Parents Scene
Treat international students as you’d want to be treated
The truest measure of any civilization isn’t found in its monuments or military might, but in how it receives the stranger. I’ve been contemplating this ancient wisdom lately as I navigate courtrooms challenging Trump administration policies that affect those who come to our shores seeking knowledge or safe harbor. Beyond the legal briefs and…
Read MorePrinceton, stop using ChatGPT
It’s always interesting to hear a professor’s policy or opinions on ChatGPT. Some strictly prohibit it, some allow it with proper disclosure, and some condemn its inability to be intelligent — or even accurate. I usually don’t pay much attention to these warnings, as I and the people around me rarely use ChatGPT in lieu of…
Read MoreGetting It All Wrong
This week’s NYT Magazine features a long bit of education arcana twirled by Paul Tough, the Canadian-American author who popularized “relentless perseverance” in his bestselling book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. The aptly named Tough is not an educator or a scientist and is a college dropout, thereby diluting his authority as to…
Read MoreOne story for me, another for thee
As Ivy League undergraduate college offices release their regular admissions decisions for the class of 2029, we can expect yet another season of frantic student reaction videos, a dose of raucous enthusiasm and an atmosphere of hostile dismay. Just while students start poring over their options and coming to terms with a mix of…
Read MoreGen Z is falling short of who we were destined to become
I think for most members of my generation — the illustrious Gen Z crowd — it is a relatively common phenomenon to have a parent or other older adult turn and look at you, pleading with you to “save the world” or “be the change.” As an individual who is planning to attend law…
Read MoreAmerican kids are overmedicated
America is a lot of things: a global leader in innovation, an arms dealer, a centuries-old democracy, an abuser of human rights (sometimes). We are also a pharmacy, and if you are a toddler showing mild signs of hyperactivity, boy do we have the product for you. Meet the “focus pill.” Focus pills are stimulants intended to address attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.…
Read MorePrinceton’s role in combating the drug crisis must start on campus
Drug addiction is a public health crisis in the United States. Total overdose deaths have increased in the United States over the last two decades across all demographic groups, with about 17 percent of Americans battling a substance use disorder in the past year. These alarming statistics show just how large of a problem drug dependency has become, but there’s…
Read MoreGrowing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today: A Conversation with Joyce Cooper-Kahn
Introduction: Why Executive Functioning Matters When I interviewed Joyce Cooper-Kahn about the new edition of her book, “Late, Lost, and Unprepared: A Parents’ Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning,” she modestly credited many of her insights as a child psychologist to what she’d learned from working with her clients. One example she offered was particularly…
Read MoreEducation and the brain: On grace and development
For Coach Tommy Jones January is cold for baseball, but at this preseason practice, the team sitting, backs against the left field fence in front of our home dugout, I was as warm and shamefaced as I could be. Coach Tommy Jones, as he did before every practice, told us a story about life…
Read More3 Helpful Scripts for Teachers with Anxious, Perfectionist Students
After “the craziest admissions season ever” last year, and as we head into what will surely be another highly competitive cycle, high school students are understandably increasingly anxious about their academics. I’ve witnessed this firsthand during my years teaching high school and middle school—seeing students vibrating from the stress and barely holding it together,…
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