Just Thinking…
I’ve been thinking about this little word “just”.
Caitlin Ciannella
For students choosing college, it takes a village to avoid the ‘Prestige Trap’
It was a December morning in Northern California – warm yet grey, as if ambivalent about whether it belonged to fall or winter. Cara, a senior in high school, sat across from me at the small table in her living room.
Stressed Students need SPACE to Thrive
The 10-month sprint of academic and co-curricular activities that we call the school year can overwhelm even the most well-adjusted students. In fact, high achieving
Challenge Success: A Dawson Parent’s Perspective
A parent from one of our partner school shares what she learned at our Fall Conference.
One Senior’s Reflection: Three Elements to a Meaningful Education
In June of 2018, I graduated from a small independent school in Southern California, which I attended from kindergarten through twelfth grade. My thirteen years there were a journey filled with struggle and joy, anxiety and curiosity.
And Most of All – Be Kind
What advice would you give to your 18-year-old self? When my son graduated from high school in June, I wondered what advice might
Messages Matter
I believe that what we say and how we say it matters, and that we need to provide more stories of ways that students can succeed that aren’t within the conventional norm.
Dear My Freshman Self
I recently read the letter you wrote to me, your senior self, when you were about to start high school at Menlo. You were long-winded, idealistic, and, yes, very nervous. You included two pages of motivational quotes, a long list of goals including a 4.0 GPA and a desire to start on the water polo team, and even predictions about the four years that lay ahead.
Unsolvable Love: The Final 30 Alternative Visions of Parenthood
This will be the concluding post in the “Unsolvable Love” trilogy, 30 more epigrams that endeavor to honor and respect the ever-changing, many-sided complexity of the parent-child relationship.
A New “Normal”
I recently spent time with some friends who are sending their 6thgrade son to farm school. Their son is a bright, engaged student and young person. He isn’t going to farm school because he can’t do “real” school. His parents aren’t conspiracy theorists, or off-the-grid enthusiasts, or Luddites.
Unsolvable Love: 30 More Alternative Visions of Parenthood
As I mentioned in my last Challenge Success blog post, I have taken up the challenge of trying to condense what I have learned about family life over the years into a series of aphorisms that (hopefully) illuminate in valuable ways the many fascinating facets of the parent-child relationship.
Summer Camp: A Unique Environment for Social and Emotional Learning
In fall 2015, Challenge Success launched a research-practice partnership with three northern California camps. These camps believed deeply — like many of you — that summer camp provides kids with long-term benefits and essential learning experiences, but they wanted to better understand if and how this was true.