The Creativity Crisis For the first time, research shows that American creativity is declining. What went wrong—and how we can fix it. Back in 1958, Ted Schwarzrock was an 8-year-old third grader when he became one of the “Torrance kids,” a group of nearly 400 Minneapolis children who completed a series of creativity tasks newly […]
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American creativity is declining - and how to fix it
"Above all, do no harm"
by Maureen Costello Some things that happen in school are just not right. It’s not right for a six-year old boy to be handcuffed and shackled to a chair by an armed security officer because he “acted up” in school. But that’s exactly what happened at the Sarah T. Reed Elementary School, in New Orleans, […]
School Bullying: A Tragic Cost of Forced Schooling and Autocratic School Governance
by Peter Gray Let's say you are 15 years old, or 13, or 11, and for some reason--a reason over which you have no control--you have been singled out by your schoolmates as an object for scorn and humiliation. Every day at school, for you, is another day in hell. You are called "whore," "bitch," […]
Structure of schools contributes to bullying
by Laurie A. Couture I think it is a denial fantasy that the relentless verbal abuse that used to pound through the hallways of the Exeter Area Junior High in 1987 and 1988 have magically disappeared in 2010 at Cooperative Middle School. It's the same school, same hierarchical institution, same oppressive school rules, just in […]
Don't stop questioning
by Smalls Have you ever had a fully answered question from your teachers about the rules or in what the school believes in? Do they just dismiss you with a "Well you should know that!" answer? I can tell you with complete truth that i have never had any of my answers answered in a […]
Fear of youth is worse than ever, says says psychologist and TV presenter Tanya Byron
'We see children as pestilent' Adults are suffering from ephebiphobia - fear of young people - says psychologist and TV presenter Tanya Byron, and it is destroying a generation's chances. We live in a decaying age. Young people no longer respect their parents. They are rude and impatient. They frequently inhabit taverns and have no […]
Quit it with the teen trashing (in honour of teens who like using technology)
by Tabatha Southey At first I was only mildly bothered by an editorial cartoon that appeared in this paper on Monday. The cartoon showed four loutish, slovenly adolescents, three of whom were saying "Whadda you wanna do?" or "I dunno, whadda you wanna do?" and then there was a final teenager saying, "Something sedentary and […]
Seen Not Heard: How obscure security makes school suck
By James Stephenson I graduated from Virginia's public schooling system two years ago, but my memories of it are fresh. After all, my little sister is still there. Being a kid today sucks. I couldn't tell you if it sucks more or less than other generations because I wasn't a part of them. But I […]
How the New International Civil Rights Center and Museum Promotes Segregation
by Alex Koroknay-Palicz It has been 50 years since four young men sat in at a lunch counter in Greensboro to oppose segregation. But segregation still remains. The International Civil Rights Center and Museum opens this month at that site in Greensboro heralding the courageous work against segregation, but that museum needs to understand its […]
The "Zero Tolerance" Approach to Fighting in Schools
By lostincali Many school districts have recently implemented "Zero Tolerance" fighting policies. What this means varies from locality to locality, but it generally involves severe punishments for anyone involved in fighting, without regard to any details of the case. In practice this means that those who attack others and those who defend themselves are punished […]
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