Tween Times I am coaching some very cool adolescents this summer. Each one is amazing. Here is one’s story about being bullied. A few of his classmates called him “goat” the year before. He hated it. He felt picked on, embarrassed, and helpless. Some relief came when...
Tween Times Mary, a bubbly eighth grader, waited for her ride as I was leaving our middle school. She was excited, telling me her soccer team would be competing in the regional championships this weekend. They’d never won a big tournament, but she felt they had a...
Tween Times In the weeks before my high school graduation, it hadn’t occurred to me that commencement meant beginning. It felt like another word for ending, notwithstanding the planned celebrations. Truth be told, I wasn’t ready to start something new. I wanted...
Tween Times It’s an ordinary Tuesday, no more and no less valuable than yesterday or tomorrow. Emma, 14, awakes with a twinge of uncertainty. The gray skinny jeans, white T-shirt and booties chosen Monday night to stave off a fashion crisis this morning, she now finds...
Tween Times Emma studied for her science exam, felt prepared and earned a 91. She did not stress about not getting 100. She was curious about what she missed. She combed through the returned test. She saw how she graphed the values wrong. Now, she plots them...
