One of the real perks to living in NYC is being able to give our children access to so many different people and ideas.  While most of the time these interactions flow smoothly with benefits all around, every once in a while there is friction.  Not necessarily so much friction among the children, but rather among parents and the childrearing ideas that we hold dear to our hearts.   For instance, I have discovered that I am a fairly relaxed parent, who tries not to say “no” just for the sake of saying “no.”  I firmly believe that my child should have the chance to experience life through his own interactions and experiments with the world, not mine.  I am the parent that makes others shudder because I allow my son to lick rocks, put sticks in his mouth (indoors no less), and balance precariously on the furniture. (more…)

Do you know what New York City high school recently made the top 10 in “America’s Best High Schools,” published by U.S. News and World Report?

It’s not a traditional powerhouse like Stuyvesant High School (#31) or Bronx Science (#58).

It has a specific theme, but it’s not the High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies (#52), New Explorations Science, Technology, and Math School (#64), or the High School for Law and Public Service (#75).

To enroll, you don’t have to take the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), so it’s not Staten Island Tech (#34) or Brooklyn Tech (#63). (more…)

I was recently quoted in the New York Post substantiating the increase in homework that most parents have seen in the last generational shift.  A pediatric ophthalmologist had expressed his sense that all of the reading and homework our kids get these days could be making them myopic, especially in particularly intense academic climates.

My first response was to think that we need to reduce kids’ seemingly incessant “screen time,” as opposed to their “book time,” which my colleagues explored in last week’s post, Nearsightedness and Competitive NYC Schools.  Over the last week, however, I’ve been stuck on this popular notion that we are overloading our kids with homework.  In this idea, we are dangerously close to coming out against a certain developmental rigor that is crucial for our children’s development.  We have all become familiar with the refrain that we should “let them have their childhood,” but if we’re talking about replacing books and academic challenges with a bag of chips and a 50” screen, I’m declining.

As adults with a certain amount of life experience, we know that few things come easily.  We know one has to work hard for the things worth having, and in the process one builds the skills and wisdom to manage the fruits of those efforts.   (more…)

We were recently quoted in a New York Post article about the development of nearsightedness in students who go to the competitive schools in New York.  A pediatric ophthalmologist on the Upper East Side was interviewed about his assertion that there is a correlation between myopia and attending NYC private schools.  He expressed the opinion that kids in these schools are at increased risk for the condition due to the volume of reading and homework.

Partners With Parents Tutoring Service was contacted by the journalist to offer our expertise about the amount of homework students receive in New York independent and highly-selective public schools.  Essentially, our quote was that over the past decade we have seen a trend towards heavier homework loads. (more…)