May 20, 2015
A Commencement Message for Incoming Kindergarten Parents: Advocate
Published in ChicagoNow, May 20, 2015 Recently, I gave a talk to a group of parents whose children are going to kindergarten this fall....
May 4, 2015
Kindergarten Discipline: Carrots & Sticks
Will this boy survive kindergarten? Published in ChicagoNow, May 4, 2015 Back in August, my grandson started kindergarten filled with...
Mar 30, 2015
PARCC Bullies
From Raise Your Hand Illinois Published in ChicagoNow, March 30, 2015 The headline of an Evanston Now (no connection to ChicagoNow) post...
Mar 23, 2015
Magic Johnson, Mayor Emanuel, and School Custodians
Not easy to get playdough out of rugs Published in ChicagoNow, March 23, 2015 Gus Lira has been Cherry Preschool’s custodian for most of...
Mar 17, 2015
Last Weekend’s Inappropriate Kindergarten Homework
Homework or draw Hot Lava Man? Hot Lava Man wins! Published in ChicagoNow, March 17, 2015 I really do not want to keep writing about...
Mar 12, 2015
Excessive Testing Removes Bulletin Boards and Children’s Imaginations
From Meriwether Lewis Elementary Published in ChicagoNow, March 12, 2015 A Chicago Public School teacher, who served as a proctor for the...
Mar 9, 2015
What Schools Could Learn about the Importance of Recess from a Third Grade Science Fair Project
Cartoon by Marcia Liss` Published in ChicagoNow, March 9, 2015 On Tuesdays, I watch my third-grade granddaughter after school. My...
Mar 6, 2015
Still Rethinking the School Calendar
Published in ChicagoNow, March 6, 2015 While watching Morning Joe yesterday, I almost fell off of my exercise bike when they happily...
Mar 2, 2015
More Absurd Kindergarten Homework
Published in ChicagoNow, March 2, 2015 If you thought it was crazy to expect a 5-year-old who can’t read yet to do “reading...
Feb 23, 2015
Rethinking the School Calendar
Published in ChicagoNow, February 23, 2015 A recent posting on the Evanston, Illinois Parent Facebook page exclaimed, “According to...