Visiting author and psychologist Michael Thompson brings over 30 years of educational wisdom to our SPEAK series next week.  (His talk is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 8:30 am in the Campus Center.)  One of the leading experts on adolescent psychology, Thompson has written numerous books and given hundreds of talks to schools and other organizations.  I still vividly recall seeing him in the early 1990s when I was just starting in education; his powerful presentation on the emotional lives of boys resonated strongly with me and still informs my work with young men.  He and Dan Kindlon, who has also been a SPEAK presenter, are well known for the groundbreaking book Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys.

 

In advisories we will be exploring this topic as well.  Students will discuss whether or not they perceive any achievement difference between girls and boys, as well as whether there are biases reflected towards either gender in our current educational program.  They will look at an article which presents some interesting statistics and trends.  In the link below, Michael Thompson refers to some of the studies in his discussion of why some boys struggle in school.

 

 

 

Another visitor we are welcoming back to campus next week is Andrew Lam.  An author of both fiction and non-fiction, Mr. Lam brings a wealth of experiences as a first-generation immigrant from Viet Nam, from which his family escaped during the Fall of Saigon in 1975.   His presentations to students are humorous, insightful, and include readings from his works.  Freshmen will read Mr. Lam’s short story “Show and Tell” in their English classes, and then hear a special talk by the author next Thursday afternoon.  He will also be meeting with sophomores in Ms. Wolf-Tinsman’s and Ms. Strobridge’s classes. 

 

Mr. Lam’s books include East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres, Birds of Paradise Lost, and Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora. Several years ago he was one of the subjects of a PBS documentary series called “My Journey Home,” in which he movingly returns to the home in Viet Nam he had to flee decades before.