Parenting in the Age of Misinformation
We can’t bubble-wrap our kids from the digital world, but we can teach them how to navigate it.
We can’t bubble-wrap our kids from the digital world, but we can teach them how to navigate it.
Americans are reading fewer books than ever, even though books are more accessible than ever. 📚 So what’s going on? In this episode, we explore what the decline in reading means for students, teachers, and society as a whole.
Americans reported reading 12 books on average in 2022. That’s the lowest number since Gallup started polling on this in the 90s. Survey data from 2023 show nearly half of US adults didn't read—or listen to—even one book that year. It's no wonder; book reading has to compete with endless news feeds, social media sites, streaming services, and even podcasts for free time. Teachers are starting to worry about this. College professors report their incoming freshman seem unable to stick with long, complicated texts. At the high school level, teachers are taking novels off their curriculum entirely, sticking to excerpts and movie-versions of the classics.
How would our education system be different if we simply listened?
Most kids don’t choose their school—their zip code does. About 70% of U.S. students attend their assigned neighborhood public school. That means where you live determines your access to education.
Could racial and socioeconomic integration be the key to closing America’s persistent achievement gaps on standardized test scores? Milly Arbaje-Thomas is the President & CEO of METCO (The Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity) in Boston. How might school systems like METCO address rising levels of school segregation? Join the conversation with Top of Mind, anywhere you get podcasts.
Our education system was designed for a world that no longer exists. With factory bells, fixed curriculums, and outdated models, is it time to reimagine learning? On this episode of Top of Mind, Jenee Henry Wood—Chief Learning Officer at Transcend and co-author of Extraordinary Learning for All—explores how we can make education more meaningful: personalized, relevant, and purpose-driven. Listen now wherever you get podcasts.
Too many students feel like school just doesn’t fit. The problem? The system is designed to be one-size-fits-all, and real life isn’t. This North Dakota school chose to adapt to the student, and the result was a thriving young business owner doing what he loves! What would’ve changed for you if your school had done the same? Drop your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion with Top of Mind, anywhere you get podcasts.
The current state of education in America is a troubling picture. Reading proficiency scores have reached historic lows. Chronic absenteeism is on the rise—more than a quarter of K-12 students miss at least 10% of the school year. And the achievement gap in test scores between the highest and lowest performing students has widened.
More Americans use cannabis every day, or almost every day, than use alcohol on a daily basis. That's in large part because marijuana is a lot more accessible than it used to be. More than half of us live in a state where marijuana is recreationally legal. Nearly 8 in 10 live in a county with a marijuana dispensary.