Posted March 9th, 2012, in Recommendations, Recommendations Girls, Recommendations Grown-ups, Stuff I've Written | 3 Comments
Ben Freedman, my friend, inspiration and the co-author (with his wife Nancy) of my favorite book as a girl—Mrs. Mike-died on February 24 at the age of 92. I found out earlier this week when the New York Times obituary page called me for a quote. Here is a picture of my original copy of Mrs. Mike, which I still have, held together by scotch tape and rubber bands. Ben and Nancy (who died in 2010) led rich, full lives—I loved going to their apartment to listen to stories of their adventures, schemes and foibles. Even in failing healthy, they were exuberant and intellectually engaged, full of plans for the future, still writing every single day. In honor of their lives, and to mark their loss, here is a link to Ben’s obituary. And here is a link to a piece I wrote for Oprah Magazine about what they meant to me [...]
Tags: fighting back, Let kids be kids, sanity in education
Posted May 15th, 2011, in Recommendations, Stuff I've Written | 14 Comments
Today’s New York Times has an article about Kumon academic “enrichment” programs for preschoolers. At best, the article concludes, they are useless. At worst, they undermine kids’ love of learning. I wrote a piece about this trend–accelerated academics among preschoolers and kindergartners–in the New York Times Magazine in 2009. It was called Kindergarten Cram. I am adamantly against accelerated kindergarten and preschool–and research backs me up. Sometimes I don’t know whether I’m liberal, conservative or just radical on these issues, but my core philosophy is that kids should be allowed to be KIDS as long as possible and that we need to push back against everything in this culture that imposes traits that are beyond their years–whether it’s sexualization, mind-numbing computer games, massively licensed products that co-opt their imagination, flash card drills or daily homework. They only have a few years in which they can simply play. The internally-driven creativity, [...]
Posted January 14th, 2011, in Stuff I've Written, The Weight of Weight, Why I Wrote CAMD | No Comments
Here’s an excerpt of “CAMD” in Ladies Home Journal. They did such a deft job and I love that it’s not explicitly about princesses, because there is SO MUCH MORE to the book. Really, there is. Thank you, Ladies Home Journal! Fear of Fatness
Posted January 14th, 2011, in Stuff I've Written | 2 Comments
My Grandma Betty is one of my heroes. I loved her so. She lived her life her own way and damned what anybody thought about it. I was lucky enough to inherit her engagement ring. The one from her first husband. The husband none of us knew about for a long, long time. I wear the ring always, and whenever I happen to glance at it, it reminds me of her, her courage, and how much I miss her. Here’s a “Blessings” column I wrote for the current (February) issue of Good Housekeeping about it. Family Jewel
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