In this episode, I speak with
Heather Shumaker, the author of
It's OK to Go Up the Slide: Renegade Rules for Raising Confident and Creative Kids (TarcherPerigee, 2016). Her book offers advice to parents looking for new approaches to common problems facing their school-age children. We discuss how our perception of childhood has changed over time, the importance of acknowledging dilemmas and desires that may seem trivial from an adult perspective, and the role of modeling in teaching behaviors.
Shumaker joins
New Books in Education for the interview. To share your thoughts on the podcast, you can connect with her on Twitter at
@HeatherShumaker.
She recommends the following books for listeners interested in her work and our conversation:
The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning by Etta Kralovec and John Buell
The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing by Alfie Kohn
The Case Against Homework: How Homework Is Hurting Children and What Parents Can Do About It by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Maslish
Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk by David Elkind
Becoming the Parent You Want to Be: A Sourcebook of Strategies for the First Five Years by Laura Davis
Trevor Mattea is an educational consultant and speaker. His areas of expertise include deeper learning, parent involvement, project-based learning, and technology integration. He can be reached by email at info@trevormattea.com or on Twitter at @tsmattea.