I Have Been Made a Superhero
One of my online students has started a website, WhackadoodleWorld.com, where she intends to Cut...
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Category: The Global Passport Project
The Classroom of the Future?
As back to school season nears, each of us must face a decision. Do we trust that the shutdown has done its job, that testing and tracing are adequate, and that returning to school will be safe for our children and staff; or not?
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Teaching Logic in a Whackadoodle World
In a world swirling with illogic, a frustrated mother hires an online tutor to help her daughter make sense of it all. The lessons they share provide a blueprint in critical thinking that we can all use in a wold surrounded by fake news, non sequiturs, ad hock excuses, and poor reasoning. Part story, part logic class, Teaching Logic in a Whackadoodle World takes its readers on a humorous journey though the many logical fallacies that permeate our politics and our world.
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Teachable Moments: The Day My Kids Took Me to Court
My after school program has a Supreme Court. In fact, we have a government complete with Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches.
So anyway…
Cultivating the Curious Mind: I don’t mean to go out on a limb here, but…
Learning opportunites are made whenever we encourage kids to ask questions and to look for answers. Here is a fun learning moment I shared with my after school kids.
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How to Impeached a President: Kids and the Constitution
A True Story
It all began when I took out the Presidential Cards that I made a few years ago in order to provide a “Knowledge Challenge” in honor of Presidents Day for my Passport Kids. I love the spontaneous learning that occurs during the conversations that these challenges inspire…
Well Aren’t You The Smart One, or What Makes a Bad Word Bad
Today in my after school class, one of my kids spilled what I called, “a heck of water” on the floor. As we were cleaning it up, one of my girls, we will call her Gecki, casually asked, “Is that a bad word?” She was of course referring to my use of the word heck…
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A Daily Mantra For a Divided World
“There is always something I can learn,” will be my Daily Mantra for the foreseeable future. Mantras are simple phrases, or words, or sounds, that people use to help themselves stay focused on a particular state of mind. In my case, I need to focus on what unites us rather than divides us. As our upcoming election approaches, I find it easy to take a side, but everything I know about riding life’s river reminds me that it would be wiser if I did a little more listening and learning with an open mind to the people with whom I disagree…
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Oceania Fun for Passport Kids
After my month of “Everything Africa” went so well, I decided to head to the other side of the world and spend a month on “Everything Oceania.” My journey began at the library where I raided the kids section on everything I could find on Oceania’s countries and cultures…
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Facing Prejudice in the Classroom
“I don’t want to be a Global Citizen. I just want to be a Good Citizen,” she told me for the umpteenth time as she trailed me through the classroom. I was too distracted helping other kids, who where filling out their passports and taking their friendship oaths, to notice her quiet determination…
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How do you face down prejudice?
Well you don’t do what I used to do. You don’t face down prejudice with logical arguments. Prejudice is too deeply rooted in emotions like fear to be influenced by logical arguments. Instead, you treat their prejudice like a fear and use systematic desensitization to slowly peel away that fear. To explain, let me share a story…
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The Empathy Game
Thirty-six questions that create empathy, intimacy, and may even spark love…
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