Articles
Opinion Pieces
Salon: How Americans’ obsession with structured playtime is stifling our kids
As the American mother of a 4-year-old girl, with a French husband, I’ve gotten a chance to see playtime from both sides of the pond. Over the years, I’ve also gained a new set of both French and American “mommy friends,” who often pepper me with questions about whether the French truly parent better, as Pamela Druckerman argues in her book “Bringing Up Bebe.”
USA Today: We’re missing a big preschool opportunity
Universal preschool has made its way into the presidential campaign, with Hillary Clinton backing more federal investment and Philadelphia’s sugary drink tax while Donald Trump suggests that “there’s nothing like starting young.”
Cognoscenti: Why Play Matters — No Matter How Old You Are
As a concept, play can feel fuzzy, or idyllic, bringing up visions of clambering through open fields or shooting marbles, 1950s style, in someone’s backyard. The idea has often been connected to a happy childhood, as if childhood and play are completely intertwined.
Cognoscenti/NPR: When Legos mean war: Are our toys too violent?
In May, a study came out in the online journal PLOS One showing that Lego sets have become increasingly violent over time. As lead researcher Christoph Bartneck found, at least 30 percent of Lego sets now contain weapons, an “exponential increase” from their start in 1949.
Education Week: We’re racing through K-12 education
It was only a bit after 6 in the morning, and I was already on the public bus to work. As a speech-language pathologist working at a high school, I had the same schedule as the students’. Often, while observing students or working with their teachers, I followed them around from class to class.
Learning About Love: How schools can better prepare students for romantic relationships
Freud argued that two things mattered most in a life: work and love. This country devotes staggering amounts of attention to education and other forms of career preparation. But what do we do to prepare young people for love?