Raising Them Bravely
The U.S. Department of Labor’s prediction that 65 percent of our children’s careers haven’t been invented yet seems even more relevant today: What will the world be like when our children step into it as adults?
Why a Low Tech School for a High Tech World: Expert Interview
We’re living in the middle of the revolution that has reshaped our world. In this episode, Tom Preston-Werner, MMS parent and founder and former CEO of GitHub, joins for a wide-ranging conversation about the role technology plays in modern life, what we should do about exposing our kids to it, and how we should go about preparing them to be agile, creators, not passive consumers. Parents sometimes wonder whether they’re disadvantaging future coders by sending them to a low-tech school. Tom’s answer might surprise you.
Choosing Your Locus of Control
A few years before his cancer diagnosis, we had a birthday party to celebrate Perry, my dad. I had a moment of awe and admiration for the joyful, fulfilling life he had created and reached. I raised a glass and said to him, “Here’s to you, Pop. Congratulations on making your dreams into reality.” Without missing a beat as he raised his glass to his lips, he said, “Better to make your reality your dreams.”
How to Build Healthy Communication Skills in the Age of the Screen
In this episode, we dive into a topic that most parents wrestle with because it’s essential and really, really hard. Communication or perhaps more accurately – healthy communication – is critical for a human being at any age to express feelings, preferences, needs and to receive those messages from others. The question is how do we as parents help our kids build strong communication skills? – always a challenge but never more so than in today’s digital world. Siri Panday, Director of Education for Toddler and Primary at Marin Montessori School, joins to share her insights and a few helpful tips for parents.
Raising Healthy Boys: A Conversation with Dr. Warren Farrell
This fall, David Brooks published an essay in The New York Times called “The Crisis of Boys and Men.” Among his provocative arguments based on some pretty sobering data points: “Many men are like what Dean Acheson said about Britain after World War II. They have lost an empire but not yet found a role.”
When it comes to raising healthy boys today, parents and educators alike are called to wrestle with some troubling and uncomfortable byproducts of seismic shifts in our culture, economy, and society. The news isn’t all bad, though, because parents and schools can do a lot to meet the needs of boys.
To paint a picture of the issue and the way forward, we spoke with Dr. Warren Farrell, author of The Boy Crisis: Why our Sons are Struggling–and What We Can Do About It. It’s a complex and worthy topic. Just a note that this episode addresses some adult topics, so it may be best to listen without the kids in the car.
A Healthy Path to High School
When your kids are young, high school may seem like a distant worry, but it comes faster than anyone would like. That’s why it’s good to have help, which is what Jamie Moffett provides students in Marin Montessori’s Junior High School. Jamie joins the podcast to discuss the transition to high school and to share her experiences with MMS students who apply to and attend independent and public high schools. She also offers a bit of practical advice for what families can do to support their adolescents.
Vital Questions & Trends in Education
Like many aspects of our society, education is in a time of transformation. On my mind specifically are six urgent questions about the future of schools in our society. Though the answers to each aren’t always obvious, understanding the context and specifics of the questions is an important first step for us all…
How to Resist a Lure
We know things in relation to other things – we know tall in comparison to short, clean in comparison to messy. So why wouldn’t we compare what our children know to some standard of what they should be learning? After all, we worry they’re falling behind or, on the flip side, take pride in their ability to achieve beyond expectations. Comparison to a standard makes almost unimpugnable sense.
How to Navigate this Digital Revolution
When I saw this New Yorker cover several years ago I could not take my eyes off of it. As we live through our society’s digital-technological revolution, it symbolized, in playful yet somewhat dystopic imagery, the heart of a concern I was feeling—and still do to some degree.
Why Do We Need This Site? A Conversation with Head of School, Sam Shapiro
One thing this world really needs is another podcast…We’re doing it anyway though because we’re looking for ways to connect with parents and educators about the stakes and opportunities we all face as we teach and raise children today.
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