J2 Content – Perspectives

A varied collection of thoughts on education and parenting

This Aint Elementary School Anymore

Last Friday, my daughter made the jump from a K-6 elementary school into a 7-8 middle school. Her father and I did all we could to prepare her: clothes, school supplies, some summer “school work”, a number of talks about boys, peer pressure, “mean girls” and more. We made it a point to watch some…. read more

A Most unScientific Study: Your Child’s First Car

An informal survey of twelve families with school age children revealed the following results. 9 of the 12 families said they planned to assist their children with the acquisition of their first car. Of those 9, 4 expected to pass on or sell to their child a vehicle the familiy currently owned. 3 planned to…. read more

Pop Culture Required Reading

Last week, I took my kids to see Mr. Popper’s Penguins (they liked it).  During the previews, we saw this trailer… My kids laughed and became excited for the new Chipmunks movie, but I had to wonder – did the studio really expect fans of the Chipmunks to be familiar with Titanic? It turns out…. read more

Common Sense Reminders for Facebook and Other Online Interactions

This week, my daughter is heading onto the internet. She’s officially become a part of the 21st century as she set up her Facebook account today.  These are the reminders I gave her to post on her wall. They are not only applicable to Facebook but to any forum, twitter, chat room situation. 1)  Don’t…. read more

Failure As a Life Lesson

My daughter decided to try out for the high school volleyball team. She likes to play volleyball, and as a Freshman, thought it would be a good idea to get into sports. What was surprising to me was that this particular volleyball program had successfully made it to the championships several years in a row…. read more

You Can Be Anything You Want… (except that)

We like to tell children that they can be anything they want. If they want to be an astronaut, they can be that. If they want to be a fireman, they can be that. Whatever they set their eyes on, that’s achievable. It’s an adorable point of view. Too bad it isn’t true. The reality…. read more

My Daughter, the Pre-Teen Eco-Terrorist

Well, she would be, if I let her proclaim her love for Whale Wars the way she’d like to. Okay, okay… I have no idea if the FBI really does put people who donate to Sea Shephard or are active members of their support community on a terror watch list. In fact, I suspect they…. read more

Summer Vacation

The last day of school for my kids quickly approaches and with it the start of summer vacation. I love summer and I love summer vacation. Unfortunately I’m not a student, nor do I get summers off from work. As a result, the summer vacation phenomena is quite a disruption to our normal family routine. …. read more

Modern Family – “See You Next Fall”

Modern Family – “See You Next Fall” In case you don’t watch Modern Family, let me tell you that you should. In addition to being a very funny sitcom it provides a rich cross-section of family archetypes to laugh at. There’s the non-traditional gay couple who have an adopted Asian baby. There is also the…. read more

A Different Way of Learning About Historical Figures

My daughter went to school today dressed as Abigail Adams, wife of 2nd president John Adams. She, along with the rest of her 8th grade Social Studies class, walked down to the local elementary school to talk with the K-5 graders – in character. Of course the more recognizable historical figures (Abe Lincoln & George…. read more

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