<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Education Blog</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/</link><description>A parent's first duty is to their child.  Janet and Lisa share important information on how to be an active participant in your child's education from preschool to graduate school.</description><language>en-us</language><pubDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:11:35 +0000</pubDate><lastBuildDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:11:35 +0000</lastBuildDate><ttl>60</ttl><item><title>One of the Joys of Teaching</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/one-of-the-joys-of-teaching</link><pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:31:21 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/one-of-the-joys-of-teaching</guid><description><![CDATA[I'm teaching a 400+ student introductory course in film this semester and because of that I don't get to personally meet many of my students. I lecture, show a film, and let my teaching assistants do the grading for this managerial nightmare.]]></description></item><item><title>The Major Lessons Learned According to One of My Students</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/the-major-lessons-learned-according-to-one-of-my-students</link><pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:17:20 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/the-major-lessons-learned-according-to-one-of-my-students</guid><description><![CDATA[Today I asked one of my former students (an acting student) about what he learned from me. This wasn't an internet survey but a face to face question over lunch in a common area. His answers were surprising and I'd like to share them with you.]]></description></item><item><title>Should You Teach Your Child to Read Before They Go To School?</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/should-you-teach-your-child-to-read-before-they-go-to-school</link><pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:03:19 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/should-you-teach-your-child-to-read-before-they-go-to-school</guid><description><![CDATA[Should you teach your child to read before they go to school? It's a question that people often have differing opinions about. My mother taught me to read when I was four years old. As far as I can see it was one of the best and most loving things she did and she did plenty of other loving things.]]></description></item><item><title>Lying is Bad</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/lying-is-bad</link><pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:20:22 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/lying-is-bad</guid><description><![CDATA[A student lied to me today. Actually, this particular student lied to me, to one of my teaching assistants, and to themselves. In a last ditch effort to salvage their grade for a course they've obviously never attended or done work for, this student tried to lie.]]></description></item><item><title>Writing and the Dangers of Procrastination</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/writing-and-the-dangers-of-procrastination</link><pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:44:40 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/writing-and-the-dangers-of-procrastination</guid><description><![CDATA[Earlier in the semester I was a substitute for one of my wife's high school classes while she was spending time with our newborn son. My wife requires the students write a final research paper by the semester's end so part of my job was to get them thinking about a suitable topic to write about.]]></description></item><item><title>The Gap Year</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/the-gap-year</link><pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:04:49 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/the-gap-year</guid><description><![CDATA[Instead of going straight from school to college or opting not to go to college but into a trade, a gap year can also be a good choice. This is where the young person goes to another country and works.]]></description></item><item><title>Is College a Must?</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/is-college-a-must</link><pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:48:59 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/is-college-a-must</guid><description><![CDATA[I was talking to one of my cousins a while back and he was talking about how proud and impressed he was that I was trying to get my Ph.D.]]></description></item><item><title>The Learning of Teaching</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/the-learning-of-teaching</link><pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:31:17 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/the-learning-of-teaching</guid><description><![CDATA[Here is one of the most important things I've learned about teaching: it teaches you to learn. So, so simple but so, so true. I recently showed my students my notes for class one day. They were shocked. Pages and pages of notes.]]></description></item><item><title>Straight  from High School to College?</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/straight-from-high-school-to-college</link><pubDate>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:22:40 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/straight-from-high-school-to-college</guid><description><![CDATA[Is it a good idea to go straight from high school to college? Many young people I know have chosen to take a year's break and defer their college or university for a year and do one of two things. I'll talk about one today and the other in my next education blog.]]></description></item><item><title>Unfortunate but Necessary Changes in Education</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/unfortunate-but-necessary-changes-in-education</link><pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:21:45 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/unfortunate-but-necessary-changes-in-education</guid><description><![CDATA[I was at a funeral this week. Funerals tend to be large gatherings of families. One consequence of these events is that people get to talking and catching up about one another's lives. I was the "in-law" at this particular funeral.]]></description></item><item><title>Responsibility</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/responsibility</link><pubDate>Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:04:21 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/responsibility</guid><description><![CDATA[It is now half-way through the semester where I teach. The students have all taken their midterm exams. They have been issued midterm grades. Some of them are doing well... and some of them are doing poorly.]]></description></item><item><title>A Dangerous Trend in Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/a-dangerous-trend-in-nursery-rhymes-and-fairy-tales</link><pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:45:02 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/a-dangerous-trend-in-nursery-rhymes-and-fairy-tales</guid><description><![CDATA[Nursery Rhymes and fairy tales help teach children about the world. That's the view of many experts including June Factor who has spent many years researching childhood and school playground rhymes and writing children's books.]]></description></item><item><title>Going to Class</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/going-to-class</link><pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:39:47 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/going-to-class</guid><description><![CDATA[People often ask me why I do so well in school. I've never hated school but I wasn't always particularly fond of it either. Nevertheless I always did well in school. All the way from grade school through my current Ph.D. program.]]></description></item><item><title>Reconnecting with Reading</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/reconnecting-with-reading</link><pubDate>Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:17:02 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/reconnecting-with-reading</guid><description><![CDATA[Dale's most recent blog post here in Education, The Most Vital thing You Can Do for your Child's Education, really got me thinking.]]></description></item><item><title>The Most Vital thing You Can Do for Your Child's Education</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/the-most-vital-thing-you-can-do-for-your-childs-education</link><pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:13:08 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/the-most-vital-thing-you-can-do-for-your-childs-education</guid><description><![CDATA[Today as promised, here is the most vital information about your child's education and something any parent can do. The most important thing you can do for your child's education is read to them, read to them from the time they are babies.]]></description></item><item><title>Excuses, Excuses, Excuses #1: Busy Work</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/excuses-excuses-excuses-1-busy-work</link><pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:34:29 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/excuses-excuses-excuses-1-busy-work</guid><description><![CDATA[Why is it that students don't do their homework?  What motivates the decision for a student to ignore a task that has been set before them to complete?]]></description></item><item><title>Learning about Education</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/learning-about-education</link><pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:32:45 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/learning-about-education</guid><description><![CDATA[There is no doubt about it: Education has changed. I'm currently in my 20th year of schooling and the differences between a Ph.D. program and kindergarten are astonishing. Long gone are the days of tactile exploration with toys and lessons about being kind.]]></description></item><item><title>Smoking In the Girls Room</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/smoking-in-the-girls-room</link><pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:17:05 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/smoking-in-the-girls-room</guid><description><![CDATA[If you got caught smoking anywhere at my former high school (including the girls restroom), you would be automatically expelled.  Not placed on detention or suspended for a few days; rather, you'd be kicked off campus for good.  No questions asked.  No second chances.]]></description></item><item><title>Changes in Education</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/changes-in-education</link><pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:40:50 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/changes-in-education</guid><description><![CDATA[This is my first post in the Education area and I'm looking forward to sharing with you some of the things I have learned along the way of raising two, now adult children.]]></description></item><item><title>Should Schools Ban Cookies?</title><link>http://education.families.com/blog/should-schools-ban-cookies</link><pubDate>Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:06:20 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">http://education.families.com/blog/should-schools-ban-cookies</guid><description><![CDATA[Gone are the days of celebrating your kid's birthday in school with cupcakes and cookies.


At least at my daughter's school.


Last month, administrators at my kid's private school put the kibosh on birthday baked goods and candy.]]></description></item></channel></rss>