Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 431
July 18, 2016
Prof of 3rd Most Popular Class at Harvard and New Book “The Path”
Harvard Professor Michael Puett and author Christine Gross-Loh have written New York Times BestsellerThe Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life[image error].We were fortunate to interview them about what makes his class so wildly popular and what advice the Chinese philosophers can offer college freshmen, recent grads and parents, as well.
1.Michael, your class is the third most popular one on Harvard’s campus. Obviously, strong teaching is always a big reason why students sign u...
July 17, 2016
When Your College Baby Leaves Her Lovey Behind
I couldn’t look away. Her face was smooshed up against the scratched, opaque plastic, and seemed to be suffocating, for lack of air, lack of love, I don’t know, but I just left her there. I snapped the top of the storage lid into place and silently apologized to the doll.
“Come on Mom, Bayba? Really? I don’t need her.” My daughter huffed her disgust while getting ready to leave. Again. She yanked her little stuffed baby doll Bayba out of the duffel bag, tossing her onto her bed acr...
July 16, 2016
ADD and ADHD: How Parents Can Help Teens at School and Home
“Do you need to take a lap?” I quietly asked my student with ADD during my last hour class. He nodded and left the room. The students were busy taking their end of the year benchmark assessment. I noticed him staring out the classroom window as well as an increased tapping of his legs underneath the desk–behaviors that are certainly normal for any student during a lengthy testing session. However, such behaviors in students with a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD are physical signals that they may ne...
July 15, 2016
8 Things That Surprised Me the Most About Having Adult Children
I remember the day I dropped my son off for his first day of kindergarten. Once the teacher smiled politely, waved goodbye and shut the door, I rounded the corner and burst into tears. My baby boy was growing up too fast.
Fast forward to his college years. It was deja vu all over again when my husband and I hugged him goodbye and drove away from the freshman dorm that was to be his new home. Once we were out of view, I curled up in the fetal position on the passenger side of the car and cried...
July 10, 2016
10 Reasons You Should Play Pokemon GO With Your Teens and College Kids
Pokemon GO is sweeping the country sending kids, and their parents, outside for the first time this summer. But playing an app with our teens and college kids? Going back to Pokemon, a fad we were soooooooo happy to see the end of? Is this really a good idea?
Yes!
1. We thought the days of playing games with our kids were over, they are not. The only time my family plays games is in a power blac...
July 9, 2016
Instant Decision Day: College Admissions Without The Wait
One of the most excruciating aspects of the college admissions process is the long wait. Applications submitted in November or December can take four to five months to yield a reply. Parents and students, unclear about the future, can find this period very stressful. But for some college applicants there is an easier alternative. Instant Decision Day, a process that allows high school seniors or rising seniors, to apply, interview and receive an admissions decision all in a single day is an a...
July 8, 2016
My Son Just Got Married. You Have a Problem with That?
The mother of one of my son’s friends recently asked what my son was up to these days. Her daughter and my son were in the same high school crowd. Both have recently graduated from college, but have since gone their separate ways.
“Tom just got married,” I told her.
“At 22? He’s way too young,” she scoffed. “That’ll never last.”
Only my excellent manners prevented me from telling her just how rude I thought this remark was.
She took my silence for encouragement.
“Fifty percent of marriages e...
July 7, 2016
8 Classic Middle-of-the-Night Calls From College Freshmen
Your kid left for college a couple of weeks ago. You and your spouse have popped the Champagne cork and are now enjoying being empty nesters. Everything is wonderful. Then your student calls you in the middle of the night. All of a sudden things aren’t that wonderful. Roommate problems. Nothing to do on the weekend. Got a D on the first test.What to do?
First, what not do.
A big part of the college experience is for your student to learn how to become an independent and responsible adult and...
July 6, 2016
After My Divorce, Here is What My Future Won’t Be
I remember sitting at a diner with my four boys when they were about 14, 12, 8 and 2. I looked over at a small booth big enough for two and noticed a sweet little old lady sitting there quietly eating her breakfast. I said the first thing that entered my mind, which was, “Please promise me that you will never let me be the old lady sitting in a diner on a Sunday morning eating her breakfast all alone.”
They all, including their father, looked at me like I was nuts. With all the tumult and ch...
What Do My Kid’s Grades Have to Do With Me? Nothing!
There seems to be something almost pathological surrounding our intense focus on our children’s school performance.It always confounds me how many parents who were in all likelihood not “A” students themselves have an expectation that their children should and will be.
Growing up, I was encouraged to work hard in school and to try to achieve academically. At the same time, I knew that my academic success or lack of it, did not define my parents. Even though I knew that “performing well” made...
