December 26, 2015

The Degrading System of Grading

December 26, 2015/ Liz Hanson

While grading students on a bell curve may make some sense in a college setting, it's a harmful system for measuring the comprehension and knowledge of younger students. The Bell curve was designed to determine where each student ranked in relation to the rest of the group, but each child has a unique mind that is developing at its own rate and understands things in its own time, and, therefore, to compare a child's ability to those of his peers defies common sense.

December 14, 2015

Why The Perfect Parent Does Not Exist!

December 14, 2015/ Liz Hanson

A new father proudly showed me his baby the other day. He was so full of glee as he began to tell me the many plans he had for his son. My mind fell back to a day, almost 18 years ago, when my first child was born and I quickly remembered my own plan, for I sensed, it was also his. My plan was simple: I would be the perfect mother and raise the perfect child. I didn't put it into those words at the time, but in retrospect, that was it.

December 09, 2015

How to Teach Children to Love Books

December 09, 2015/ Liz Hanson

I learned to read in the first grade. My teacher, Mrs. Gilman, was tall and dressed in a blouse and skirt--down to the knees--wearing black pumps and bright red lipstick. She was stern, but she had a friendly face. Mrs. Gilman taught me to read when I was six, and it unlocked the door to another world for me; a world of interesting characters where anything was possible.

December 05, 2015

FORMING GOOD HABITS IN CHILDHOOD

December 05, 2015/ Liz Hanson

Often, as harried parents trying to keep up in a frenzied world (at least I was!) the last thing we seem to have time for is reminding our young children to put their shoes away, to hang up their coats, to make their beds, to clear their dishes, to say, "please" and "thank you" yet, this is precisely the time to teach our children these things. We are instilling good habits in our children, and if we don't teach them good habits now, we will inadvertently teach them bad habits that they will struggle with as they grow older.