Home School, Private School, Public School

As we shift back toward homeschooling, I found the following series of articles very interesting. Three moms share why they send their kids to public schools, send their kids to private schools, and keep their kids at home for school, respectively.

Perspectives on Our Children's Education: Going Public

Perspectives on Our Children's Education: A Private Enterprise

Perspectives on Our Children's Education: Homeward Bound

"Grit" Trumps IQ in Predicting Student Success

I see this in school and life all the time. It is those with grit who succeed. Check out Angela Lee Duckworth's paper, "Self-Discipline Outdoes IQ in Predicting Academic Performance of Adolescents" pdf or if you prefer video to dry, academic papers, watch her TED talk.

Gaining Ground: Adventure Farming

It has been a while since I read a 300+ page book in less than 24 hours, but that's what I did this weekend. Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm hooked me in and I can't really figure out why. I live in a big city, am not that into organic or slow food, and the closest thing I do to farming is remind the kids to water the houseplants once a week or so.

But Forrest Pritchard's book about taking over the family farm and getting back to the rhythms of soil, water, grass and food struck a chord. It was an adventure book and a meditation. It made me want to raise fresh, delicious food, or at least buy from a local farmer. Know any in Tokyo?

On Excuses

"As soon as a man begins to make excuse, the time has come when he might be doing that from which he excuses himself." -George MacDonald

from C. S. Lewis's George MacDonald: An Anthology 365 Readings