Category Archives: Future of Childhood

When I was a fourth-grade teacher, a minor scandal broke out when a student—who had proudly shared his private password with several friends—logged into our school library platform to find that all of his contacts and corresponding book recommendations had been deleted. This wasn’t due to a system glitch or the accidental click of a button—instead, a nascent classroom hacker had used that freely shared password to play a practical joke on her classmate. Looking back, this incident might have…

This post was originally published on GettingSmart.com Across the United States, children are returning to school. For some, it will be their first time since March 2020. The past year and a half has been a challenging, if not devastating, disruption for families, teachers, and administrators. Now we’re all hungry for a return to normal. But at what cost? Normal, for vast numbers of American students, is not something to which we should aspire to return. For too long, our society…

For our Voices on the Future of Childhood series, we have been inviting experts to write about how we might be proactive in mapping out ideal futures for children and families—so far, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, given the vicious impacts of racism that we have all witnessed, protested, and mourned over in the past several weeks, Part 6 of this series focuses on race and racism.  We asked experts to share their perspectives on these issues…

In this series of blog posts, we asked our experts to share their perspectives on issues of race and racism and highlight the work they are doing in their respective fields. “What is your vision for the future of childhood? What are you doing in your professional capacity to achieve that vision, and/or who needs to do what to achieve that vision?” Growth mindsets challenge assumptions and spark imaginations Stanley Pierre-Louis is President and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association,…

In this series of blog posts, we asked our experts to share their perspectives on issues of race and racism and highlight the work they are doing in their respective fields. “What is your vision for the future of childhood? What are you doing in your professional capacity to achieve that vision, and/or who needs to do what to achieve that vision?” Kindness is required Rahsaan Harris, PhD, is the Chief Executive Officer for Citizens Committee for New York City.…

In this series of blog posts, we asked our experts to share their perspectives on issues of race and racism and highlight the work they are doing in their respective fields. “What is your vision for the future of childhood? What are you doing in your professional capacity to achieve that vision, and/or who needs to do what to achieve that vision?” Children’s content as a window and mirror Vicki Ariyasu is Senior Vice President, Disney Channels Worldwide Educational Resource…

In this series of blog posts, we asked our experts to share their perspectives on issues of race and racism and highlight the work they are doing in their respective fields. “What is your vision for the future of childhood? What are you doing in your professional capacity to achieve that vision, and/or who needs to do what to achieve that vision?” Authentic representations of diversity in media Mariana Díaz-Wionczek, PhD, is an independent Diversity & Inclusion and Children’s Media…

In this series of blog posts, we asked our experts to share their perspectives on issues of race and racism and highlight the work they are doing in their respective fields. “What is your vision for the future of childhood? What are you doing in your professional capacity to achieve that vision, and/or who needs to do what to achieve that vision?” Systemic racism won’t fight itself Martez E. Mott, PhD, is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Ability Group…

In this series of blog posts, we asked our experts to share their perspectives on issues of race and racism and highlight the work they are doing in their respective fields. “What is your vision for the future of childhood? What are you doing in your professional capacity to achieve that vision, and/or who needs to do what to achieve that vision?” Children should be seen, be heard, and be powerful Christy Crawford is the Director of Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education…

In this series of blog posts, we asked our experts to share their perspectives on issues of race and racism and highlight the work they are doing in their respective fields. “What is your vision for the future of childhood? What are you doing in your professional capacity to achieve that vision, and/or who needs to do what to achieve that vision?” Integration in a time of choice Pablo Miralles is a filmmaker who made the award-winning documentary “Can We…