Laurie Goldfeder
Our
Story.
Co-writers
Roberta Goldfeder, a local legend, described by her students as “the toughest, best teacher I ever had” and “master teacher” by her co-workers, survived 35 years as a fourth grade teacher and is finally, happily, sitting down.
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Laurie approached her mom about writing a book together on parenting, and thankfully she said yes. The result will change the way you look at your kids - and the way you raise them.
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They wrote in google docs from across the country, zoomed with educators and childhood experts, sent out teacher surveys, scoured rehearsal notes and report cards, and combined it all into one down to earth, funny, relatable guide that will feel like a long lunch with your two favorite mom friends.
Roberta & Laurie are putting on the final touches and look forward to sharing the book with you - stay tuned!
About Roberta.
​While raising her two young children & working full time, Mrs. Goldfeder earned a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Missouri - St. Louis. She taught 4th grade at two prestigious private elementary schools in St. Louis for a combined 35 years. And tutored for Sylvan Learning Center. She has counseled hundreds of parents on behavior & learning at school but more importantly, what to do at home. Her parent teacher conferences touched on grades but dove deep into what the child was doing vs. what they could be doing, and that is the crux of what she’d like all parents to gain - realization of the potential of every child.
Known for her love of Cardinals baseball and Hershey bars, Mrs. Goldfeder’s math class was stocked with candy bars (for multiplying the squares) and scorecards (add ‘em up). Roberta unpacks (quite literally from dozens of file boxes in the basement) decades of teaching and parenting experience and neatly piles it into this book.
Each new school year means creating a community for her students, one they live in for a vital transitional year of growth, and she spills strategies for doing so. At school, teachers are at recess and lunch, casting a 360-degree view of the kids. She encourages her readers to look at the whole child. Roberta harnesses her counseling degree, decades of teaching, and her own experience to share with her readers. She has formulated a clear picture of how to raise independent children who will become responsible, thoughtful adults.
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Roberta was born and reared in St. Louis, Missouri. Her husband, Maury, also was born in St. Louis. They have two adult children, an oxymoron, who have given them four handsome grandsons.
Since retirement, Mrs. Goldfeder can be found one of two places, usually reading: on the couch or in the sunlight.
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About Laurie.
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​Laurie is a stage manager who has worked with hundreds of performing artists, writers and directors. When in a room with writers such as Cameron Crowe, the late Tom Stoppard, and Sam Shepard, and dozens of stage and screen stars - one must embrace the calm zone, much like a parent. There’s nothing like being yelled at or bear hugged by a global movie star or playwright to prepare you for motherhood. It’s a skillset for family life. The stage manager is the literal control tower of the production, much like parenthood. Think technical director, rule enforcer, scheduler, coach, teacher, organizer and cheerleader all in one, and you have met a stage manager (and parent).
Laurie applied to one school - as her parents held their breath - Emerson College in Boston, where she earned a BFA in Production & Management, and has been working as a Stage Manager in New York City ever since. Her career directly relates to raising great kids; from encouraging a terrified movie star to come out of their dressing room, to scheduling a year’s long production, and even taking them to the doctor. She brings hilarious stories & endless life lessons from the rehearsal studio to her readers, and opens up about parenting a neurodivergent and neurotypical child in the same household. After logging hundreds of phone calls with her mom, a 4th grade teacher, this book naturally took shape, interspersed with everyday examples and solutions. She lives with her husband and two sons in New Jersey.