Nothing sounds more wholesome than kids and sports. But as legal scholar Dionne Koller illustrates youth sports have become increasingly commercial, unregulated, and competitive with companies, including private equity firms, replacing publicly-subsidized recreational programs. This highly lucrative industry profits from, among other things, clubs, camps, equipment, mega facilities, and youth sports tourism — exacting a … Continued
Are children inherently creative? What might be taken as a given is actually a relatively new notion. And, as Amy Ogata argues, it took hold in the United States under particular circumstances: driven in part by Cold War anxieties about the health of the nation, along with the desire by toy manufacturers to sell products … Continued
In recent years, the desirability of locking up millions of Americans in prison has been seriously questioned both on the left and right. It would seem, however, that domestic violence is very different than the non-violent drug offenses highlighted by critics of mass incarceration. On the face it, shouldn’t this be where police intervention and … Continued
How we remember the past appears innate: a look back to the lost innocence of childhood and adolescence, to the sounds and sensations of our early years. But historian Gary Cross says that how we remember the past, and what past we even choose to remember, has everything to do with contemporary capitalism, based on … Continued
Evidence shows that the more curious we are, the better we learn and the happier we feel. And yet much of our schooling discourages curiosity and our curiosity shrinks with time, for complex reasons. Developmental psychologist Susan Engel reflects upon what drives — and inhibits — curiosity. Resources: Susan Engel, The Hungry Mind: The Origins … Continued
Are children inherently creative? What might be taken as a given is actually a relatively new notion. And, as Amy Ogata argues, it took hold in the United States under particular circumstances: driven in part by Cold War anxieties about the health of the nation, along with the desire by toy manufacturers to sell products … Continued
