Response to CDC’s “Teen Girls ‘Engulfed’ in Violence and Trauma” Report MaryAnn Harlan | February 2023 I see we are at the stage in the media narrative where we are once again worried about our girls. On Feb 13th the headline at the Washington Post declared “Teen Girls ‘engulfed’ in Violence and Trauma, the CDC finds”. I don’t
What Gangs Can Teach Us By Anthony Bernier | February 2023 Back in them bad ol’ 1990s, when we were being taught to fear anyone who “looked like” a “gangster,” I worked at an “inner city” library. We were learning the language of “zero-tolerance,”gang injunctions and enhancements, immediate suspensions, and criminalizing something we used to call
Vital Responses to “Youth Voices” How decision makers can go the extra mile by listening to those under age 18 and then take action. Community listening sessions and summits held by policymakers can provide valuable clues about systemic problems and generate pragmatic remedies. If ideas receive a perfunctory thank you and no followup discussion occurs, the
American journalists, politicians, and interest groups left to right agree: It’s okay to lie about teens. Mike Males | February 2023 Ninety-nine percent of the tens of thousands of news stories and commentaries on teenagers, suicide, and drug overdose lie. The willfully create a false impression. UCLA Health is cruder than most, posting the flat lie
Why do libraries continue to strike out with young people? Anthony Bernier | January 2023 The answer to the question why libraries strike out with young people is simple: libraries envision young people merely as information consumers, and many still believe that libraries are about books. And we wonder why young people make libraries the
Schools Squander Imperative By Adam Fletcher | January 2023 Schools are struggling, to say the least. By their own report, the US Department of Education paints a damning picture of the inability of educators and school leaders to recapture and re-institute the “good ol’ days” before the pandemic. Stories I have heard directly from teachers
Michelle Obama Blames Her Relationship Challenges On Her Young Daughters By Milo Santamaria | January 2023 I was a child in the early 2000s, which means I grew up during the Obama administration. I was eight, almost nine, years old when former president Obama was inaugurated for his first term. And I’m old enough now
Why does anyone pay attention to Jonathan Haidt? By Mike Males | January 2023 The tiresome trashing of younger generations has gone on at least since Greek poet Hesiod berated 700 BC’s “reckless” and “frivolous… youth of today” for endangering “the future of our people.” No one has said anything new in the 2,700 years
To Censor or Not to Censor?: How Libraries Can Support LGBT+ Youth. Access to accurate information has become more important than ever as US states navigate new laws criminalizing life-saving reproductive and gender-affirming care. Conservatives continue to assert that children and youth are too young to learn
Ignoring The Will Of The Voters Wendy Schaetzel Lesko | Dec 2022 | (The opinions expressed in blog posts are those of the author and not necessarily those of YouthFacts.org) ~~~~~~~~~~~ Elections are full of surprises, including squeakers. Take the recent defeat on a ballot measure in the west Los Angeles hub of film studios
