Earlier this evening while chatting with my newlywed neighbors, I tried to put them at ease about parenthood. I told them: It’s not hard, just difficult. When born on time and healthy, babies generally just need food, clean clothes and diapers, and sleep. It takes a while for new parents to get into the groove
READ MOREOne of my favorite sayings comes from the now defunct web-comic A Softer World. “It was a sweet day when I realized,” reads the comic, “legal and illegal had nothing to do with right and wrong.” I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. I wish I could say it was because I had faced
READ MORELike all entrepreneurs, Beto Matias saw an opportunity to support his family while simultaneously creating value for his community. Finding a prime spot right outside UC Berkeley’s football stadium, Matias began selling his craft hot dogs to willing consumers. No one complained about the quality of Matias’ hot dogs, nor did anyone have any objections
READ MOREReport cards have long been the frightening moment of truth for children – and parents, for that matter – through the years. Everyone wants to experience the relief and thrill of an ice cream celebration over a whole slate of “As,” but all too often such desires never materialize. Those desires have materialized a lot
READ MOREIn today’s secular America, it feels like atheism (the lack of belief in a divine being) is extremely prevalent. But you may be surprised to learn that, according to the most recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, only about 3% of Americans actually identify as atheist. That said, there are many more Americans
READ MOREI had the pleasure of visiting Agamim Classical Academy, a K-6 charter school in Hopkins, Minnesota dedicated to providing “students with a classical, liberal arts, challenging, and inspiring education,” for its Constitution Day celebration. When many public schools seem leery of openly embracing traditional American patriotism, even going so far as to banish students wearing clothing with
READ MOREWhen it comes to children’s stories, an old favorite of mine is The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett. Being a classic, many will know that the story revolves around three children who discover a long-abandoned garden. The garden soon becomes a place of healing and restoration as the children make it their own. Beyond
READ MOREI have many times heard the following refrains about education: “It’s not about learning any one particular thing. It’s about learning how to learn.” “It’s not about solving any particular problem. It’s about learning how to think.” The speaker often assumes that kids best learn how to learn and how to think at school. They
READ MOREKarl Marx famously began The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte by observing that Hegel “remarks somewhere that all facts and personages of great importance in world history occur, as it were, twice. Hegel, and by implication Marx, was wrong. The uniqueness of circumstance and the individuality of actor mean that history does not, and cannot, repeat itself. But
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