Education

Last spring, we learned that our daughter’s school was switching to a year-round school schedule. The school would have the same amount of school days; however, it would have many breaks throughout the year, and the school year would range from the beginning of August to June. Their schedule typically had 4-5 week school session followed by one week off. Some of these weeks corresponded with traditional holidays that the parish was also off (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mardi Gras, and Spring Break), but others were not typical of school holidays, such as the week of Labor day, Halloween and Memorial Day. Initially, as a working parent, I had my concerns. I was not thrilled about the start of having to find...

Today we celebrate Earth Day! It is at least one day of the year that we spend more time focusing on taking care of this wonderful planet we live on. As a mother of 3 and former science teacher, I try and take full advantage of these type of days. Celebrating Earth Day with kids is not only easy, but so much fun! You know those sayings 'You can take the ____ out of the _____, but ____ will always be _____.' Well, the same goes for teachers. You can take us out of the school system, but there is always going to be that 'teacher' part of us that just has to teach. My kids have no choice in...

I have an above average child. She spoke early, she wrote early. She draws with detail. And she’s an absolute WHIZ at math. And while she loves being read to, reading is not a strong suit or a pleasure for her. This is our first year of “real” school, 1st grade. My husband and I went back and forth on homeschool versus public school—ultimately deciding we’d give her a year and see if public school would be beneficial for her or not. To be honest, I’m not a fan of where the school system is headed. As a daughter of two educators and daughter-in-law to another, I know where most teachers' hearts lie, but I also know where their hands...

Disclosure :: This post is sponsored by the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge. A Parent’s Guide to Raising a “Digital Native” Snapchat. Instagram. iMessage. YouTube. Fortnite. These media and gaming platforms are all part of daily life for many teenagers, readily accessible at any time, day or night, from smartphones, laptops, and other devices. A 2018 Pew Research Center survey indicated that 95% of teens have access to a smartphone. 45% reported they are online “almost constantly,” and another 44% said they are online “several times a day.” Teens reported using Snapchat (35%), YouTube (32%), and Instagram (15%) most often, and 97% of teenage boys reported playing video games (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). How has technology and media use become so...

I tried for a shorter title but nothing else worked. Basically, the world is ending in tears and brokenness and third grade is the reason. I wanted to write something after the day / week I've had. I wanted to complain and laugh at my own pain. (As you do.) So, (only half-teasing) I asked our editors how they thought folks would relate to a profanity-ridden diatribe about third grade in general because I have *so* many thoughts. However, what started out as a semi-joke evolved into a serious conversation between some of our contributors about how the expectations of school, especially at this stage, are breaking us and our children. Here are some snippets of that: #secondgradeiskillingme "The expectations are CRUSHING our...