I just received in my email box a link to a video made by the kids at Yealey Elementary School, in Florence, Kentucky, reviewing my new children’s book:  Smarts! Everybody’s Got Them. Intended for kids ages 5 to 9, the book presents Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences through pictures and words.  Each of the...Read More

My father went to medical school at McGill University in Montreal, Canada in the 1940’s at a time when there were some really distinguished physicians walking in the halls such as Hans Selye (the originator of the concept of ”stress”) and Wilder Penfield, who did a series of amazing experiments with surgery for epilepsy which...Read More

It’s a well-known fact that many authentic Persian carpets have deliberate mistakes woven into them because of the Islamic belief that only Allah is perfect, and that a perfect carpet would be an insult to Him.  The belief makes it clear that humans are innately imperfect.  Unfortunately, in our American schools, teachers often expect students...Read More

Lately, there’s been a resurgence in the ”reading wars,” which is the term used to describe the dispute between supporters of a ”phonics” or ”phonemic awareness” method for teaching reading and those who instead promote a ”whole language” approach.  This war has been going on ever since 1955 when Rudolf Flesch wrote the best-selling book...Read More

Getting students’ attention in the classroom is one of the things that teachers have to do intermittently throughout the school day:  at the start of a class, at the end of an activity where students are working in groups, and at other times besides.  Some teachers are very good at this, commanding student attention through...Read More