Kitchen Science!
Something new, thanks to COVID-19 – I’ve been doing online sessions for my classes, which gave me the idea of doing a science lesson video. Let me know what you think!
Parents
Questions from parents
The boy, at home
No matter where you live, the pandemic means that your life has become compressed both in space and time. We can’t go anywhere, we can’t get together with others, and we are stuck inside. I’m lucky, I live on a mountain where there are lots of hiking trails and parks so I can get out, … Read more
Gender – Boy to Man
Last month, I promised you that the next post here would discuss gender, again. Why? An article that appeared in The Atlantic in December, titled The Miseducation of the American Boy, that discusses the problems boys are having with becoming men. Last month, we covered the issue of sex (the noun, not the verb), making … Read more
Sex versus gender
This semester I’m teaching a course in the Psychology of Human Sexuality. I’ve discovered that very few of my students know anything about the basics and biology of sex. So, we start with a comprehensive course in sex education. From the very beginning, I point out that there is a difference between sex and gender, … Read more
Giving kindness
It’s the time of year when many of us are remembering those who have held special places in our lives. We send out cards to people we’re only in touch with once a year, often accompanied very often with a letter listing triumphs and tragedies, bringing these acquaintances up to date with what our immediate … Read more
Brave boys
One of the core attributes for a Boy Scout is to be brave. The scout is to stand up for what is right even in the face of adversity. It would seem that bravery is in short supply these days, particularly with the presence of so many bullies who insist on things going their way. … Read more
What kids really need … is structure.
Around a decade ago, I visited a friend whose grandchildren were staying with her for a couple of weeks in the summer. The children were young, one was two and the other almost five, and they had been there for over a week. When we sat down for lunch, the older child leaned over and … Read more
No, you don’t have to share!
Why force a child to share their toys? Better to teach your child to share their ideas and their words, but not necessarily their toys. Here’s why.
What your boys need
I’ve been teaching Human Growth and Development for a long time. Since we discuss how babies develop, the beginning of each class is a lot like a parenting course. Most of my students have remarked that they feel so much more prepared to be parents because of what we discuss in class about what babies … Read more
Boys will be boys
How many times have we said, when looking at our boys jumping around, wrestling on the grass, or shouting at each other to do something, “Oh, well, boys will be boys.” We understand that the behavior is typical of boys, that no one taught them to do it, and it usually does not end well … Read more