Culture

Why Good Books Are Better When You Talk About Them 0
- Culture
- May 6, 2019
What do you do when you finish reading with children, say, at bedtime? Perhaps what many parents do — just close the book, kiss your child goodnight, ruffle their hair, and turn out the light. To be sure, that emotionally intimate time of reading together is a precious experience — the pleasure of a good
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Why Schools Need a ‘Curriculum of Family’0
- Culture
- May 3, 2019
Who should be a greater influence in a child’s life: parents or teachers? Many would say the latter. After all, teachers are the professional experts who know about childhood development and the elements of a good education. They are the ones who can get children through school, into a good college, and eventually into a
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The Perils of an Open Mind 0
- Culture
- May 3, 2019
How often have you heard someone praised for having an open mind? Pretty often, I’d bet. How often has such a comment been taken as something other than a compliment? Not very often, I’d suspect. After all, open-mindedness in our open society is thought to be a very good trait to possess. Indeed, what could
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Keep Your Screens Away From My Kids!0
- Culture
- May 2, 2019
Recently, we’ve been hearing a great deal about how some parents — usually wealthier, more educated ones — ban their kids from looking at screens. In October, the New York Times ran a series of stories about how tech executes in Silicon Valley obsessively keep their kids far away from the devices they invent. They
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The Lasting Appeal of Batman 0
- Culture
- May 2, 2019
I read somewhere that May 1st is unofficially Batman Day, because that was the cover date on the issue of the comic he first appeared in. But I’ve since seen March 30 and Sept 15 thrown around, so I have no idea. International days are like a secular version of the feast days held in
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Leaders and Followers: The Forgotten Part of the Equation 0
- Culture
- May 2, 2019
Punch in “leadership books” on Amazon, and dozens of volumes pop up. Punch in “follower books,” and you get titles about social media and Christian discipleship. This same disparity holds true for my public library. Here patrons can find dozens of books on leadership concepts and systems — servant leadership, leadership by example,
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