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Dec 15 2011
Occupy Science Camp
A motley crew of parents, nannies and hired hands were camping for the highly desirable Hollingworth Science Camp: first come, first served.
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Oct 26 2011
In Loco Parentis: Why Teachers Rule
In wine, truth (in vino veritas); and in parents, madness (in loco parentis). At least that’s what we teachers would joke as the season for parent-teacher (and sometimes parent-student-teacher) conferences hove into sight. Having gone from being a teacher with … Continue reading →
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Oct 10 2011
Stickers: Like Crack for Kids
Cats have catnip, Californians have medical marijuana, and kids have stickers. Faced with the question of what to do during a long, wet afternoon, an intercontinental airplane journey, or just a normal, run-of-the-mill tantrum, the answer is invariably to get … Continue reading →
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Sep 23 2011
Testosterone — Huh? What Is It Good For?
You know what? You can take your damn testosterone and shove it. A “science” experiment at Northwestern University, (reported in the New York Times of Sept 18) has confirmed that having kids reduces men’s testosterone levels. The author interviews Jewish … Continue reading →
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Sep 16 2011
Mourning the Pet Goldfish
There are many ways to kill a pet fish, and Adam Gopnik killed ours from the pages of the New Yorker. With callous disregard to the feelings of Golder the goldfish (who was “golder” than her two friends, GottaGo and Elephant), … Continue reading →
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Sep 7 2011
You Say Tomayto
My daughters are little aliens. At least they sound like it. My girls are at the stage where the words coming out of their still-forming mouths are caught somewhere between babytalk and the childish idiolects of kindergarten. They don’t talk … Continue reading →
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Aug 22 2011
Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven
“Everybody wants to go to heaven, But nobody wants to die.” — Loretta Lynn I was tripped up by a country song — it’s an occupational hazard for those of us with blood or marital ties to Tennessee. As such … Continue reading →
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Aug 15 2011
iDidn’t Bring My iPhone
I walked out to the park the other day without my iPhone and I felt free for the first time in months. I’ve only had an iPhone for two years, a cell phone for six years, and I haven’t worn … Continue reading →
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Aug 10 2011
Learning to Swim
People didn’t often try to drown me as a child. Indeed, growing up two hours from the sea in God’s own county of Yorkshire — a cold, law-abiding place where antisemitism is illegal — any notion that swimming lessons might … Continue reading →
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Aug 5 2011
Friday Night: Daddy, What’s God?
When your child asks you about God, it feels like you are being grilled on your beliefs. Never mind the tricky “Do we believe in God?” The straightforward “What is God?” can provoke palpitations. “Well, umm, God is the Supreme … Continue reading →
