Tag: Family & Education

The Crisis of Well-Being Among Young Adults and the Decline of Religiosity

For decades, well-being across adulthood has followed what social scientists call a “U-shaped pattern:” higher well-being in young adulthood, a dip during midlife, and increased well-being in older age. But earlier this year, the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University released troubling findings showing that there has been a complete flattening out of the left side of…


A Counterpunch to the Assault on Manliness

On a mid-October visit with my daughter and her family, my son-in-law began recounting stories from a former construction job. He spoke of end-of-day contests—monkey-bar style races, for example, in which construction workers would race across the trusses of a building using hammers instead of the hands, which lasted until one guy slipped and concussed…


Charlotte Mason’s Living Educational Philosophy Transforms Learning

Charlotte Maria Mason was born in 1842 in the village of Garth (now Bangor) in northern Wales. She was homeschooled from a young age and spent her days exploring nature and falling in love with learning. When she was orphaned at 16, she traveled to London to live with friends. There, she attended the Home…


Dear June: Sister Seeks to Mend Sibling Rift After Being Inexplicably Criticized and Ostracized

Dear June, I am the oldest of four children, and after my mother was unable, I was designated to organize family gatherings for holidays and birthdays; these celebrations were often dinners at my mother’s house. After she died in 1998, my brother bought the house, and we continued to hold celebrations there. After my mother’s…


A Valuable Money Lesson for the Kids

Don’t assume your kids are going to learn in school how to manage money well. There is a growing recognition for the need, but few children are lucky enough to learn about money matters in school. If you have kids, teaching them about money rests squarely on your shoulders. So, how are you doing with…


How to Be More Likable

We all know someone who can arrive at a party or meeting full of strangers and leave a few hours later having made several new friends. Here’s how they do it. Smile and Nod A genuine smile is a very effective nonverbal signal that lets people know you are enjoying being in their presence. Charismatic…


A Goal-Oriented Life: Consider Your Aim

What are your goals for your life? Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years, or five years? A year from now, what do you hope to have accomplished? What are you trying to achieve today? In other words: What are you aiming at? Goals Require Courage Goal-setting is something that people tend…


The Revival of Phonics May Sound Death Knell for Tyranny

I came across some good news today. The kind of news that makes me think that there’s some hope for America and its citizens. “What is this good news?” you might ask. It’s simple, really: Schools are beginning to teach phonics again. “Is that all?” I can hear you reply. “That’s not such a big…


Surprised by Hope: An Afternoon With Homesteaders

Start with a bright October sun and a blanket of blue sky. Add nearly 150 vendors and their wares, 50 speakers, and more than 5,000 participants, including several hundred children. Throw in a few dogs, some chickens and goats, enthusiastic volunteers, lots of smiles and laughter, the scent of popcorn, freshly brewed coffee, and handmade…


Dear Next Generation: The Worst of Times, the Best of Times

I was born in 1929 in an industrial blue-collar city called Holyoke in Massachusetts. It was the year when the stock market crashed. Welcome to the Great Depression. The Worst of Times Of course, the early ’30s was when massive unemployment took place and the Depression really hit. My father had a meat and grocery…