Unschooling NYC

Heather Armstrong of dooce.com wrote one time that she met a woman at a conference who reads her blog, and after speaking for a minute the woman said, “Gee you’re so nice!  I thought you’d be meaner.”    I laughed when I read that, because Heather’s online persona comes across as loud, sometimes inappropriate and very opinionated.  However, I have had enough one on one email exchanges with her to know that she is very sweet and modest “off blog”.

I’m not sure I could be defined as “sweet and modest” in my everyday life, but I’m beginning to think that … Read more

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 in a booth directly behind me & Ben.   They were in the midst of a long and loud conversation – so loud that what we heard could not really be construed as eavesdropping.   And when I say conversation I’m using the term loosely.   For the most part the one woman listened while the other spoke.   What she said went something like … Read more

A lot of the current information & new ideas surrounding alternatives to traditional education focus on “higher education”.   This makes a lot of sense for a couple of reasons. First, attending a college or university is not mandatory (though sometimes it seems like it is) and so it is a bit easier to discuss viable alternatives without also having to discuss governmental policy & regulations.    Second, college is expensive and so the debt factor is a big issue.

I am excited that, since my kids are only 11 and 8 years old, they are going to benefit fully from the … Read more

Normally I don’t read more than one book at one time.  I like to put all my focus on one story or subject and be fully absorbed in it, if possible.   However, this Spring (and I’m using that term loosely, since our spring started around the 2nd day of February – take that Punxsatawney Phil!) I’ve had to make an exception.  Right now I am reading  Seth Godin’s “Stop Stealing Dreams”, Blake Boles’ “Better Than College”, Wendy Priesnitz’ “Beyond School” and “Spin Selling” by Neil Rackham.   Got you with that last one, didn’t I?  NOT Young Adult fiction or a … Read more

Yep, definitely a group of socially awkward kids.  How will they ever make any friends?

This was NYCHEA’s Art & Design meeting, and clearly no one had any fun at all…

A volunteer from the Cooper Hewitt Museum ran workshops for the kids

At one of the craft tables

Airbrushed tattoos!

Maya & friends, tattoos on display

painting

Kimberly on the right – our very own "Iron Lady" (and her dog)

Ben making a 'pop up'

Artwork some of the kids brought in to display

Ben's Pelican on the left, Ben & Maya's Warhol-esque Angry Birds on the right

… Read more

I mentioned last month that the girls in our book club were going to write a short story to bring in for this month’s meeting.   Even though I’m a bit biased, I thought they did an amazing job.  The girls are 11 & 12 years old.   The first piece is an untitled short story from Maya Sposito, age 12:

Bianca closed her eyes.  There went her book, spiraling to the floor, landing with a thud.  What was the point of trying to do anything when it always ended up like this?  Letting out a moan, she opened her eyes to … Read more

“The cold air stung us and we played till our bodies glowed.”  James Joyce – Araby

Jhumpa Lahiri, in an article in today’s Sunday Review section of the Times, says that this sentence by Joyce is “..as perfect as a sentence can be.  It is measured, unguarded, direct and transcendent, all at once.”

Lahiri says that in college she always underlined sentences that stood out to her in books.  She maintains, and I agree,  that when re-reading books, though we may be approaching them at different times in our lives and therefore interpreting them differently, the language of the book … Read more

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 fact that the United States lags behind other developed countries in test scores, particularly in math, science and reading.  Though each President for the past several decades has promised to improve education for our kids, they fail to acknowledge or correct the rampant educational neglect to be found in many schools – neglect that has been taking place for decades, … Read more

About a week ago, Maya and I got into the elevator in our building, having just picked up our mail.   I opened an envelope and commented to her that it was from our insurance company, telling me they’d found a much lower rate for our car insurance.     A woman standing in the elevator with us said “Oh is she in on all the household finances?” and kind of laughed.   The door opened and as we stepped off I smiled and replied, “Actually yes, she is.”    The doors closed behind us, so I didn’t see her reaction.

I’ve been thinking a … Read more

We live across the street from two NYC high schools;  Martin Luther King Jr. High School and the LaGuardia Performing Arts High School (or the “Fame” high school).   Every day at around 3 and 3:15, the schools let out, and for a little while there is bedlam on the street.   Police officers keep the kids moving so that they don’t loiter in groups on the corners.  (That’s a whole other post that I won’t get into tonight.)  The kids are universally loud, obnoxious and all over the place, literally; jumping, running, mock-fighting, crashing into each other and anyone who is … Read more