I have found new inspiration for education. The other night I was in my kitchen with the radio unfortunately being drowned out by two tired girls whining (the sentence most uttered started with “I want…”). Just in the moment I was about to walk out of the kitchen to give myself a timeout (I do this quite regularly — I think I give myself more time-outs than my kids) came out of the radio the sagest words I have heard in a long time aimed straight at my girls: “You can’t always get what you want, but you can try, and you may find, you get what you need”. Genius! I could not have said it better myself. Who knew that Mick Jagger could be better parental inspiration than Gina Ford?

Then I started investigating — the world of pop and rock is full of pearls of wisdom completely applicable to small children: “You say it best when you say nothing at all” (Ronan Keating), “It’s not right, but it’s okay, you’re going to make it anyway” (Whitney Houston). I am not saying my theory is foolproof — “Baby hit me one more time” has no educational value whatsoever…

- Emilie