6+1 Initiative

Did y'all catch this bit of controversy from the Millburn Board of Ed ?  One board member has suggested a substantial change to the way high school is organized.  Board President Michael Birnberg has suggested what he is calling a 6+1 initiative...high school students would take 6 classes instead of 7 until the AP exams in the Spring.  The last month of school would be more flexible, with possibly one intensive course of an internship. 

Opinions?  I do hate how the last few weeks of school are devoted to movie watching.   And private schools have used this approach to curb senior burn out (and bad behavior) for years, by getting seniors off campus in May.  Wonder if it would work in Millburn?

 

In the News: US Nuclear Power

One of the issues that has come up with the disaster in Japan is how to maintain older nuclear power plants.  A sociologist created this map recently and I thought it might be of interest.  Clearly, our part of the country is where older, and potentially riskier, plants are located.

How to spend $275,000

Today is the first day in the least 14 or so years that I haven't had regular child care, give or take a few transitions.  In nearly 14 years, my back of the envelope estimate is that I have spent about $275,000 on child care, ignoring taxes, summer camp, bonuses, an extra car, extra car repairs etc.!   And that's with relatively modestly-priced child care---nanny shares, au pairs, and even a neighbor. 
 
Has it been worth it?  Well, I've brought home more money than I've spent on child care, as well as socked away retirement savings, gotten health care, made friendships, and grown as a person and professional.  We've been incredibly lucky to have had nearly consistently excellent care and lovely women in our lives.  But its time for a change...

So wish me luck, healthy children and few snow days!   

A Valentine's Thought

For a glimpse of what I do during my day job, take a look at this piece I wrote for Valentine's Day.  And feel free to print it out and share it with the man in your life! 

V is for Vasectomy

Dr. Laura In the News

In case you wonder what I do in my real job, I spent part of today as an expert talking with media outlets about recent declines in the teen birth rate in the U.S. Here's one example.

US teen birth rate falls to record low

Maybe I should send the reporter a K-Y coupon?

That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week

I brought this book, That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week: Helping Disorganized Boys Succeed in School and Life, home from the library two weeks ago.  My older son took it to his room and then forgot to read it.  Seriously--can't make this stuff up.  I finally sat down yesterday to look through it myself.

I can't say the book offered any particular magical tricks, but somehow it was reassuring to recognize that problems in our home are similar in others.   The author, Ana Homayoun, offers some sound advice on competitive parenting (don't), setting goals (do), technology (reduce), and organizing notebooks, study schedules etc. (good luck!).   The part of the book that resonated with me the most  was about PDF--making sure that kids get playtime, downtime and family time. 

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On a similar topic, there is a speaker this Monday,  January 31 from 7 to 9pm at the Millburn Public Library:
“The Key to Helping Your Child Become a Responsible Self-Sufficient Achiever: Overcoming Executive Functioning Challenges” presented by Pam Milazzo, JD, BS, Ed,  ACG.

Whether or not your child has been formally diagnosed with a learning disability, the challenges you face, day in and day out, can be overwhelming. Are you sometimes stressed out, frustrated, and angry because you can’t get your child to do their homework, keep their binders and backpacks clean and organized, or even get up and out the door in time for school?  Are you anxious because your child is not becoming the self-sufficient individual you know they are capable of becoming? Are you ever worried that your child won’t be able to manage the pressures of middle school or high school, or being on their own in college? The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way – HELP IS ON THE WAY!  In this presentation, Pam Milazzo will share proven strategies that will help you to help your children become independent, self-confident and motivated achievers, embracing the uniqueness of their talents and performing to their potential as they travel through school and life.

Great schools or great parents--the Bick Effect

As of today, I've decided to coin a new term --The Bick Effect.  Millburn High School Senior Alison Bick has been named an Intel Science Finalist, an honor of truly huge proportions.  So Millburn does it again--proving the quality of the education in our town.  But wait, its really the Bick family who does it again, since Alison's older brother was also an Intel semi-finalist.  So great schools or great parents?  I assume the real answer is the mix of the two, but let's not forget that our exalted school system does well in part because of the students, and families, its working with. 


Congratulations to Alison!

Is Tiger Mothering Child Abuse?

There has been alot of media coverage of the new book by Chinese-American law professor Amy Chua, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother."  Many of you probably read her piece in the Wall Street Journal last week, "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior"describing her parenting style and experiences.  It actually made me cry. And then wonder about the experiences of some of my kids' classmates...  Just how unusual is the "take no prisoners" parenting style she describes?

Here is one criticism of Amy Chua...
while there are many others all over the net, her book is 6th in sales at Amazon.  Let's hope people are reading it for what *not* to do.

Take a look at the Demographics of Your Community

The New York Times has put together a really interesting interactive website that maps U.S. Census data at the census-tract level.  Just enter the zipcode that you want to look at, and you can zoom in and out.  Maps are available on income, education, and race/ethnicity.  I took a look at my town and found areas that had substantial declines in income over the past 10 years, and one area with a 31% increase in median income!  
Click here 
U.S. Census Mapping Project