Education
Take the Road Less Traveled By
“I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost, from “The Road Not Taken” A recent front page article in the New York Times re-kindled the never-extinguished fires of passion around gifted and talented (G&T) programs in New York City’s public schools. Aptly characterized as a “hornet’s…
Read MorePublic service still serves the public.
This year has been unlike any other for the School for Public and International Affairs (SPIA) and its Scholars in the Nation’s Service (SINSI) program. For almost 20 years, SINSI has guided Princeton students toward careers in public service through fellowships and internships with government agencies. But as academia and the federal workforce have…
Read MoreInsights for Navigating Adolescent Friendships
As a middle school head, I frequently hear from parents who are worried about their children’s friendships—and for good reason. Social dynamics become more complex during adolescence, and parents want to support their kids through these new challenges. The problems vary: My child was the subject of a mean group text. My daughter’s friends…
Read MoreKeep academic authority in human hands
In an otherwise insightful, hopeful, and at times even beautiful, piece in the New Yorker in April, Princeton Professor of History D. Graham Burnett makes one critical error: Compared to the rise of AI, he remarks, the Trump administration’s frightening invasions into university affairs seems like a “sideshow.” But these are not two separate problems on two parallel tracks.…
Read MoreLiberation from the Craze of Algorithms
When’s the last time you looked at a plant? I mean you felt the ridges and veins of its leaves, rubbed the scented wax on your fingers, felt how its body shaped the wind…. If you have ever really examined any representative of this wonderful group of organisms, you might understand the gravitational pull…
Read MoreThe Troubles of Boys
Millions of words have been thrown at the vexing question; what’s wrong with boys and men? Boys are comparably less successful than girls in schools. They are statistically disadvantaged in college admissions and are now the minority in medical schools and law schools. Boys and men have a four times higher suicide rate. These…
Read MoreBooks are meant to be read
Throughout high school, reading was one of my greatest loves. By immersing myself in literature, I was able to engage in a dialogue with unfamiliar voices and experiences, all while gaining deeper insights into my own identity. Upon arriving at Princeton, I carried my love of language with me. I spent hours on readings…
Read MoreRight Feelings, Right Time
The emotional life of a teenager is hard to navigate—for parents and teachers, too A review of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents by Lisa Damour For latchkey kids like me growing up in the 1980s, teenage angst was a collective character trait. Popular songs like “Don’t You (Forget…
Read MoreHow Smartphones Are Rewiring Children: The Anxious Generation Review
[Editor’s note: Our archives contain several years of excellent articles, most of which remain relevant and important to today’s young people and the adults who work with them. This one is a “Director’s Choice” that we are reposting this week.] In Jonathan Haidt’s justly acclaimed new book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of…
Read MoreSchool’s Out
Everything’s got a moral, if only you can find it. –Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland This is my story. It’s the story of a life spent in schools—as student, teacher, administrator, parent, trustee, guardian ad litem, and tutor. It’s the story of disillusion and hope. Revelation It began when I was 12 and riding…
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