I began my career as a high school English teacher with an unapologetically idealistic attitude about the difference I could make in my student’s lives and in Chicago’s far South Side community as a whole. After all, when you’re young …
Weaving a Tapestry of Hope
Black History Month has special moments in various phases of my children’s lives. Now that I have teen and adult children, the stories and lessons we discuss today are different than the ones we had when they were in elementary …
Waves of Change
I’ve always thought I was adept at change. In the early years of our marriage, when jobs and apartments and even regions of the country where we lived were fluid, I embraced new beginnings and found them exciting. If things …
Don’t Worry, My Child
You do not have to worry, child. Not about the spelling quiz, the untied shoes, the next soccer game, the day you are late to school. Don’t worry that you will have to stand in the front row of the …
What Every Child Needs to Know Before Entering School
Dear Son, You’ve got scrapes on both knees and a Spiderman ball-cap perched on your sandy blond hair. Your eyes are your father’s, like the soil beneath your fingernails from working in the garden—picking raspberries and strawberries and digging around …
Raising Great Kids – Naked Ideas
In the Summer edition of Hello, Darling magazine Dr. Townsend tackled the question of how long we should be nude in front of our children. He gave some great advice, but with each family it is a little bit different. …
Truth-Telling
Truth-telling At our house every topic is open for discussion. My kids ask questions about sex, injustice and are thoroughly interested in discussing cuss words and why we shouldn’t use them. Yesterday in the car my daughter shared with me …
How Digital Media Supports Learning in Children
You want to know what’s great about June, darling? Well, there are lots of things. But one of the great things about June is how Jubilant it is. That’s why we’re celebrating Jubilant June, by offering a giveaway every day …
The ABCs of Learning
From the moment my firstborn was placed in my arms, I can remember the overwhelming feeling of responsibility that descended upon my shoulders. This little person, a blank slate with no life experiences, was completely dependent upon me! Not that …