Progressive Education has come a very long way since the 1940s--or has it?
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Be Glad For What You Have
Today is my son Eian's 12th birthday. This is also the 12th anniversary of my brother Michael and wife Megan's wedding. Two very important days in our family's life.
When so much of what we do around holidays, birthdays. and anniversaries involve buying things, it's nice to know that just appreciating what we have and who we are is enough.
Today, my wife, daughter, and son went to my in-laws to have brunch. A big meal was cooked--both vegetarian and carnivorous--so that all pallettes were satisfied. Eggs, biscuits, ham, fruit, hot chocolate, and funny presents (I'm not sure if they were meant to be--but thanks for Eian's sweatpants, Grandma) gave way to gales of laughter and time appreciating each other. It wasn't Walton-esque, but we did take a moment to drink it all in.
The most important stuff, of course, is the laughter. Although Eian is geting to the age whre hanging out with mom and dad is no longer all that cool, we do have a very good time together as a family. Whether it's the jokes we tell about each other or the rolling on the floor tickle fests, our family is pretty tight. I would say that we are closer than my family was when I was growing up.
As we enter the holdiay season, especially winding down at schools across the land, think about ways that your family can be even a little closer--without bribing them with gifts. What kinds of neat things can you do that do not cost a lot or anything at all? If you have a classroom, think of ways that this can be replicated for the children and colleagues that you work with.
When so much of what we do around holidays, birthdays. and anniversaries involve buying things, it's nice to know that just appreciating what we have and who we are is enough.
Today, my wife, daughter, and son went to my in-laws to have brunch. A big meal was cooked--both vegetarian and carnivorous--so that all pallettes were satisfied. Eggs, biscuits, ham, fruit, hot chocolate, and funny presents (I'm not sure if they were meant to be--but thanks for Eian's sweatpants, Grandma) gave way to gales of laughter and time appreciating each other. It wasn't Walton-esque, but we did take a moment to drink it all in.
The most important stuff, of course, is the laughter. Although Eian is geting to the age whre hanging out with mom and dad is no longer all that cool, we do have a very good time together as a family. Whether it's the jokes we tell about each other or the rolling on the floor tickle fests, our family is pretty tight. I would say that we are closer than my family was when I was growing up.
As we enter the holdiay season, especially winding down at schools across the land, think about ways that your family can be even a little closer--without bribing them with gifts. What kinds of neat things can you do that do not cost a lot or anything at all? If you have a classroom, think of ways that this can be replicated for the children and colleagues that you work with.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Homage: Anita Diamant
I surf on-line quite a bit. Most of the time I can be found on the CNN.com site, the New York Times site, CBS.Sportsline.com, and ESPN.go.com. I'm a bit of a news junky whenever I'm not banking and trying to manage the little money that I have to manage. I also like to surf the writing sites, looking for good ideas to stir the pot. See, I've been wanting to finish this novel that I started last year, but I can't seem to walk myself back through it. As a Head of a school, some sort of creative outlet, other than watching sports until my eyes bleed, is important to do.
Yesterday, I found myself at Anita Diamant's website. She of the The Red Tent fame. I have not read Ms. Diamant's book, but I am fascinated by the social movements of books like The Red Tent. I particularly like the idea of historical works of fiction, especially those dealing with a biblical theme, like Elizabeth George Speare's The Bronze Bow. My wife read The Red Tent about eight years ago and like many of the women who read Diamant's novel at the time, she was throughly fascinated by the society of women that it essayed. It's what authors so desperately try to do but often fail in the attempt, which is create a community of readers. That's why blogging has caught on in the way that it has. People will follow a blogger who they often agree with, mostly for the world or community they create.
This year celebrates the tenth anniversary of The Red Tent, which means that it is high time that I spent some time seeing what the fuss is about. Barnes and Noble is hyping the release by running book clubs on their site. It's a way to build community, sell some books, and drive people to their site. I actually checked out the first week or so of The Red Tent re-release and Ms. Diamant's interaction with her adoring public.
You can too if you go to:
http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/bn/board/message?board.id=adrt&thread.id=3&jump=true
I found Ms. Diamant to be a quite generous and intriguing celebrity author, encouraging would be writers and thanking people for their time and questions. One such exchange went like this:
------------
nd_plume wrote:
Sorry, but it took me so long to register that I thought I'd never get to the posting (or I would give up.) But here I am...
Anita:
I read your book with my bookclub (one of our all time favorites) when it first came out, then passed it along to my mother who loved it.
1)The time involved in the production of a book amazes me. Tell me about the length of time you worked on TheRedTent, how much time was spent researching verses writing, how many other people helped you with verification, historical accuracy, etc.
and
2) Do you have any advice for upcoming writers who find the sheer amount of time involved per page written, an overwhelming obstacle. How did you balance family, life and writing?
------------
------------
Yes, it takes a while to get the hang of this, I agree.
Thanks for your kind words.
It took me about three years of writing and researching (simultaneously and in sequence so I did the research on Egypt when we "got there.) I had a bit of help from a grad student at RAdcliffe, but the research was basically all mine.
Advice? Well, patience, patience, patience. I wrote while my daughter was in daycare/then school. I wrote for a living for years as a journalist, and turning to fiction, I used the same attitude: this is work time as separate from family time. I think everyone is different but the trick is often taking yourself seriously enough.
I hope that's helpful.
Anita
------------
Ms. Diamant also has a website:
http://www.anitadiamant.com/index.asp?page=home
and blog site:
http://anitadiamant.blogspot.com
I would encourage you to follow an author of your choosing or just have a positive passion, then go to the ends of the earth for that passion. It's pretty clear that Ms. Diamant has inspired a whole generation of women, which I don't think was her intent. That would be shallow and I don't think that she has a shallow bone in her body (witness her Mayyim Hayyim community that she helped to build at http://www.anitadiamant.com/mayyimhayyim.asp?page=mayyimhayyim). As Diamant says, she was writing when her daughter was in daycare and school. Her daughter just turned 22 earlier this month.
What I get from her encouragement is: Have the fortitude to stick something out "even to the edge of doom. " That's what sets Diamant and other passionate people a part from the pack while finding the vein of gold in the side of the mountain, as Bill Cosby used to say about The Cosby Show back in the early to mid-80s.
Yesterday, I found myself at Anita Diamant's website. She of the The Red Tent fame. I have not read Ms. Diamant's book, but I am fascinated by the social movements of books like The Red Tent. I particularly like the idea of historical works of fiction, especially those dealing with a biblical theme, like Elizabeth George Speare's The Bronze Bow. My wife read The Red Tent about eight years ago and like many of the women who read Diamant's novel at the time, she was throughly fascinated by the society of women that it essayed. It's what authors so desperately try to do but often fail in the attempt, which is create a community of readers. That's why blogging has caught on in the way that it has. People will follow a blogger who they often agree with, mostly for the world or community they create.
This year celebrates the tenth anniversary of The Red Tent, which means that it is high time that I spent some time seeing what the fuss is about. Barnes and Noble is hyping the release by running book clubs on their site. It's a way to build community, sell some books, and drive people to their site. I actually checked out the first week or so of The Red Tent re-release and Ms. Diamant's interaction with her adoring public.
You can too if you go to:
http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/bn/board/message?board.id=adrt&thread.id=3&jump=true
I found Ms. Diamant to be a quite generous and intriguing celebrity author, encouraging would be writers and thanking people for their time and questions. One such exchange went like this:
------------
nd_plume wrote:
Sorry, but it took me so long to register that I thought I'd never get to the posting (or I would give up.) But here I am...
Anita:
I read your book with my bookclub (one of our all time favorites) when it first came out, then passed it along to my mother who loved it.
1)The time involved in the production of a book amazes me. Tell me about the length of time you worked on TheRedTent, how much time was spent researching verses writing, how many other people helped you with verification, historical accuracy, etc.
and
2) Do you have any advice for upcoming writers who find the sheer amount of time involved per page written, an overwhelming obstacle. How did you balance family, life and writing?
------------
------------
Yes, it takes a while to get the hang of this, I agree.
Thanks for your kind words.
It took me about three years of writing and researching (simultaneously and in sequence so I did the research on Egypt when we "got there.) I had a bit of help from a grad student at RAdcliffe, but the research was basically all mine.
Advice? Well, patience, patience, patience. I wrote while my daughter was in daycare/then school. I wrote for a living for years as a journalist, and turning to fiction, I used the same attitude: this is work time as separate from family time. I think everyone is different but the trick is often taking yourself seriously enough.
I hope that's helpful.
Anita
------------
Ms. Diamant also has a website:
http://www.anitadiamant.com/index.asp?page=home
and blog site:
http://anitadiamant.blogspot.com
I would encourage you to follow an author of your choosing or just have a positive passion, then go to the ends of the earth for that passion. It's pretty clear that Ms. Diamant has inspired a whole generation of women, which I don't think was her intent. That would be shallow and I don't think that she has a shallow bone in her body (witness her Mayyim Hayyim community that she helped to build at http://www.anitadiamant.com/mayyimhayyim.asp?page=mayyimhayyim). As Diamant says, she was writing when her daughter was in daycare and school. Her daughter just turned 22 earlier this month.
What I get from her encouragement is: Have the fortitude to stick something out "even to the edge of doom. " That's what sets Diamant and other passionate people a part from the pack while finding the vein of gold in the side of the mountain, as Bill Cosby used to say about The Cosby Show back in the early to mid-80s.
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