Posts Tagged With ‘ Education ’

On Thursday, I put my ballot in a nearby drop box. Fortunately, there weren’t any Right-wing election deniers with guns standing nearby as has been reported in some areas of the country. It’s really important for people to vote in the upcoming election. Right-wing fanatics are on the ballot in every state including running for secretary of state, the job in many states that oversees elections. It’s so disappointing to me that Republicans have evolved into a party that needs to cheat and lie in order to win. Scurrilous ads, gerrymandering, and outright hate speech are now the... Continue Reading

Michelle Singletary, financial writer for The Washington Post, has been recommending buying Series I Bonds for months now. Singletary says for investors with money to spare and who are looking for safety, inflation has been good for Series I Bonds, which the Treasury Department announced will be paying 9.62 percent until the end of October. So, I thought I’d try it. I was apprehensive because I’d read so much about how clunky the TreasuryDirect.gov website is. Buyers are advised to have all the needed information at hand when they set up an account: your Social Security number, bank... Continue Reading

Larry F. Waldman, PhD, ABPP Clinical, Forensic Psychologist When I began counseling parents in the early 70’s, then as a school psychologist, it was often necessary to warn of the harmful effects of spanking and/or paddling as a common discipline method. Today, the pendulum has swung to the other extreme, as parents are not effectively addressing their children’s inappropriate behavior. Behavioral parenting theory is founded on the premise that the child learns to behave and function according to the consequences of their actions. Therefore, parents are encouraged to objectively observe the... Continue Reading

By Larry F. Waldman, PhD, ABPP Psychologist, Trainer   Resistance training (weight lifting) is far more popular than yoga. It is rare, especially among men, to find people who do both. Having spent thousands of hours in the gym for the past 50 years and a hundred hours on a yoga mat this past decade, it is unfortunately clear that many male lifters consider yoga to be primarily for women and not for “musclemen.” They are misinformed. Hoisting iron will build strength and improve bone density, which is certainly desirable, but it does little for aerobic conditioning, flexibility and balance—part... Continue Reading

There are so many things we do throughout the day that we don’t even realize have a “scientific” explanation.  Some of these things we do on a day to day basis, while others may be less common tasks.  Other times are planned just to create a learning experience for the kids.  Today we did a Science experiment cleaning  coins with the kids. Have you stopped to wonder why some of the cleaning products work the way they do?  Do you take for granted that they just work?   (When it comes to cleaning I think I get taken for granted….anyone got an Amen?  Just kidding…I love being a StayAtHomeMimi) ... Continue Reading

A major revelation to me from the current virus is the sad state of our digital system. Because many of us are house-bound, we are using the Internet more often for information, entertainment and socialization. Presumably due to this significantly increased demand, I regularly experience sites that don’t work, buttons that don’t function, pages that freeze or disappear, and everyone’s favorite, the dead-end loop. If my toaster, washing machine or car, even under heavy use, operated in this inconsistent manner, I would return it. Another digital issue that has frustrated me for years but under... Continue Reading

As an experienced clinical child psychologist, I believe the ultimate goal of any parent is to rear an independent and responsible child. While at first glance this may appear obvious, if we observe most parents in action on a day-to-day basis, it becomes evident that many parents have no idea how to achieve this objective. Most parents never take a course on parenting or even read a book or two on the topic.  Ask many parents, “How do you foster independence and responsibility in your child?” and you are likely to get a blank stare. Our nation’s future rests in the hands... Continue Reading

Schools today are required to provide more services than ever before.  For example, many schools across the nation offer a free hot breakfast and lunch to students.  Some schools serve as a community mental health center and some even supply medical services to the neighborhood. One service I believe schools can and should provide is parenting training.  Most parents struggle with disciplining and managing their children.  Parents, unfortunately, have no training or guidance in one of the most important things an adult can do—raise an independent, responsible child.  Schools are perfectly... Continue Reading

The parent-teacher conference can be an efficient tool to communicate with your child’s teacher.  Below are a few tips on how to make that meeting more productive: 1)  Show up:  My wife, now retired from teaching fourth grade for 28 years, often said that the parents with whom she most needed to talk rarely scheduled a conference. Children perform best in school when their parents are involved in their kid’s education. 2)  Come with a positive attitude.  Parents should recognize that most teachers are hard-working, caring educational professionals who toil for little pay.  Complaining,... Continue Reading