By Anne Holmquist If you were presented with the opportunity to instill one, and only one, quality in your children, what would it be? Perhaps, like Solomon of old, you would be tempted to choose something like a long life, or great wealth, or even…
By Annie Holmquist Whether it’s for something as serious as cancer or as routine as a kidney stone, no one likes to hear that they have to go under the surgical knife. But such unhappy news is often lightened once a patient has the chance to…
By Annie Holmquist Growing up, I never got into stories with knights and fair maidens. Walking around in princess dresses while imagining I was trapped in a castle by a vicious dragon? Not interested. But give me a sunbonnet and braid my hair and I…
By Annie Holmquist I recently dug up a 1908 curriculum manual in the Minnesota Historical Society archives. It provided instructions on everything from teacher deportment to recommended literature lists for various grades. As a book lover, I was especially interested in the latter! With the exception of…
By Annie Holmquist It’s telling of our times when Americans have to be told to do the simplest of tasks. It’s also telling when they have to be told how to do that same task. Such is the case with a back to school memo…
By Annie Holmquist The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017 was met with a variety of responses by schools across the country. Some announced they would close for the day for fear that the children under their care would accidentally look at the sun and encounter eye…
By Annie Holmquist I recently stumbled upon an interesting tidbit out of Green Bay. According to local news station WBAY, a number of inmates at a nearby prison have taken up a new hobby: knitting. I initially raised my eyebrows over this piece of information, but…
School District Nixes Homework for Thousands of Students as Expert Says It’s Basically Useless By Annie Holmquist The anti-homework trend is growing. It started with the teacher from Texas who banned homework from her second grade class, encouraging families to spend time reading, playing, and…
By Annie Holmquist Late last summer, Texas teacher Brandy Young made internet waves when she sent a note about homework to the parents of her students. Instead of the normal spend-30-minutes-a-day-on-homework command that parents normally hear, Mrs. Young’s note informed them that she would not be giving…
