Category: Tatnall School

  • Is social media turning our hearts to stone?

    Is social media turning our hearts to stone?

    As global digital participation grows, our ability to connect emotionally may be shifting. Social media has connected people across continents, but it also reshapes how we perceive and respond to others’ emotions, especially among youth. 

    Empathy is the ability to understand and share another’s feelings, helping to build connections and support. It’s about stepping into someone else’s shoes, listening and making them feel understood.

    While platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X offer tools for global connection, they may also be changing the way we experience empathy.

    Social media’s strength lies in its speed and reach. Instant sharing allows users to engage with people from different backgrounds, participate in global conversations and discover social causes. But it also comes with downsides. 

    “People aren’t doing research for themselves,” says Marc Scott, the diversity, equity and community coordinator at the Tatnall School, the private high school that I attend in the U.S. state of Delaware. “They see one thing and take it for fact.”

    Communicating in a two-dimensional world

    That kind of surface-level engagement can harm emotional understanding. The lack of facial expressions, body language and tone — key elements of in-person conversation — makes it harder to gauge emotion online. This often leads to misunderstandings, or worse, emotional detachment.

    In a world where users often post only curated highlights, online personas may appear more polished than real life. “Someone can have a large following,” Scott said. “But that’s just one person. They don’t represent the whole group.” 

    Tijen Pyle teaches advanced placement psychology at the Tatnall School. He pointed out how social media can amplify global polarization. 

    “When you’re in a group with similar ideas, you tend to feel stronger about those opinions,” he said. “Social media algorithms cater your content to your interests and you only see what you agree with.” 

    This selective exposure limits empathy by reducing understanding of differing perspectives. The disconnect can reinforce stereotypes and limit meaningful emotional connection.

    Over exposure to media

    Compounding the problem is “compassion fatigue” — when constant exposure to suffering online dulls our emotional response. Videos of crisis after crisis can overwhelm users, turning tragedy into background noise in an endless scroll.

    A widely cited study published in the journal Psychiatric Science in 2013 examined the effects of exposure to media related to the 9/11 attacks and the Iraq War. The study led by Roxanne Cohen Silver, found that vicariously experienced events, such as watching graphic media images, can lead to collective trauma.

    Yet not all emotional connection is lost. Online spaces have also created powerful support systems — from mental health communities to social justice movements. These spaces offer users a chance to share personal stories, uplift one another and build solidarity across borders. “It depends on how you use it,” Scott said.

    Many experts agree that digital empathy must be cultivated intentionally. According to a 2025 Pew Research Center study, nearly half of U.S. teens believe that social media platforms have a mostly negative effect on people their age, a significant increase from 32% in 2022. This growing concern underscores the complex nature of online interactions, where the potential for connection coexists with the risk of unkindness and emotional detachment. ​

    So how do we preserve empathy in a digital world? It starts with awareness. Engaging critically with content, seeking out diverse viewpoints and taking breaks from the algorithm can help. “Social media can expand your perspectives — but it can also trap you in a single mindset,” Scott said. 

    I initially started thinking about this topic when I was having the same conversations with different people and feeling a sense of ignorance. It wasn’t that they didn’t care — it was like they didn’t know how to care. 

    The way they responded to serious topics felt cold or disconnected, almost like they were watching a video instead of talking to a real person. 

    That made me wonder: has social media changed the way we understand and react to emotions?

    Ultimately, social media isn’t inherently good or bad for empathy. It’s a tool. And like any tool, its impact depends on how we use it. If we use it thoughtfully, we can ensure empathy continues to grow, even in a world dominated by screens.

    Questions to consider:

    1. What is empathy and why is it important?

    2. How can too much time spent on social media dull our emotional response?

    2. How do you know if you have spent too much time on social media? 

     

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  • And the winners are…

    And the winners are…

    The judges in the 17th News Decoder Storytelling Competition chose as winners articles by students from The Hewitt School and The Tatnall School in the United States and Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich in Switzerland. 

    The entries tackled serious issues such as grade inflation, the local impacts of an international conference, demographic changes at universities, cell phones in classes, nepotism and the loss of languages to climate change.

    First Prize went to Stella Petersen of The Tatnall School in the U.S. state of Delaware for “Eliminating grade inflation isn’t as easy as ABC”, an article that considers whether letter or numerical grades on assignments are the best measure of student achievement. 

    One judge noted that the story was different from the others in the contest and well sourced. Another judge wrote: “This topic of grade inflation is an up-and-coming relevant conversation even across colleges around the country, and so many implications were considered here. The nuance in this article is marvellously impressive.”

    And for second place…

    Tying for Second Prize were Sophie De Lavendeyra of The Hewitt School in New York City and the team of Lennox Huisman and Maximilian Wunderli from Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich. 

    De Lavendeyra’s article, “Universities struggle with the speed of demographic change“, tackled the struggle of a university to meet the needs of a rapidly-changing student body. 

    In “When world leaders descend on your town”, Huisman and Wunderli looked at how the town and inhabitants of Davos, Switzerland are affected each year by the hordes of people who arrive for the World Economic Forum. Of the story, one judge wrote: “This was BY FAR my personal favorite in this storytelling contest. It grabbed at what really matters in journalism: How real-world, normal people are affected by big players attending the World Economic Forum.”

    The caliber of the entries as a whole was impressive. That can be seen in the fact that the judges had a particularly difficult time with the Third Prize winner — they ended with a four-way tie: Yi Le Low of Realgymasium Rämibühl won for “As fans flock to women’s football, pay stays out of play”; and from Tatnall, the third-place winners were Charles Norris for “Are smartphones at school all bad?”; Chloe Abel for “Should getting ahead depend on who you know?” and Simone Bessong for “Silencing voices by banning books“.

    The winners were selected by a three-person jury that included John West, a News Decoder correspondent based in Paris; ​Chloé Pété, a project officer for the international nonprofit organization Media & Learning Association; and ​Kaja Andrić, ​a former​ News Decoder intern and a journalism student at New York University.

    Judging student stories by professional standards

    The judges used the following criteria to rank the stories: whether the topic was fresh, different or timely; whether the student interviewed anyone for the story; whether the student reported the story without bias; whether the student considered different perspectives and finally the judge’s own subjective assessment. 

    Besides the winning entries, student Arya Sharma from VIBGYOR High NIBM in Pune, India won honorable mention for a story about how climate change can result in the extinction of human languages because of forced migration. One judge wrote: “This is my favourite story. I loved the topic, the style.”

    News Decoder Educational News Director Marcy Burstiner was particularly impressed by the challenging topics students took on. “There was such a great diversity of story topics,” she said. “It shows how curious students are about all kinds of things. They are questioning what they see around them and what they read.”

    It can’t be overstated how difficult a challenge the students were given, Burstiner said. Not only did they have to come up with an original topic to investigate, they need to find credible sources for their information and, at least for all the prize winners, they found experts to interview, and incorporated quotes from these people into their interviews.

    “Imagine, here you have a high school student asking a professional to set aside time to answer their questions for a story that will be published,” Burstiner said. “That is a difficult thing for professional journalists to do.”

    How the contest works

    The contest is held two times a year in honor of the late Arch Roberts Jr., who served with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna after more than 12 years as a staff member with the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. With the backing of an anonymous donor, News Decoder was able to award a total of $850 in cash prizes to this year’s winners.

    The entries came from students across News Decoder’s network of school partners. 

    To be considered for the contest, an entry must have been written by one or more students enrolled in a News Decoder partner institution. Students from nine schools in seven countries submitted articles to this iteration of the Storytelling Contest. Learn more about News Decoder’s school partnership program.

    Read the contest winners here:

    First Prize

    Eliminating grade inflation isn’t as easy as ABC

    Second Prize

    Universities struggle with the speed of demographic change

    When world leaders descend on your town

    Third Prize

    Are smartphones at schools all bad?

    Silencing voices by banning books

    Should getting ahead depend on who you know?

    As fans flock to women’s football, pay stays out of play

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  • Eliminating grade inflation isn’t as easy as ABC

    Eliminating grade inflation isn’t as easy as ABC

    A perfect grade point average isn’t what it used to be. As grade inflation continues worldwide, more students are earning top marks, but it isn’t always deserved. Critics argue that inflated grades make it harder to distinguish truly exceptional students, while supporters say they reduce stress and improve confidence. 

    From high schools in the United States to universities in Europe, the debate over grade inflation is shaping education systems and college admissions. But is this trend helping students succeed, or is it setting them up for failure?

    Grade inflation is the trend of rising student grades over time without a corresponding increase in academic achievement, often making higher grades less reflective of actual learning or ability. 

    High school is meant to prepare students for higher education, but with grade inflation, many students feel unprepared. 

    Take high school senior Ruby Schwelm. “As a student who has dealt with inflation, I’ve noticed I don’t receive grades and feedback that reflect my actual understanding of the content,” Schwelm said. “I feel like I’m just going through the motions of my courses, completing assignments without really engaging with the material. This makes it hard to track progress, see where I need improvement and feel prepared for college.”

    The rising GPA

    According to a study by ACT, a non-profit organization that runs one of two standardized tests used in the United States used for college admissions, the average adjusted grade point average (GPA) of students in the United States has risen from 3.17 in 2010 to 3.36 in 2021. 

    The report said that grade inflation “calls into question the degree to which we should rely on grades to measure academic achievement or predict future grades.” This shift challenges the typical role of grades as a reliable measure of knowledge, starting a debate over whether they still hold value in measuring students’ abilities.  

    Many educators believe that the shift in grading has led to a lack of rigor and academic accountability. Josh Hsu, a high school English teacher at the Tatnall School in Wilmington, Delaware where I go to high school, said that many students now equate a C with failure, despite it being historically recognized as an average grade.

    “There seems to be a threshold of how low grades will go, and that bar gets pushed higher and higher,” Hsu said.

    This trend has caused concern among educators who feel that the traditional grading system no longer differentiates students based on their academic performance. 

    “What does an A mean if everybody has an A, right?” Hsu said. 

    The psychological effects of grade inflation

    Proponents of grade inflation argue that it helps students maintain self-confidence and reduces academic stress. 

    Sara Gartland, a high school math teacher at the Tatnall School and adjunct professor at the University of Delaware School of Education, said that “there’s a lot of tension in what a grade is.” 

    She worries that students today see grades as a measure of their worth rather than as a tool for learning. Grades should function as a feedback loop between teachers and students rather than a rigid measure of success, Gartland said. 

    She also emphasized the importance of second chances. “I tend to see that really what students are looking for is, ‘Do I have a second chance if today is not my best day?’,” she said. 

    This perspective aligns with educational philosophies that prioritize mastery over memorization. Many teachers now allow students the opportunity to make corrections and retake assessments to make sure that students truly understand the material, which can also lift the burden of test stress off of students. 

    Elevated grades and equity

    While grade inflation is happening across the country, there have been concerns over whether grade inflation is proportionally impacting students of different incomes and communities. 

    Hsu said that parents of students in private schools often expect their children to earn high grades to get into a top college in return for the price of tuition. While this belief may lead people to assume that wealthier students have proportionately higher grades than lower-income students, this actually is not the case. 

    The ACT’s study shows that the average GPA of students in a household with an income of under $36,000 a year has grown much faster than the GPA of students in a household with an income of $100,000 from 2012 to 2021. This could be due to teachers inadvertently trying to give a break to students from low-income families to try and level the playing field. 

    Gartland argues that teachers should provide students with the tools they need for success and take into consideration things that may impact a student’s performance outside of the classroom. 

    “That [grade on a test] doesn’t necessarily take into consideration your drive to school that day, whether or not you forgot your lunch that day, or let’s say you had a particularly exciting life event or a particularly upsetting life event, and you didn’t get to spend the amount of time studying that other students did, all sorts of other things,” she said. 

    With this mindset in education, students are being treated with equity, allowing them the opportunity to experience the same academic success, even if there are barriers in their way. 

    Global patterns in how students are graded

    While the issue of grade inflation is often discussed in the context of schools in the United States, grade inflation is a global issue. A 2024 study, by researchers at the College of New Jersey, found that many countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada have all experienced rising average grades over time. 

    However, the extent of grade inflation varies from country to country. Australia, for example, maintains relatively strict grading standards through the use of relative grading and limited reliance on student achievement.

    This study also showed that there are many differences in grading practices from region to region. In the United States, professors were significantly more likely to use curved grading, a practice strongly associated with grade inflation. 

    In contrast, educators in Europe and the South Pacific gave lower average grades and curved fewer grades, suggesting a more conservative approach to grading. Asian countries showed grading patterns similar to the United States, with higher usage of grade curves and slightly elevated grade averages.

    These disparities have real implications. Grade inflation complicates international admissions, making it harder to fairly compare students from different educational systems. 

    It can also distort hiring practices. The international study on grade inflation found that in Sweden, students from schools with inflated grades were shown to earn up to 5% more than peers with equivalent abilities. Ultimately, when grades become inflated, they lose their value as an objective measure of performance, creating global challenges in education, employment, and equity. 

    A shift in college admissions 

    As I went through the process of applying to college, I learned from my college counselors how grade inflation has affected the college admissions process. As grade inflation rises, colleges and employers are shifting their focus away from GPAs and toward other indications of student potential. Admissions officers are increasingly looking at extracurricular activities, personal essays and recommendation letters to evaluate applicants.

    According to a report by the group FairTest, which works for equity in educational assessments, standardized tests, which once served as a counterbalance to inflated grades, are also becoming optional at many colleges and universities, further complicating the process of evaluating students.

    Hsu said he worries that without clear academic standards, the education system could lose its credibility. “If you don’t have a set of standards, then it just becomes the Wild West, and then you have everyone getting A’s and B’s and you have students with GPAs that they didn’t earn,” he said.

    Employers, too, are placing greater emphasis on internships and real-world experience rather than assuming high grades equate to a strong work ethic and mastery of material. 

    With the recent trends of grade inflation, we can expect the average GPAs of students across the country to continue to rise. Hsu worries some students have become lazier in recent years. This raises concerns about how this will impact the future of education and if students will be prepared for life post-graduation.

    “Everyone wants instant gratification now,” Hsu said. “They don’t want to work at things as hard because if they have challenges, they’re not willing to stumble through those challenges or fight through them.”

    Questions to consider:

    • What is meant by grade inflation?

    • How can student achievement be measured without letter or number grades?

    • Do you think that getting an A on an assignment should be difficult? Why?

     

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  • To combat obesity, let’s change how we measure ourselves

    To combat obesity, let’s change how we measure ourselves

    When Mary Garrett was a child, kids walked to school and played outside after school. But today is a different world. Now Garrett worries about the lifestyles of the children she sees at the Tatnall School, in the U.S. state of Delaware, where she is a nurse. 

    “I don’t think kids have that kind of opportunity anymore,” she said. “I think the lifestyle changes, even having fewer sidewalks, like the neighborhood we live in now doesn’t have sidewalks.” 

    Kids, she said, don’t have that flexibility and freedom anymore. And that could be a big reason that so many young people are overweight.

    According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), 1 in 6 children ages 2-19 in the United States are classified as overweight, while 1 in 5 children are diagnosed with obesity. Severe obesity has also increased from 7.7% of the population to 9.7% in two years. On the global scale, obesity has similarly skyrocketed. 

    The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that obesity has more than doubled in adults since 1990 and more than quadrupled in adolescents. 

    According to the WHO, in 2022, 2.5 billion adults were overweight. 37 million children under the age of 5 are classified as overweight. 

    Changing the way we measure weight

    Many factors contribute to obesity, such as genetics, types and amount of food and drink consumed, physical activity, sleep habits and access to necessities like areas to exercise and food. Nurse Garrett concludes that two key factors are physical activity and the rising convenience and prevalence of processed snacks. As the rise of a more sedentary lifestyle, for instance, not walking to school, becomes more popular, the need to spend time outdoors engaging in activity becomes even more critical. 

    In a report published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal, a group of 58 experts are recommending that obesity should no longer be defined by a BMI, or body mass index that is calculated according to height and weight, but by a combination of measurements, including waist circumference and evidence of health issues.

    The new classification for BMI makes it easier to determine obesity, which begins to tackle the issue of where obesity stems from and how to prevent it in children as young as age two.

    The NIH defines being obese as “a person whose weight is higher than what is considered to be a normal weight for a given height is described as being overweight or having obesity.” 

    However, Garrett said that that definition is not that simple. “BMI was actually based on a white man’s profile. So it doesn’t take into account females versus males, Latino versus white,” Garrett said.

    Yet, obesity is not restricted to one demographic. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the prevalence of severe obesity is 9.4% higher in women than in men in the United States, while it is significantly lower in adults with at least a bachelor’s degree.

    Keeping kids healthy

    Access to nutritional food, outdoor spaces in which to exercise, and unhealthy sleep habits are a global concern, particularly in developing countries. Wilmington, Delaware, is no exception. Doctors calculate a person’s weight status from a young age, beginning with a child’s pediatrician.

    The weight of a child is calculated based on comparison with other same-age and same-sex children using charts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The subject of obesity and living a healthy lifestyle is a critical conversation for parents to have as they raise the next generation.

    There are an endless number of factors that can lead to a person being overweight or being diagnosed with obesity. 

    The NIH says that genetics and medical conditions, two variables outside of anyone’s control, can make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight. Obesity can also increase the risk of health problems like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Yet, there are modern societal factors besides just potato chips and soda that have emerged that play a large role in the rising rate of obesity in the United States. 

    Garrett sees kids eating processed foods a lot. “I think there’s also changes in our food and eating habits that could have an impact,” she said. “I think a lot of our food choices have been impacted by marketing.” 

    Pushing junk food

    A rise in advertising for processed foods on television, which the overwhelming majority of children have access to in the United States, contributes to this. 

    Researchers at the University of Ottawa in 2021 found that on average, children see approximately 1,000 food-related advertisements on television each year. Yet, can you remember the last time you saw an ad for a salad, or maybe grilled salmon with vegetables? Probably not. But it’s likely you saw a Burger King ad in the past day, maybe even twice or more a day. 

    Most advertised products boast organic ingredients or appeal to certain dietary plans. Garrett, on the other hand, questions whether a vegan and gluten-free protein bar is healthier than simply making a peanut butter sandwich on homemade or whole bread. 

    This poses the question: What role are parents playing in a child’s view of what is healthy and what isn’t?

    Kids can’t be expected to be well-versed in healthy choices from the moment they are born. It is up to the parents or guardians to educate and provide an example for children as they learn to make their own choices. 

    Tackling family obesity

    Globally, there is a clear relationship between parent and child obesity. In a study published in 2021, researchers from Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine in South Korea found that children with overweight or obese parents are 1.97 times more likely to be overweight or obese than peers with healthy-weight parents.

    Garrett is a parent and believes that a lack of education could be one of the reasons why so many parents struggle to properly educate their children on healthy choices. 

    “I don’t think we learn enough about nutrition and guidance for families to best raise their children as healthy eaters and healthy people,” Garrett said. She pointed to the ‘MyPlate’ symbol created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to showcase the five food groups and how much of each should be consumed at each meal. “I’m not really sure that the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] is always giving us the most comprehensive healthy information,” she said.

    What we need, she said, is to teach more about nutrition. When giving students guidance on what healthy eating looks like, as well as educating parents on nutritional components, a healthy diet is sure to be an easy skill to master. 

    Another flaw with how we define obesity is its lack of incorporation of athletes. Researchers in Australia in 2018 found that athletes, or those who train daily for a specific sport, have a significantly lower BMI than the average person. 

    Weight differs from person to person

    Garrett said that the absence of a clearly specified description of BMI for athletes can pose many types of problems.

    “You could put an athlete who weighs, I’m just making this up, but say 5’10” weighs 160 next to another person who’s 5’10” and weighs 140 and their BMI could be the same, but the athlete is more muscle and the other person is perhaps more fat,” Garrett said. 

    This explains what many athletes struggle with: knowing what is healthy when performing and exercising at a high level.  Two teens may have a similar height and weight, but one may be a top-notch athlete who practices their sport for up to three hours a day. This difference completely changes what the USDA or other medical resources may say about appropriate nutrition. 

    This factor, which includes many school-age children who participate in school or club sports, adds another layer to the question of whether the body mass index is a good way to measure obesity and being overweight or not. 

    As a distance runner since the sixth grade, proper fueling has long been a topic of both interest and necessity for me. However, with the rise of ads for different processed foods and fitness influencers online, I began to question my own relationship with food. Was what I was eating healthy enough? Would eating less make me faster?

    Food and health

    Food not only provides for your body physically, but also mentally. A positive relationship with nutrition has long been something I have worked on achieving, particularly as I became more competitive in my sport. I learned that not only does food give me strength, but it also gives me the power to perform to my best ability. 

    Underfueling can be the source of injury and a negative and self-deprecating mindset, and is not talked about enough when discussing an athlete’s mental and physical health.

    I can’t compare my body to another that doesn’t run 40-mile weeks or who doesn’t race competitively. Learning about the right choices to keep my body healthy and ready to perform at a high level has been one of the most critical aspects of my athletic career. 

    As obesity rates continue to rise, it is critical to continue educating the next generations on the right steps to take in making healthier choices. It can be as simple as promoting fruits and vegetables over a bag of chips at school or planning a family bike ride instead of playing video games. 

    With new definitions for BMI adding a new complex layer to the quest to reduce obesity, nothing is as important as staying on top of suggestions and guidelines from medical experts. Becoming well-educated on healthy habits can affect not only an individual but also the people around them. 

    As Garrett concludes: “I think we could change a lot by teaching our kids and families.”


    Questions to consider:

    • How is obesity measured?

    • What are some factors that contribute to weight problems?

    • Can you think of ways schools can help children and teens live a healthier lifestyle?

     

     

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  • The silencing of voices through the banning of books

    The silencing of voices through the banning of books

    When I was in fifth grade in northern Kentucky, I walked into my school library, excited to check out my favorite book — Drama by Raina Telgemeier — only to find it missing. My librarian told me it had been removed because someone had complained it wasn’t appropriate for our age group.

    The shelves looked emptier without it and I remember the sting of frustration in my chest as I asked question after question, my voice growing unsteady. That book was my only access to a world I love and now it was gone. 

    At the time, I didn’t understand why it had disappeared. Now, I realize that moment was part of a much larger battle playing out across the country.

    A surge in book bans across the U.S. is forcing educators and librarians into a heated debate over censorship and intellectual freedom, as restrictions on books about race, gender and LGBTQ+ topics increase.

    “Books don’t hurt people. People hurt people,” said Joyce McIntosh, assistant program director for the Freedom to Read Foundation.

    Bans across the nation

    As book bans and censorship debates arise across the country, independent K-12 schools, like the Tatnall School in Wilmington, Delaware where I go to school, must balance open access to information with concerns over age-appropriate content — a challenge that mirrors broader societal tensions over education and free expression.

    Over the past few years, book challenges have significantly increased, with reports from the American Library Association showing a record-breaking number of book bans in 2023, documenting 1,247 demands to censor library books and resources.

    While these debates are heating up in the U.S., similar efforts to restrict access to information are occurring across the globe, from government crackdowns in China to classroom censorship in Brazil. McIntosh said these bans disproportionately target books focused on BIPOC and LGBTQ communities, limiting students’ access to diverse perspectives. 

    “Bans often target books focused on [black, indigenous and people of color]  and LGBTQ communities, preventing students from seeing themselves represented,” McIntosh said. 

    Groups advocating for more restrictions counter that certain topics seen in school books promote inappropriate themes or political agendas. On the other hand, organizations like the Freedom to Read Foundation work to educate library workers and community members about the importance of intellectual freedom. 

    Local schools navigate the debate

    For educators, the tension between intellectual freedom and parental concerns seems like a tightrope act. While public schools in the United States must follow government and state regulations, independent schools have more flexibility in curating their libraries and media centers. That flexibility comes with its own challenges and doesn’t provide much leeway.

    Instead, it forces school administrations to set their own guidelines, often navigating difficult conversations with parents, teachers, and students to figure out what’s best for their school environment. 

    Ensign Simmons, the director of innovation and technology and library coordinator at the Tatnall School, emphasized the school’s approach to book selection. While the library strives to provide students with diverse perspectives in education, it also considers community concerns as well as the age-appropriateness of the content, Simmons said. 

    Simmons said that while Tatnall is not a public institution, the school still has a responsibility to prepare students to think critically and be open-minded when they enter the world.

    Tatnall hasn’t faced formal book bans, but the school remains aware of the growing national trends. Instead of outright censorship, Simmons said that the school encourages dialogue between students, parents and educators. Maintaining this balance means that while some books may contain more mature content, the overall goal is to promote discussion among students of different perspectives rather than restrictions.

     “Even if you disagree with something, that doesn’t mean we should take it off the shelves,” Simmons said. “We should keep them out there because that does spark a conversation and that conversation is what’s important at the end of the day.”

    The role of parents play

    While anti-ban activists argue that restricting and banning books violates an individual’s access to intellectual freedom, pro-ban supporters see it as a step taken that is necessary to protect children and youth from inappropriate and controversial material.

    Moms for Liberty, a conservative advocacy group, has led efforts to remove books like The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison from certain school districts and libraries, arguing that educators should not have the final say in what the students read.  

    McIntosh said that many schools already have policies allowing parents to opt their child out of specific reading materials and select an alternative that aligns with the curriculum. However, when one parent’s choice limits access for all students, it crosses into censorship, she said. Parents have the right to choose that for their child, however, it starts becoming more like censorship when they decide they don’t want anyone reading the book, making a decision for others based on their own beliefs. 

    Censorship is a global issue, not confined to the United States. In China, writers who challenge the government’s narrative have been imprisoned. In Tanzania, the government banned children’s books on sex education, citing violations of cultural norms, while in Brazil, attempts have been made to remove books addressing race and gender from classrooms. This is similar to the problem in the United States.

    These efforts to restrict access to information emphasize the broader, international pattern of controlling stories, especially those of marginalized communities. Whether driven by political power, cultural conservatism or fear of open dialogue, these global examples underscore the dangers of erasing perspectives that are vital for understanding diverse human experiences, just as we are witnessing in the U.S.

    What the future holds

    As the debate over book bans intensifies, many wonder what the future for school libraries will look like. In the future, instead of banning books outright, restrictions could shift toward regulation of digital content, as our world’s use of technology grows and as more controversial material becomes accessible online.

    Schools, like Tatnall, might continue to shift and shape their policies, cultivating discussions among the youth rather than enforcing strict bans and censoring intellectual content.

    Years ago, I didn’t understand why my favorite book was taken away. Now, I see that removing a single book is never just about a book — it’s about whose voices get heard and whose stories remain untold. 

    “One of the most dangerous aspects of book bans is that they often target marginalized voices,” McIntosh said. “When we remove these stories, we’re not just censoring books. We’re erasing experiences and perspectives that are crucial for understanding the world around us.”

    The ongoing debate over book bans isn’t only about stories; it’s about who gets to decide what topics are worth exploring. And that struggle isn’t limited to the United States. Across continents, governments and school systems are making similar decisions about which perspectives are allowed to exist and which are erased.

    As long as books continue to disappear from shelves, that debate will continue shaping free expression and education for years to come.

    Questions to consider:

    • Why would some groups want to ban whole classrooms from access to particular books?

    • Why are books about people of color or are about themes of gender identity often the target of bans?

    • Do you think some books should be kept from children? Which ones and why?

     

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  • What happens to the ski runs when the snow runs out?

    What happens to the ski runs when the snow runs out?

    I’m in high school now, and skiing is one of my favorite things to do — but I know it’s something my grandkids may never get to experience. 

    Normally the bike trails underneath the chairlift would be buried under a thick blanket of snow in the winter. But as temperatures begin to rise, more and more people are beginning to see the snow fade to brown earlier than ever before. Skiing could very well become a relic of the past — an age-old sport confined to history books and old photographs. 

    According to a study conducted by U.S. climate scientists in 2017 and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Atmospheric Programs, “season length changes” due to warming winters “could result in millions to tens of millions of foregone recreational visits annually by 2050, with an annual monetized impact of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

    These same scientists found that ski seasons in the United States are expected to see reductions in length, exceeding 50% in 2050 and 80% in 2090 for some locations.

    The reality is that by the end of the century most resorts in the United States will have closed. While it may seem like artificial snow is the solution to this monumental problem, that is not the case. This fake snow may be able to help resorts stay afloat for the next decade or so, but it is not a viable option in the long run.

    Can we make snow?

    According to an article published by the American Chemical Society in 2019, snow making takes energy, mostly fossil-based, which further exacerbates the issue by contributing to more carbon emissions.

    Not only are these snow makers harmful to the environment, but as temperatures begin to rise, there are less windows for snowmaking itself. 

    Dr. Elizabeth Burakowski, a climate scientist at the University of New Hampshire, said that snowmaking operations require temperatures that are below freezing to operate efficiently. This means that even though artificial snow can be useful in the short term, it won’t be a feasible solution in the future as the conditions needed for making that snow begin to disappear.

    More importantly, artificial snow is merely a band-aid on a much larger wound. The onus is instead on ourselves to remedy this problem and not the resorts trying to scramble for answers. 

    Amie Engerbretson, a professional skier and climate activist, thinks that both skiers and resorts are reluctant to talk about the problem. “I think they’re scared,” Engerbretson said. “I think they’re scared of being called a hypocrite.” This fear is understandable. Many in the ski-industry rely on fossil-fuel powered lifts and snowmobiles and travel to enjoy the sport they love. 

    Let’s speak for the snow.

    To Burakowski, speaking out means acknowledging these contradictions. “If anyone expects to be a perfect advocate, then they’re setting the bar impossibly high,” she said. 

    This is where the conversation around climate change usually stalls. Many athletes and outdoor enthusiasts hesitate to take a stand because they either don’t think their opinion matters or they don’t want to seem like hypocrites themselves. However, advocacy can reflect the complications as long as what is being advocated is progress toward a greener future.

    Most people get too caught up in the individual aspect of climate advocacy and climate change in general. However, if we try to address this problem as individuals, we won’t make much progress. 

    Instead, change will come from systemic action and involvement in the public sphere. When I asked Dr. Burakowski what the best thing someone can do to make an impact, she said: “vote”. 

    With the way things are going, just remembering to turn off your lights when you leave a room or buying an electric car will not be the difference between sustainability or catastrophe. Real progress requires a collective effort — new climate policy, corporate accountability and government action. 

    Questions to consider:

    • Why does the author think that his grandchildren won’t get the chance to experience skiing?

    • Why can’t making snow make up for a lack of snowfall? 

    • What sports do you like that might be at risk from climate change?

     

     

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  • Can we keep live music venues from dying out?

    Can we keep live music venues from dying out?

    What is happening to the local music scene?

    I remember my parents telling me when I was a child that one of the best ways to spend a Saturday night as an adult was to visit a local bar and watch live bands with friends. However, as I grew older, I found it increasingly difficult to find such venues.

    With the music industry generating billions in global revenue — from Taylor Swift’s stadium tours to Coldplay’s international sellouts — one might expect local scenes to benefit.

    Instead, small venues from Pennsylvania to rural Ireland are shuttering at alarming rates. Vibrant shows, diverse crowds and strong community support for musicians should be the norm. Yet, in recent years, the opposite has happened. Attendance at small venues has plummeted and emerging artists are finding fewer opportunities to perform publicly.

    While the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this decline, the trend had already been in motion for years. Fewer people are as interested in local music these days. But why?

    One major factor is the rise of social media. With music accessible at our fingertips, listeners no longer rely on their local scene to discover new artists. Instead of attending live performances, they can explore endless music from home.

    Digitized music

    Bassist and lead singer of the band Heaven’s Gate, 21-year-old Mike Danocwzi, offers insight on the matter. “People have forgotten what it’s like to have to leave their home to experience a song,” Danocwzi said. “Instead, they get too lost in their feed to even appreciate the vibes.”

    Having played guitar alongside Danocwzi at several shows, I can’t help but agree. Turnout is often disappointing and those who do attend seem more focused on their phones — texting, scrolling or recording — than on the performance itself. 

    A study by the Pew Research Center found that 99% of Americans and Canadians over 18 have a cell phone with social media. The Deloitte Center for Technology and Communications reported that 86% of Gen Z listeners discover new music through social media rather than live shows.

    Economic factors have also played a role. The rising cost of living has left many young adults with less disposable income for entertainment. This, combined with the skyrocketing cost of college — nearly triple what it was in the 1990s — has created a growing divide between artists and audiences.

    Another issue is the commercialization of the modern music industry. The so-called “middle class” of musicians is disappearing, mirroring the growing wealth gap in society. There is an ever-widening divide between mega-stars and independent artists.

    People flock to the big stars.

    Superstars like Drake, Taylor Swift and Metallica dominate the industry, leaving little room for smaller musicians to thrive. Music is no longer about unity through sound but rather unity through the artist — a shift that has changed how people engage with the industry.

    Virginia musician and local staple Jerry Reynolds believes this change has altered the very definition of being an artist. “These new stars don’t understand what made the industry fucking great,” Reynolds said. “I remember starting in bars not so I could make fucking money, just so I could fucking play in my damn community.”

    Reynolds, who chose to stay in the local circuit rather than chase stardom, argues that music should be about the song, not commercial success. He believes today’s artists have lost sight of what truly matters.

    The decline of guitar-driven music is another factor. Before social media, being a skilled guitarist was one of the coolest things a person could do, often launching musicians to stardom. Legends like Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton became icons through sheer talent and showmanship.

    Now, however, technical skill alone is no longer enough. The internet has accelerated the exchange of musical ideas to such an extent that virtuoso guitarists are no longer a rarity. As a result, the spectacle of live performance has lost some of its magic.

    Local venues struggle across the globe.

    This isn’t just a local issue. Around the world, small music venues and local cultural hubs are in decline. A 2023 Guardian article reported that the UK lost over 120 grassroots music venues in a single year — roughly 15% of its total. In Ireland, the closure of rural pubs — many of which double as performance spaces — is becoming a social crisis. These establishments often serve as the heart of small communities, acting as gathering places for conversation, connection and live music.

    Similar stories have emerged in Australia, Canada and parts of Europe, where independent venues are battling rising rents, insurance costs and shrinking audiences. The Music Venue Trust in the UK warns that without intervention, the cultural backbone of the live music scene could collapse entirely.

    At the same time, the stadium concert economy is booming. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour grossed over $1 billion globally. Coldplay has sold out massive stadiums with capacities of over 70,000, with average ticket prices reaching several hundred dollars. The contrast is stark: while the biggest names in music break records, many local artists struggle to draw a crowd or even cover travel costs for a performance.

    What does this mean for the future of local music? And more importantly, can anything be done to reverse this trend?

    The short answer is simple: support your local scene. Look up small venues, ask about upcoming shows and show up for independent artists. Better yet, start a band or organize a local event.

    This isn’t just a problem in your neighborhood — it’s a global cultural shift. But change can start small. 

    The biggest obstacle facing live music is our own reluctance to step outside the comfort of our homes. If more people make the effort to rediscover the excitement of live performances, the local music scene could experience a revival. And with that resurgence, small artists may once again find a home within their communities.

     

    Questions to consider:

    1. Why are many small music venues struggling?

    2. What is one reason younger people are not going to clubs to see live music?

    3. What was the last live music you saw? How was it different from streaming the music?

     

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  • Are smart phones at schools all bad?

    Are smart phones at schools all bad?

    If Bill Schluter had his way, cellphones would be banned five days a week. Schluter is head of Tatnall Upper School, a private high school in the U.S. state of Delaware. He wants cellphones out of school. 

    As increasing numbers of young people seem tied to their phones, researchers have found correlations between cellphone use and cases of depression, anxiety, cyberbullying and decreasing attention span.

    A 2019 study by the nonprofit organization Common Sense found that 84% of teenagers in the United States already possess a cellphone.

    Psychologist Jean Twenge, in her 2017 book “iGen“, wrote that increased phone use by teenagers directly correlates to a recent increase in adolescent anxiety, depression and inability to focus.

    Teens themselves, though, think cellphones have a place in the classroom — if used responsibly and with permission. 

    “I noticed people use them a lot in math class when they forget their calculator,” said Tatnall student Camille Johnson. “If their math teacher allows them to pull out their phone just for the calculator portion, they use it for that as long as you know they’re not being silly and going on other apps. We had a physics lab the other day where we were needing to use it to record our lab.”

    Social media replaces human connections

    Research also suggests that a hybrid class model that integrates technology into classwork, such as Teach to One or Google Classroom, leads to successful test scores as it personalizes the learning journey. 

    Twenge found that phones hinder teenagers’ ability to socially engage with each other. Schulter agreed. “Your ability to talk to each other, hear each other and have productive conversations is lessened with cellphones,” he said. 

    Twenge also found that the recent rise of technological advancements of cellphones and the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged teenagers to shut themselves in and only engage with their devices, as social media has replaced other forms of entertainment such as magazines and books. This leads to a wired, smartphone-dominant society, causing a significant spike in teenage mental health problems.

    A June 2024 Pew Research Center survey shows that 72% of public school teachers report that phones are a major distraction in class and make learning less effective. And a March 2024 report from Thorn, a nonprofit organization that works to fight online sexual abuse of children and teens, emphasized a disturbing increase in the creation and distribution of AI-generated child pornography. 

    The report said that with its ease of use, almost anyone can generate intimate deepfake images of others, whether it be of someone they know or a stranger. Child predators or children interested in their peers can create these pictures with the click of a button. 

    These images are commonly used in “sextortion”, a form of extortion in which the creator or owner of the photos threatens to publicly release them if the victim refuses their demands. 

    Abuse of technology

    Schluter recalled a story about a local and reputable school in which a male student used AI to superimpose nude pictures of his female classmates from the shoulder up to distribute online, resulting in chaos among the school board. “Board members of the school have resigned and everybody’s at each other’s throats,” he said. 

    In recent years, schools have responded to the cell phone issue. In many states across the country, such as California, New York, Maine and Pennsylvania, school districts have been able to limit the usage of cell phones among students, whether that be a phone-free day or an outright ban. 

    My high school, The Tatnall School, has implemented phone-free Wednesdays into the school week, forbidding students from having a cellphone in sight anytime during the day. 

    Schluter said that another local high school has banned smartphones five days a week.  

    “They started right off the school year with having a couple days in the school year, and then within a month, they had gone to a cellphone free policy at the school in its entirety, and it’s working great from all sources,” he said. 

    Resistance to phone bans

    Many students, and parents, aren’t entirely on board with banning phones, even one day a week.  “It just so happens that every single Wednesday, I’m like, oh my gosh, I need to do something really quick, and I can’t have my phone,” Johnson said. 

    She admitted that without a phone people learn to be more present in the moment. “But I don’t believe in completely banning them,” she said.

    Other students noted that the cellphone policy has caused some problems. Some use their phones as keys to their cars, for example, and having their phones confiscated makes that difficult. Some students have have seen teachers collecting phones from students even when they were simply outdoors during lunch. 

    Many parents are concerned that smartphone bans limit communication between them and their children, fearing they cannot contact them during an emergency. With a disturbing number of recent school shootings, this fear is understandable. To dampen parents’ worries, school faculty assure them that communication between parent and child will most likely be unnecessary if school safety precautions are followed.

    “If we’re cellphone free, the school would, if we do a good job of maintaining our safety precautions for the school, we would be a safe environment,” Schluter said.

    Finding a happy medium

    Naturally, parents still worry for their child’s safety and desire to keep constant contact, even if it’s a simple text that tells them that their child is safe. 

    While many educators and some parents believe that phones only impair learning and have no place in a productive academic environment, others argue that the correct classroom model can allow cellphones to enhance education. 

    Consider online programs such as Duolingo or Google Classroom. These apps prove that technology can be effectively integrated into lesson plans to teach new skills while indulging the attachment young people have to phones and capturing their attention, a precious resource. If teachers worry about students using their cellphones for non-academic purposes, they can employ programs to restrict access to certain websites or apps. 

    So what is the best best course of action to solve this problem? While the issues related to cellphones prove problematic, many believe that phones aren’t necessarily the root cause. The spike in cellphone usage may merely be an effect of the issues often associated with them.

    “Cellphones may be a symptom and not the cause of the shift, but the two are very interrelated,” Schluter said.

    Bans are only as effective as their enforcement and only encourage some teens to find ways around the bans. And despite teachers’ efforts to hold students responsible for their actions, this is also not a guaranteed fix. 

    Perhaps the best solution is a happy medium. Schools can allow teachers to create their own classroom phone policies and punish as they see fit. Or they can limit cell phone use while establishing specific areas or periods when people can be on their phones. 

    No matter which solution is most effective, technology is improving, and social media and smartphones are on track to become increasingly prevalent in our lives.

    “High school education has changed in huge ways in the past 30 or 40 years, and cellphones have been have been part of that,” Schluter said. “But I’m curious to know, not how we get back to the way things were in the 1990s necessarily, but to an atmosphere where students are more engaged.”

     

    Three questions to consider:

    1. Why do many schools trying to ban students’ use of phones?

    2. In what ways can phones by used responsibly in a class?

    3. In what ways do you feel tied to your phone? 

     

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