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May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Feb.15 2005
/ 6 Adar I, 5765
No tutoring in the tub
By
Lenore Skenazy
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Want to get your teenager out of the bathroom fast? Of course you do. So run out and buy the new SAT Vocabulary Shower Curtain.
That's right, I'm talking about a $15 clear vinyl curtain covered with big words, dictionary definitions and eventually if your kid is a normal, well-adjusted student who lives for anything other than A's tear-salted soapsuds that spell out, "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" Naturally, that is not how entrepreneur Kevin Tung sees this curtain of his. No, he says his goal is "simple, stress-free learning."
And just how stress-free is it to take a shower with Stanley Kaplan standing (metaphorically) next to you? It ain't. But in this overachieving cramfest we call the 21st century, time is a-wasting! Crank up the Mozart and crack open the books!
Tung, who calls his company Intuitive Learning (tilcoweb.com), is aiming to make sure not one moment slips by without some extra tutoring.
"Our whole concept," he says, "is to take basic household items and put education topics on them."
Basic items like, say, cereal bowls? That kind of thing?
Exactly! "A student can be eating breakfast and at the bottom of his bowl are geometry shapes and equations," enthuses Tung, who is already at work on just such an item. "If a student stares at that bowl every day for 365 days, they're bound to understand what an isosceles triangle is."
Unless, of course, by Day 23 that student has smashed the bowl, packed his bags and left a note: "Gone to make things from sticks. Back in a decade."
Now listen I, too, want the best for my kids. I want them to love to read and get good grades and graduate college and earn a living and get married and have grandchildren soon, because I had my own kids so late and I'm getting old and . . . what was I saying? Oh yes, like most parents, I, too, want my kids to ace those SATs.
But not if it means turning life into one unending homework session. I mean, what's next? Flash card toilet paper? Undies embossed with epic poems? Alphabet soup in Latin, Greek and hieroglyphics? I'd joke about plush toys teaching phonics, but those are already hugely successful!
The idea behind all these items is that kids are vessels to be filled, and the ones stuffed fullest win. But that's assuming that kids should be stuffed full of test prep. They shouldn't.
Stuffing kids full of cookie-baking works for me. Skating, doodling, dancing those are all good kid-stuffers, as is time in the tub with bubbles, not words like "bombastic," "bellicose" and "bulbous."
Tung says he did "very well" on his SATs so well that he got into Columbia. But what is he doing now? Peddling shower curtains.
Let that be a lesson.
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JWR contributor Lenore Skenazy is a columnist for The New York Daily News. Comment by clicking here.
Lenore Skenazy Archives
© 2005 NY Daily News
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