Kids Today
Eighth-Grade Career Day Made Me Sweat
I’ll admit it. I arrived pretty unprepared for career day at my son’s middle school. I have taught for so long and spoken at so […]
Two Arrested After Conestoga Students Get Sick From Pot Brownies
A group of students at Conestoga High School got sick after eating some food laced with pot (brownies?). Police started an investigation that led them […]
Remember That Time When Philly’s Public Schools Were a Disaster?
In case you’ve forgotten that Philly’s public schools are in a state of crisis, Philadelphia Public School Notebook, WHYY/Newsworks, American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen, […]
Are We Raising America’s Most Unemployable Generation?
I do an exercise in my persuasive writing classes where the students have to write about the worst job they ever had. I’ve been doing […]
Mayor Nutter’s Fun Safe Summer PSA Basically Says “Please Don’t Flash Mob”
So, Mayor Nutter has a new Philadelphia Fun Safe Summer PSA out. He says that the city is offering more than 15,000 different ways to […]
Don’t Send Me Your Cash-Grabbing Graduation Announcement
When I graduated high school, back in the Paleozoic Era that was the ’80s, my parents did not throw me a party. In fact, they […]
New Jersey Officials Want Third Graders to Divulge Secrets on Standardized Tests
A new question included in New Jersey’s standardized tests for third graders as the students to reveal a secret and explain why it’s difficult for […]
Your Mom Doesn’t Want an iPad for Mother’s Day
I know that Mother’s Day has become a manufactured holiday, but I would be pretty hurt if my family ignored it, i.e., me. As with […]
Advice for the Class of 2012: Don’t Fear the Wienermobile
To the Class of 2012, I have a small, but memorable, piece of advice: If you’re offered the opportunity to travel the country in the […]
How College Students Can Avoid Hazing
Florida state attorney Lawson Lamar addressed reporters last week about the death of Florida A&M drum major Robert Champion, who was allegedly beaten to death […]
Tattoos Losing Rebel Status Is a Good Thing
My neighbor Joe, a longtime driver for Tastykake, isn’t a fan of tattoos. “I don’t get it,” he says. “They look cluttered and used to […]
In Post-9/11 World, the Definition of Terrorist Gets Blurry
I was half listening to the news, and they were talking about those would-be terrorists who were recently arrested, when I realized that I didn’t […]
Tattoos Are Now So Mundane That Main Line Teens Want Them
My college-aged daughter claims she has no tattoos. Just to make sure, I sneak into her room and, while she’s sleeping, peek at all the […]
The Beatles Are on Slow Fade Into Pop Culture Obscurity
You’ll have heard of the import from Britain that has redefined young folk’s relationship with music. I’m talking, of course, about Spotify, the legal music […]
Schools Have to Set Rules to Tame Sexy Prom Dresses
Note to parents: Please don’t let your teenage daughters dress like hookers. When I went to my high-school prom, I wore a bubblegum-pink Jessica McClintock […]