Boy am I glad that the media feeding frenzy over the ill-advised LeBron James/ESPN cluster@#&%, "The Decision," is long past. It just demonstrated what we should have assumed all along, namely, that behind that façade of loyal and humble Cleveland homeboy was the usual narcissistic superstar athlete that we have come to expect these days. [...]
There's a whole lot of talk and even more money being bandied about these days in the name of public education reform (read public education for the poor). And some of the words that cause educators' hearts to go "THUMP, THUMP" (some with excitement, others with trepidation) are accountability, testing, value-added, and charter schools. Unfortunately, [...]
I've become quite an authority on pre-schoolers these days. My eldest daughter just finished pre-school and my youngest daughter is in her second year. Plus, I'm writing my third parenting book tentatively titled, Parenting on Message: The 9 Essential Messages to Give Your Child a Great Start to Life (The Experiment Publishing, Spring, 2011), which [...]
Success in the business world is not about who is the smartest; research shows that IQ is largely unrelated to status in the corporate food chain. Success is not about who has the best education; only 14% of Fortune 500 companies are led by Ivy Leaguers. And success is not about who has the best [...]
Developing focus control is essential if you’re going to ensure that your focus style (as described in the July, 2010 issue of Prime Sport Alert!) helps rather than hurts your sports performance. There are several steps in the focus-control process. First, you have to identify your focus style and understand how it impacts your sport. [...]
I was having a conversation with a friend recently about happiness. Our conversation began with her asking me if I thought that buying a new house would make her happier (she asked this question only half facetiously). My initial reaction was that a house can't bring happiness. In fact, a robust finding of the growing [...]
Anyone who follows my posts on public education reform (here's a good place for a primer) knows that I am not a fan of the Obama administration's public education initiatives, including Race to the Top. The programs are, in my view, mislabeled, misdirected, and misguided. I would have used the word hate to describe my [...]
In recent decades, America has become embroiled in a so-called “culture war” between the right and left, red states and blue states. This culture war, supposedly fought over the moral values that are intended to guide our country, has created a schism so wide and seemingly so insurmountable that, as we stand now, a future [...]
Just wanted to share some exciting news I just received. This wee, I will be signing a contract with The Experiment Publishing, a New York City-based publishing house, to publish my next parenting book tentatively titled, Message in a Toddler: The 9 Essential Messages Before the Age of Three. Thanks to Gerry Sindell (my friend, [...]
Did you read the article in the New York Times last week discussing research that demonstrated the clear importance of kindergarten to later success? It was a real eye opener for many people who are involved in public education and real confirmation for those of us who have advocated for true reform in an American [...]