Jul 06
Chapter 1. Oddball Benjamin learned he was Odd when he was in the fifth grade. He never had fit in well with other children. Especially with other boys. They thought he was too small, too clumsy, too gentle, and too bookish. Each year Benjamin grew, but every year he remained smaller than his classmates. Not …
Dec 27
Chapter One: In Which The Characters Are Introduced And A Plan is Hatched This is an absolutely true story. Once upon a time there lived in Hawaii two brown dachshunds named Be and Bop. Be was a girl, Bop was a boy, and they were the children of Alula. Be and Bop loved Hawaii, and they …
Dec 26
Long ago deep in a faraway forest on a small pond called Prudence lived three young gosling brothers named Gareth, Gandolph, and Gulliver. They were strong swimmers gifted with deep echoing honks. Their eyes were keen, their beaks were honed to a fine degree of sharpness, and their little webbed feet were learning to move …
Dec 26
The Problem In this age of science and technology, many people believe children receive wondrous stimulation for their intellect and their imagination. I think this is false. The vast majority of children I see are becoming every day more dependent upon provided stimuli: stimuli that grow ever more coarse, loud, and in many instances violent, …
Apr 06
This article was first published on Technorati as Parenting In Our Time Part 3: The Destination on Technorati. It is the third essay in a series entitled “Parenting In Our Time.” Henry Kissinger once said the reason academics fight with one another so viciously “is precisely that the stakes are so small.” This is also …
Mar 23
This article was first published on Technorati as Parenting In Our Time Part 2: Who Is Your Child . It is the second essay in a series entitled “Parenting In Our Time.” It is impossible to escape the impression that people commonly use false standards of measurement – that they seek power, success and wealth for …
Mar 14
This article was first published as Parenting In Our Time on Technorati. Introduction For more than forty years I’ve taught literature, history, consciousness, and writing as a senior teacher and administrator in major American and Asian universities, and in progressive preschools and schools. In part because of the subjects I teach, in part because …
Feb 16
I have removed the individual posts entitled: The Dream Chamber 1-6. I send my heartfelt gratitude to the many readers worldwide who have sent me comments and responses. Your responses have significantly influenced my final revisions. The Dream Chamber is now available for sale at: www.amazon.com/Dream-Chamber-Memories-American-Family/dp/1434887057/ref=sr_1_24?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313034780&sr=1-24 __________ The Dream Chamber is a full-length work of …
Aug 18
Boys in Trouble I WANT a hero: an uncommon want, When every year and month sends forth a new one Till, after cloying the gazettes with cant, The age discovers he is not the true one. – Lord Byron, “Don Juan” For many years I have directed one-week immersion workshops in …
Oct 27
Parenting In Our Time – 4: Family-Friendly Entertainment
Family Friendly Entertainment: Let’s Make Our Own An abridged version of this essay originally appeared in Technorati Women. Technorati Women [http://technorati.com/women/] recently convened an important conversation about finding online resources that provide responsibly stimulating programming for progressive families. The Problem We Face We all have learned how difficult it is to locate suitable family sites …
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