Without wanting to profile y’all, there is an extraordinarily high chance that you are a fabulous parent. I have this cocky certainty because you read parenting websites. You’re interested. You realise being a parent is something we do, as well as who we are. I know endless folk who get their advice from www.slackraparental.com, evidenced […]
Delightful. Unique. Gifted. Our children mean more than the world to us and, if you think about it, it’s pretty silly that we, as a civilization, have decided the best thing for them is to chase them off to school to spend their happiest years with overworked groan-ups and other people’s (feral) offspring. It’s absolutely […]
It’s a no brainer really. Why I’m a teacher. I have 180 contact days every twelve months. Now, multiply that figure by one over 365 (days in a year) and you will see that I work a mere half the (days of the) year. Everyone should be a teacher. It’s great. We’re always (if you […]
Mrs Cook taught me to read. Ms Powell held dictionary competitions (I remember this, of course, because I remember winning!) Mr Dibben was the best teacher I ever had. Mr Booth expected more of me than I did (though I mostly remember him for demoting me from pen to pencil, a judgement on the quality […]
Ta-da! Welcome to our new series on education and schooling, covering pretty much anything you’re interested in (so keep the suggestions coming). Here’s my big question. Education is awesome, but does schooling have anything to do with it? Do you remember third form maths and all the time you spent on set theory? It was […]
‘If they’re not being assessed and tested, how will you know if they’re learning?’ ‘What do they do all day?’ Today I’m not meaning to go into why ‘testing’ can be counter-productive to learning (but if that catches your eye, please do read Jolisa Gracewood’s bleak report of US testing terror and read or listen to […]
2017 was the year I became a freelance writer – yes, people actually pay me to write for them! It turns out I only write for places with a capital S in the title. Like these ones: The Spinoff I’ve felt really lucky to start writing for The Spinoff this year, for both the Parents […]
Kia ora koutou! Welcome to the Down Under Feminists’ Carnival, chock-full of blog posts and great writing from around Australia, Aotearoa and the Pacific. I’m Thalia, a New Zealand lawyer-turned-minister-turned-mother-turned-writer-turned-development-worker. You are very welcome at my place. This is my first time hosting, and heck, it has been a lot of fun. Of the nerdy, […]
Pop quiz for those of you who live in, or are interested in, parliamentary democracies, like the United Kingdom, New Zealand and other such wonderful places: What’s the difference between Cabinet and Caucus? What’s the difference between Government and Parliament and the House of Representatives? Can you describe in a paragraph how a law gets […]
Trigger warning for discussion of rape and child marriage. The tragic, terrible death of an eight-year-old Yemeni girl made international news this week. You might have read reports that a little girl died from injuries she received during wedding-night intercourse with a 40-year-old man who had just married her. Coming from a much more fortunate […]