I’ve written a book for educators called The Best Schools: How Human Development Research Should Inform Educational Practice (publisher:  The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, December, 2006).  In this book I suggest that our educational climate has become totally overwhelmed by what I call an “academic achievement discourse.”  This discourse concentrates on accountability, rubrics,...Read More

The River of Life by Thomas Campbell (1777-1824) The more we live, more brief appear Our life’s succeeding stages; A day to childhood seems a year, And years like passing ages. The gladsome current of our youth, Ere passion yet disorders, Steals lingering like a river smooth Along its grassy borders. But as the careworn...Read More

There’s been so much in the news about anti-aging remedies from anti-wrinkle cream to human growth hormone that I just wanted to speak for the pro-aging side.  What’s wrong with aging?   I see the faces of elderly people who have decided to deny their aging with chin lifts, botox injections, and facial implants, and I...Read More

A report presented at the American Heart Association’s 8th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology suggests that college students who drink heavily may be setting themselves up for heart problems later on in life.  The research measured levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in college students who had different drinking patterns (CRP is a...Read More

When I was doing research for my book The Human Odyssey, I was surprised at how few organizations there were out there actively working to meet the developmental needs of adolescents.  With all the problems of adolescence — gang violence, eating disorders, unwanted pregnancies, STDs, depression and suicide, school drop-out, and substance abuse among others...Read More