Category Archives: Guest Bloggers

Guest Blogger: An Eighth Grader’s Lament

Middle and high school students have been sending me essays they’ve written about homework. On occasion, I will be posting them here. (If you are a student and want me to consider your paper, email me.) Today’s guest blog entry is by Courtney, an eighth grader who goes to a middle school in the CentralContinue reading “Guest Blogger: An Eighth Grader’s Lament”

Guest Blogger: Let’s Help Academia Do What Can Be Done

Today’s guest blogger is Robert McCay, a retired community mental health psychiatrist from Philadelphia who has published articles on schools, reading, child-rearing, and psychiatry. Last summer, I contacted Dr. McCay after I read a letter he had written to the editor in USA Today, and we’ve had several interesting conversations about schooling since then. IfContinue reading “Guest Blogger: Let’s Help Academia Do What Can Be Done”

Testing Doesn’t Leave Room for Teaching

In a commentary in today’s North County Times, Stephen D. Aloia, Associate Professor of Education at California State University, Fullerton, writes that one of the reasons teachers give so much homework is that they spend so much time on test prep that they don’t have time to teach. With his permission, here’s what he hasContinue reading “Testing Doesn’t Leave Room for Teaching”

More from Dr. Daniel Gottlieb

Last week, I posted an article about how teenagers need more downtime, which was written by Dr. Daniel Gottlieb, a clinical psychologist, family therapist, and author of, among other things, Letters to Sam: A Grandfather’s Lessons on Love, Loss, and the Gifts of Life. On Monday of this week, he wrote a follow-up piece, againContinue reading “More from Dr. Daniel Gottlieb”

Teenagers Drastically Need More Downtime

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article this week by Dr. Daniel Gottlieb, a clinical psychologist, family therapist, and author of, among other things, Letters to Sam: A Grandfather’s Lessons on Love, Loss, and the Gifts of Life. I was excited to read Dr. Gottlieb’s article because he talks about what students themselves can do toContinue reading “Teenagers Drastically Need More Downtime”

Guest Blogger: A Father’s Lament

Today’s guest blogger is John Painter, the editor of readingtonparents.org. On that web site, you’ll find interesting articles on a variety of topics, including: scripted learning, cheating, and homework. You’ll also find a pretty decent homework policy from the Readington, New Jersey, School District. Here, the father of two describes the all-too-familiar trials of aContinue reading “Guest Blogger: A Father’s Lament”

Guest Blogger: Homework In College Isn’t Useful

Today’s guest blogger is Dorian Davis, the managing editor of Republican Spectacular, who interviewed me for his online journal. During the interview, we began talking about homework at the college level–something I haven’t researched–and I invited him to write an entry. Dorian teaches at Fashion Institute of Technology, is a guest commentor on MTV’s popContinue reading “Guest Blogger: Homework In College Isn’t Useful”

Guest Blogger: Children Need Contact With Nature

Today, I debut an occasional feature of this website: a blog entry by a guest. I am delighted that my first guest is William Crain, a professor of psychology at the City College of New York, the author of Reclaiming Childhood: Letting Children Be Children in Our Achievement-Oriented Society, and the editor of the magazineContinue reading “Guest Blogger: Children Need Contact With Nature”