It’s hard to imagine how he did it, but in order to avoid burdening his family with difficult end of life decisions that would have ensued from his prolonged illness, my good friend Dan Scharfman died last night. As his undergraduate room mate and friend of 35 years put it,
Dr. Coleman hit the ground like a sack of potatoes and did not move. An instant before, he had been doing well enough–to my untrained eye–in the fighting portion of his brown belt test, but now he lay inertly on the floor of the ballet studio that served–on Tuesday and
Following is a gentle guide to help you determine when it is appropriate to make a comment and when it might be better to keep your thoughts to yourself. 1) “Teachers should be compensated based on the test scores of their students.” You get to remark about compensation for teachers
There is nothing more important than my child being Number One. It’s not about skills; it’s about place value. Unfortunately, I’ve been going about the business of making my child Number One all wrong. Fortunately, I now know what to do to ensure that my child is Number One from
Sometimes it seems that the stars align and I get just the information I need just when I need it. Stated another way, when the student is ready, the teacher appears. I’ve been having some trouble with my heroes lately. It turns out that one of the people whom I
One of my running buddies is, by any objective measure, absurdly successful. He is blissfully happy in his personal life with a supportive, accomplished, well-spoken wife. They are that rare couple who met young, fell hopelessly in love, have been happily married forever, and now have three adolescent children whom
Sixteen year-old Paula is unhappy at her rehabilitation facility in California. She was happier last year before ending up in treatment. She was happy when she was running away from home, getting into cars with strange adult men, staying away for days at a time, binge drinking, and using IV
Look, I’m just going to come right out and say it: Telling your child that she should work hard so that she can be Number One is just stupid. Because, by definition, only one person can be first. It’s arithmetic. As easy as–forgive me–one, two three. If your child is
Having carefully studied the ph levels of the dirt, I dug a garden plot in the yard with full sun and proper drainage. Having prepared the soil with the appropriate levels of fertilizer, I planted seeds according to the almanac, waiting for the most propitious day. The seed package said
Much is made of Malcolm Gladwell’s “Ten thousand hours,” the thoughtful insight that to achieve proficiency, the equivalent of five years of full time work is a necessary condition–if not a sufficient one. The Beatles played clubs in Hambourg for ten thousand hours before appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show;
Copyright © David Altshuler 1980 – 2024 | Miami, FL • Charlotte, NC | (305) 978-8917 | [email protected]
