A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine suggested that I “take it easy and not sweat the small stuff” in my life. I looked at my “To Do” List and wondered what I could eliminate. Her comment made me think about a book I read this year called, “Sweating the Small Stuff: Inner-City Schools and the New Paternalism.”

I bought this book after reading an interview of the author, David Whitman, conducted by Michael Shaughnessy.

“The one little-known common factor at these schools was that they practiced a form of benevolent paternalism or what has been dubbed the “new paternalism.” All of these schools are highly-prescriptive institutions that aim not only to build students’ academic skills but to shape their character.”

I’d highly recommend the book, but to whet your appetite, read more of Michael’s interview. [http://ednews.org/articles/an-interview-with-david-whitman-on-sweating-the-small-stuff.html]

By the way, I did put stars next to the most important things on my list. I tried to accomplish them. At the end of the day my daughter asked me why I was writing things on my list and then immediately marking through them. I gave her a hug and told her that it made me feel like I had done a lot that day since more things were now “off my list.” She took the pen from me and added,

“Hugged daughter.”√