Writing

Weekly notes and longer essays. Plainspoken parenting, written by a teacher.

7 Pieces in archive
Weekly Since 2024
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Newsletter · 2 min read

It's an inside job. You can't get inside.

The number one concern for American parents is their child's mental health. Here's what we actually control.

Newsletter · 2 min read

Apathy isn't a character flaw. It's armor.

When your kid shrugs at the thing they used to love, they're not telling you who they are. They're telling you what they're protecting.

Newsletter · 3 min read

I've spent years trying to fix the slow kid. I think the slow kid is trying to fix me.

Yelling at your kid to hurry up is the thing slowing your morning down. Here's the neuroscience — and a different way in.

Newsletter · 2 min read

Your kid already knows.

Every time you try to prove you're right or drive the point home, you're robbing them of the chance to draw that conclusion themselves.

Newsletter · 2 min read

Take care of your own backyard.

It took me 20 years, hundreds of students, and 3 kids to understand what my mother meant.

Newsletter · 2 min read

When they can't name it, they blame it.

There are 3,000 words for feelings in English. Our kids have access to maybe twelve. Here's what happens when the vocabulary runs out.

Newsletter · 2 min read

Autonomy grows in the space we don't occupy.

My son is batting .090 and loves baseball more than any sport in the world. The reason is his coach — and what his coach doesn't do.