Let the Kids Rule School Boards

In the Midst of a Bipartisan Attack on Their Educational Rights, It’s Time for Young People to Fight Back

California kids, do you follow the news about the culture wars over the boards that oversee your schools?

If you do, you’ll see these wars portrayed as political contests between groups that want to take education in different directions. You’ll see reports about loud conflicts between progressives and right-wingers, and fights between parents’ groups and teachers’ unions.

But you won’t hear much about the role of students in these debates. Because there isn’t one. School boards are meetings of adult politicians; kids are rarely even present (much less heard) in those loud …

The Forgotten Children of ISIS Fighters  | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

The Forgotten Children of ISIS Fighters 

Without Country, Citizenship, Protection, or Even Compassion, Thousands Remain in a Precarious Limbo

Accounts of two young girls, both named Amira, have dominated the 2020 news cycle out of Syria.

One girl, a 3-year-old Australian, has been in the Kurdish-run refugee camp al-Hol …

Where’s the Laid-Back Fun in Kids’ Summer Vacations?

Pricey Camps and Erratic School Calendars Are Spoiling Our Seasonal Break

My grade school summer vacations seemed to last forever, pairing well with the Beach Boys’ Endless Summer double album I wore out on the record changer.

During those hot and humid …

PTAs Are the Opposite of Community

How the Former Champions for All Kids Devolved Into Self-Serving Fundraising Machines

Here’s a quick quiz for anyone who has ever had kids or grandkids or nieces and nephews in school: Can you name all of the fundraising items you’ve purchased from …

Cruising South Central Avenue

Photographs Capture the Beauty and Change of One of L.A.'s Most Dynamic Corridors

South Los Angeles, a big and diverse place of 30-some neighborhoods, used to be known as South Central. And South Central’s name, while reflecting the geography of South L.A. as …