American Teacher Film Premiere: Review, Media Roundup

Oct. 11, 2011 American Teacher premiered in San Francisco this week, and I found myself pre-qualifying industry colleagues to see who had a macro lens to cover the screening in my absence, with questions like: “Have you seen other ed policy films like The Cartel movie about corruption and misuse of funds in public education? Or Race to Nowhere about the testing frenzy and … [Read more...]

What’s With 8th Grade Proms & Glamorama Tween Diva-ization?

April 3, 2009 “Myths & Realities of Eighth Grade Graduation/Dance: Students may wear something nicer than normal school clothes. However, we strongly discourage formal dresses and tuxedos.” Well, it’s too late for April Fool’s, so I’m guessing this very surreal statement is indicative of the point being made in Newsweek’s recent article, “Are we turning our tweens into … [Read more...]

Kids, See How You’re Smart: Use Your Intelligence(s!)

There’s nothing more heart-wrenching to me than a child self-critical of his or her brainpower, tossing off statements about ‘the smart kids” while excluding themselves from this tribe. I see this often in my work at Shaping Youth, and it’s painful to observe, much less ‘counter-market’ because media and classroom ideals often reinforce this type of self-selection. On … [Read more...]