Tag: social

Dear Mr. Dad: My wife and I have been considering the option of homeschooling our children next year. Though it seems like a great idea in some ways, I’m still a bit hesitant. Will it hurt their social development? And what about when the time comes for college applications? Can you help me sort all of this out?

Homeschooling, which used to be very rare, has been getting steadily more popular over that past few decades. Parents embrace it for many reasons. They may be unhappy with the educational choices presented to them in their area. They may want more control over what their children learn, both in terms of curriculum and philosophy.

"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." ~ Simone Weil

I am a daily meditator, which is another way of saying that I work with my own attention every day. As anyone who has ever tried to sit in quiet will attest, for as many days as I get to fall back into a deep pulsing vibration of stillness, there are the minutes of watching my mind flit from one thing to the next, repeating old fears and latching onto new anxieties. I sit, praying for a moment of quiet in the noise in my head.  And I try to remind myself, this is part of the practice too—learning about my own capacity for attention starts with witnessing it.

Parents get bombarded fairly early on regarding the importance of having their child academically ready. A young child is barely out of diapers when reality hits parents on how to help them succeed academically. Suddenly the cart in the leading toy store is filled with educational toys that teach letters, numbers, reading, colors, shapes and whatever the newest, greatest way to get our children a "leg up" academically.

We are a society that strongly values intelligence and that is usually viewed in terms of grades and achievement scores.

Many people, especially couples, have expressed their concerns about making new friends because they have relocated, married or fought with old friends. The major impediments to socializing from this random sampling are: fear of rejection, shyness, perceived lack of opportunity and confidence. As a result, many feel stressed when interacting with potential friends—this repels rather than attracts.

While good friends are healthy for us both mentally and physically, many of us tend to make ourselves sick over not having a close friend at the moment. If you want to make new friends, you have to reset your natural rhythm to first be in rhythm with yourself.