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The Kid Whisperer: How to deliver a learning opportunity instead of a punishment
Dear Kid Whisperer,
As a retired elementary school teacher, I enjoy reading your column in the newspaper every weekend. I have noticed a common theme in your responses: Don’t punish students (for example by taking away their recess time) for exhibiting behaviors that are undesirable or attention seeking, but rather suggest replacement ...Read more
If Grandma can't answer your parenting question, maybe Google can
ATLANTA -- When my kids were young, I kept a stack of parenting books to consult on teething, toddler tantrums and bedtime routines. More often, however, I took my child-rearing questions to parents I met on the playground or in the neighborhood.
My own mother was no help. She had four children in proximity and always told me our early ...Read more
Lori Borgman: Fort Knox has nothing on us
I am married to Mr. Security. We have an entire plastic tub full of timers. The lights in our house never burn brighter than when we are not home.
I typically spend the day before we go out of town packing. He spends the day setting up timers and reminding me what lights I can and can’t turn on.
The lamp in the family room is off limits. It ...Read more
Your professor is also getting help from AI
ATLANTA -- The fit, 41-year-old white male lay in a hospital bed and complained about a headache.
Hal introduced himself to the Emory University nursing class gathered around his bedside. He shook a student’s hand and provided his medical history. No allergies, no surgeries. He has high blood pressure but isn’t taking any medication.
The ...Read more
Ex-etiquette: How do you get over a hurt this big?
Q. I served our country, had some serious things happen to me and just could not see through to the other side for years. I did not want to return home and met someone else. I hurt my wife and my family. That is something I live with every day, but I have no desire to reconcile. I try to take an active part in my children’s lives, but my ex ...Read more
For 10 years, this Miami nonprofit has helped prisoners find their voices as writers
MIAMI -- Leeann Parker got three things the moment she left prison after almost 20 years: a cool outfit, a hug from her 3-year-old grandson and a tote bag of new books.
Parker, who was incarcerated when her daughters were 5 and 9, said she entered Homestead Correctional Institution angry and bitter. At the end of August, with the help of a ...Read more
Jerry Zezima: A clothes call
Ever since my wife, Sue, has been out of commission with an injured hand, which required surgery and has prevented her from performing important tasks like keeping me alive, I have had a whole laundry list of things to do.
At the top is — how did you ever guess? — laundry.
For the past 46 years, I have been a basket case when it comes to ...Read more
Safe Passage workers honored for protecting Chicago students on walks to and from school
CHICAGO -- Glenda Rivera’s teenage son was shot while walking just across the street from his high school in Chicago's Hermosa neighborhood.
Rivera’s son survived. But eight years later, when her daughter enrolled in the same school, Rivera felt that she needed to do something to protect the children in her neighborhood from violence on ...Read more
On Gardening: Estrellita Scarlet stars in the pollinator garden
Last year was exciting for The Garden Guy as I became introduced to a plant called Estrellita Little Star. The name is neat to me as Estrellita actually means Little Star. While that might sound redundant it also sounds like a profound introduction: This beautiful flower is Estrellita…. Little Star. It is like Spanish and English celebrating ...Read more
City has two iconic clocks downtown. This man has been caring for them for 50 years
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Columbia’s Main Street bustles with state employees walking to lunch, students shuffling in and out of their apartments, visiting relatives, prospective hires, panhandlers, landscapers and more. Tim Sease makes sure whatever is happening, it’s happening on time.
Almost every week for the last 50 years, Sease has been at ...Read more
A guy known for fixing neighbors' homes finally gets to renovate his own
PHILADELPHIA -- Dwayne Fair has to be careful about sitting on the steps outside his North Philadelphia house.
Someone is likely to walk by and ask him for help fixing something around their home. But he loves it.
“I don’t mind helping nobody,” said Fair, 60, building manager for the union hall of Philadelphia’s largest city worker ...Read more
Kids with incarcerated parents need support, not stigma, say these siblings
MIAMI – Every Saturday morning without fail, siblings Joshua, Ava, and David Martoma used to wake up before sunrise, get dressed and pile into their mom’s car to drive down to the Federal Correctional Institution in southwest Miami-Dade to visit with their father in prison. They would often spend the ride asleep in the back seat.
The family...Read more
Nedra Rhone: Students aren't the only ones who need cellphone bans
Last week, a group of students from Decatur High School in Georgia narrowly escaped a tragedy. The students were almost hit by a car when they neglected to do one of the most important things their parents probably taught them to do — look both ways before crossing the street.
The reason? They were all looking down at their phones.
An ...Read more
It's been 60 years since LBJ made food stamps permanent to end hunger, but food insecurity is still high
PHILADELPHIA — J. Jhondi Harrell, the founder and executive director of the Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC), remembers life before food stamps.
When he was 12, his father, a long-distance truck driver, had a heart attack. That was in 1967, and the family's economic well-being plummeted as his mother became the sole provider. To help make...Read more
Erika Ettin: Don't text your ex 'Happy Birthday'
Your ex’s birthday is coming up, and you’re sitting there with your phone in hand, debating whether to send that little “Happy Birthday” text ... and, of course, which emoji to go with it. It seems harmless, right? Maybe even polite. And I get it. You want to show that you still care and remember the important things.
But, often, the ...Read more
Ask Anna: My partner is always on their phone -- am I being needy?
Dear Anna,
I'm a 29-year-old bisexual woman. My girlfriend (30) and I have been together for almost two years, and we recently moved in together. I love her deeply, but I’ve noticed that she’s always on her phone — whether we’re watching TV, having dinner or just hanging out in bed. I’ve tried to brush it off, telling myself it's no ...Read more
After saying goodbye to kids heading off to college, these parents look forward to their next chapter
CHICAGO — Ever since Chuck Blatt got divorced 14 years ago, he’s established a routine with his daughters — visits and dinners on Wednesdays, Fridays and every other weekend. But this year, it started to significantly change when both women went away to college, his youngest for her freshman year at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. ...Read more
The Kid Whisperer: How to protect your family and sanity during family gatherings
Dear Kid Whisperer,
Our 11-year-old nephew is spoiled, entitled, rude and disrespectful to both young and old family members. Family gatherings have become very stressful and tense due to him refusing to eat at certain times, refusing to greet adults, punching family members, interrupting adult conversations and generally being completely out ...Read more
Lori Borgman: AI and I will be with you in 1 moment
Whoever first coined the phrase, "It's nothing big, it's everything small," was ahead of the times.
I think about that every time I pause over AI, A1 and Al.
Depending on whether you read that sentence in serif type (letters with slabs on the end of strokes) or sans serif type (no slabs), you may or may not have read it correctly.
The first ...Read more
Ex-etiquette: Will grandson, boyfriend clash?
Q. I have lived alone since my husband’s passing six years ago. Over those six years, I have grown very close to my grandson who is now 7. When he sleeps over, he likes to sleep in my bed. I recently met a man who I care for very much and he occasionally sleeps over. My grandson has met him and seems to like him, but he has never slept over ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Jerry Zezima: A clothes call
- It's been 60 years since LBJ made food stamps permanent to end hunger, but food insecurity is still high
- For 10 years, this Miami nonprofit has helped prisoners find their voices as writers
- After saying goodbye to kids heading off to college, these parents look forward to their next chapter
- Safe Passage workers honored for protecting Chicago students on walks to and from school