fact that Greta is not a homeschooler, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Learning, Life Learning, School, Unschooling | Tagged 7th grade, attendance, Bahamas, education, high school, homeschooling, learning, life learning, school, trip, unschooling | Comments Off

Just ask the teacher

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Amy

Everyone in New York City lives near a really good school. Just ask them. The good school lie is second only to the one where people insist that their house is only a 20 minute commute from Manhattan. No, really! Oh … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Learning, Life Learning, School, Unschooling, math | Tagged commute, education, good schools, homeschooling, learning, lies, life learning, nyc middle school teacher, school, unschooling, wendy priesnitz | Comments Off

The benefits of diversity

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Amy

Anybody who studies genetics will tell you that when the gene pool of a given population becomes too uniform, stagnant or (dare I say it?) standardized, the results are not favorable. The health of the population suffers, as does … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Learning, Life Learning, School, Unschooling | Tagged animals, cartoon, diversity, dna, dystopian future, education, farmers, gene pool, genetics, health, independent thought, learning, life learning, pretties, school, scott westerfeld, standardized tests, uglies, unschooling | Comments Off