‘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 […]
This is something of an experimental post, so please be kind in your comments! I’d love your help to hone it. I’ve been working on it for months, so it’s time to let it out into the world and get your help. Thanks! Sexism in kids’ TV and movies I’m thoroughly, wretchedly ambivalent about children’s television and […]
A very warm welcome to guest poster Chris Chamberlain. Chris grew up in Timaru and West Auckland. Â He has been in Baptist church pastoral leadership roles for over 20 years in exciting places like the South Islandâs West Coast and central Christchurch. Â Experiencing the destructive forces of the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes has introduced him to […]
A very warm welcome to guest poster Chris Chamberlain. Chris grew up in Timaru and West Auckland. Â He has been in Baptist church pastoral leadership roles for over 20 years in exciting places like the South Islandâs West Coast and central Christchurch. Â Experiencing the destructive forces of the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes has introduced him to […]
A very warm welcome to guest poster Chris Chamberlain. Chris grew up in Timaru and West Auckland. Â He has been in Baptist church pastoral leadership roles for over 20 years in exciting places like the South Islandâs West Coast and central Christchurch. Â Experiencing the destructive forces of the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes has introduced him to […]
A warm welcome to this yearâs Advent in Art series, where we join thousands of others in contemplating artistic works while we wait, wait, wait for Christmas. For an introduction to this series, and He Qi, the artist featured in 2014, please see the first post, on the Annunciation. Week 2: The Visitation The mood […]
It seems that Jamie Oliver – cheeky television chef with the ‘beestung lips’ and the Essex accent – and I aren’t on the same page when it comes to our attitude to children. To put the differences between us starkly and bluntly, Iâm not into assault, or punishment, or treating children as lesser humans. I […]
I grew up with Father Christmas visiting each December. We had a particularly awesome system, in fact, that involved pillowcases instead of stockings (primarily so a board game could fit, I think). As I got older, I became aware that Father Christmas from the adult point of view was part of our family history, too. My […]
I like the word lucky. Not just because it has a pleasant combination of consonants and rhymes with ducky and plucky, which are also awesome words. For me it does a better job than blessed for making it clear that much of the goodness sprinkled through my days is thoroughly undeserved, nothing I can take credit […]
Even if youâre little you can do a lot, you Mustnât let a little thing like âlittleâ stop you – Matilda the Musical, ‘Naughty’, Tim Minchin Changing the world is a hard job. Best to start early, donât you think? Here are a bunch of ways you can help your kids live a life […]